[FCARC] the differences between N connectors and PL-259 connectors

[Adam T. Cately]

It's been brought to my attention that there was a discussion at ham 
breakfast some Saturday ago, about type N connectors at UHF frequencies 
actually being better than regular PL-259 connectors - they are, and 
there's plenty of documentation to be found online is you care to search 
for it.

Outside of a total masters-degree-grade if dissertation, here are the 
most pertinent properties of each -

                                                 PL-259                 
                     N

Impedance                            50 ohm nominal                   50 ohm

Frequency range                  DC to 300 Mhz                DC to 11 Ghz

Working Voltage                  500v - dielectric 1kv               1kv 
- dielectric 2.5kv

VSWR (max)                          n/a                             1.3 - 1

The PL-259 was designed by Amphenol back in the 1930's  - the N 
connector came afterwards as more higher frequencies were pressed into 
use.  The N connector is more stable in impedance as you go up in 
frequency, where the PL is more loose in actual impedance above 300 Mhz 
- you can use PL's for ham stuff without too much difficulty, you may 
see a small performance hit, but for more better performance and power 
handling at UHF and up an N is the real way to go.  ALL commercial-grade 
radio systems utilize N connectors for any equipment above VHF, for 
these facts - having said that, most all VHF commercial grade gear that 
I've been in contact with uses N connectors also, I would believe for 
the more stable impedance characteristics and the power handling 
performance - no one wants their radio system to fail, so you should 
always spec the best parts for the best performance.

You'll never see any difference at HF because of the low frequency 
range, so PL-259's are perfect for all of that, as that was basically 
what they were originally designed for.

And, as always, if you buy $1-Chinese-grade connectors or adapters of 
ANY type, you'll soon be wary of them ever again. Quality always rules

A link to the Mil-Spec RF Connector papers is here -

https://landandmaritimeapps.dla.mil/programs/milspec/ListDocs.aspx?BasicDoc=MIL-PRF-39012


de KB8MDF