[W1SMH] How to make an SMA tool!

Mon, 25 Nov 2002 17:29:21 -0500

I havent made one yet but it sounds pretty simple. If you have ever
tried to tighten or loosen the SMA nut, you were wishing you had one of
these...

	SMA connectors on radios seem to be on the rise. The new Icom
T8A and 
Q7 both have them, as do several units from other companies. Because 
they're so small and the slots so narrow, it's tough to use pliers to 
tighten the collar on the SMA if it becomes loose. You can go out and 
buy a special tool, *if you can even find one*, for $20 or more...or 
you can make your own, if you have a file, a 1/4" drive bit set, and 
a little patience. 
	Wal-Mart, among others, sells a pocket 1/4" drive tool kit. It 
consists of a handle with magnet in the center to hold the bits, and 
3 or 4 1/4" screwdriver bits. They cost a couple of dollars. Take an 
ordinary file, and file down the area around the hole in the handle 
where the bits go. File so that you have two fingers of metal coming 
out of the bit hole area. (This is tough to describe, but if you know 
what the collar on a connector looks like - the small screw-like 
indentations on opposite sides of the ring - then you should be able 
to visualize what we're doing here.) 

	It won't take long, because most of these small tool handles
have an 
aluminum shaft. The handle's bit-hole will fit over the SMA, and if 
you've made the fingers the right size, the fingers will fit into the 
slots on the ring and you can tighten or loosen the ring. Only file 
down enough to make fingers that are less than 1/8" high; you don't 
need more. 

	And, if you clean out any burrs that result from filing (which
you 
should do anyway to have plenty of clearance with the connector,) the 
handle will still work with the bits. BTW, I put mine in a vise 
first, to keep the handle steady and make the work go faster. I had 
my modified tool ready to go in about a half hour
(Written By Gerald S. Santomassimo, KB0VOF)

73,
KB1DRL
Marty

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