Hi Clay: I concur with your comments re cheap connectors. I have had cheap connectors melt, short, go open and mechanically come apart. Fortunately these were in the days of big old tube-based robust rigs.
I gave up on bargain connectors about 35 years ago. I’m happy to pay substantially more money for brand name connectors, and to take the time to install them properly and in accordance with their mechanical specs. I’ve never had a failure with this approach. I too know hams who will buy the cheapest connectors they can find (and the cheapest feedline) and install them on multi-thousand dollar rigs. You not only get poor performance but you risk potential big expense if the “cheapo” stuff fails and breaks something in your rig. Penny-wise, pound foolish, as the saying goes. 73, Kevin VE7ZD/KN7Q Sent from my iPad > On Nov 21, 2023, at 08:39, Clay Autery <k...@montac.com> wrote: > > Listen to Jim, guys. THE most frustrating thing in troubleshooting is when > the "trouble" is in the cheap/low quality parts used in an assembly.| > ALWAYS buy the best you can find/afford. Buy the best; buy once. I have a > FEW more vendors than Jim, but his point is nonetheless valid and should be > added to the HAM Gospel: > > Thou shalt not use cheap crap in thy signal line. <grin> > > This is ALSO why I have eliminated ALL UHF connectors from my station. GOOD > ones work fine. Not as well as N and others, but good enough. > Problem is that too many of the connectors/adapters with UHF on one end are > made like crap or have a fatal flaw in them somewhere.... just a matter of a > short/inconvenient time to failure. > > Be well! > > Clay E. Autery, Jr. > KY5G > >> On 11/21/2023 1:05 AM, Jim Brown wrote: >>> On 11/20/2023 8:00 PM, Rick NK7I wrote: >>> In that search, high on the list of suspects (right up there with failure >>> of any antenna elements) is damage from tiny livestock (mice, rats, birds >>> that may have gotten into the attic or bugs like mud wasps); chewed wires, >>> cables and insulators. >> >> More possibilities. Back in Chicago, I traced an intermittent in an antenna >> to a junk connector adapter. After getting back on the air in 2003 after 20+ >> years off, I made the mistake of restocking my parts stash with junk >> adapters from a Chicago flea market. Over the next five years, I traced a >> half dozen failures to them as a cause. My definition of a junk connector is >> one that isn't stamped "Belden," or with a MIL part number, or one of the >> types made for hard line. >> >> Perhaps a ferrite choke that is poorly designed, under-rated for the >> specific use, or used with a badly imbalanced antenna has failed. They do >> that. :) And, of course, loose connectors. >> >> 73, Jim K9YC >> >> >> ______________________________________________________________ >> Elecraft mailing list >> Home: http://mailman.qth.net/mailman/listinfo/elecraft >> Help: http://mailman.qth.net/mmfaq.htm >> Post: mailto:Elecraft@mailman.qth.net >> >> This list hosted by: http://www.qsl.net >> Please help support this email list: http://www.qsl.net/donate.html >> Message delivered to k...@montac.com > ______________________________________________________________ > Elecraft mailing list > Home: http://mailman.qth.net/mailman/listinfo/elecraft > Help: http://mailman.qth.net/mmfaq.htm > Post: mailto:Elecraft@mailman.qth.net > > This list hosted by: http://www.qsl.net > Please help support this email list: http://www.qsl.net/donate.html > Message delivered to mcqui...@sfu.ca ______________________________________________________________ Elecraft mailing list Home: http://mailman.qth.net/mailman/listinfo/elecraft Help: http://mailman.qth.net/mmfaq.htm Post: mailto:Elecraft@mailman.qth.net This list hosted by: http://www.qsl.net Please help support this email list: http://www.qsl.net/donate.html Message delivered to arch...@mail-archive.com
