LMR400 Cable

[wpwx694]

I have lmr-400 but I need pl 259 connector and n male connector put on it and do I get this one

N Connectors Male Crimp Rf Coaxial Connector 50 ohm for LMR400 Belden 9913 RG8 Pack of 2 Piece https://a.co/d/eUTCS24

Or

XRDS -RF N Male Connectors Clamp Plug Attach Adapter 50 ohm Rf Coaxial Connector for LMR400 /KMR400 Cable Belden 9913 RG8 Cable Pack of 2 Pieces https://a.co/d/hZGhZwy

And

And Dongminglink PL259 UHF Coax Connectors，UHF Male Solder Connector Plug with Reducer for RG58,RG142,LMR195,LMR400 Coaxial Cable Compatiable with Ham Radio Antennas. https://a.co/d/aYHFEcf

 

[mmckenna]

Don't buy cheap Chinese connectors.
They may work for a while, but the plating on them is usually really thin and you'll run into issues.
It might save you a few bucks and it may work "good enough", but if you start having issues, you'll be kicking yourself.
Spend the few extra bucks and get RF Industries, Amphenol or Lands.

RFI RFN-1002-1SI - N Connectors

N Male Connector

theantennafarm.com

It really is worth the few extra bucks to do it right.

 

[wpwx694]

Don't buy cheap Chinese connectors.
They may work for a while, but the plating on them is usually really thin and you'll run into issues.
It might save you a few bucks and it may work "good enough", but if you start having issues, you'll be kicking yourself.
Spend the few extra bucks and get RF Industries, Amphenol or Lands.

RFI RFN-1002-1SI - N Connectors

N Male Connector

theantennafarm.com

It really is worth the few extra bucks to do it right.

Which pl 259

PL 259 Connector | PL 259 UHF Connectors | Antenna Farm

Are you looking for the best place for a PL 259 connector? Shop PL 259 and UHF connectors for sale here today at the Antenna Farm, your online antenna source.

theantennafarm.com

 

[mmckenna]

If you do not have the crimp tool, any of the solder on PL-259 connectors should work just fine. I'm partial to the RF Industries connectors and you usually can't go wrong with Amphenol.

You'll need a high wattage soldering iron to properly attach those. If you don't have one, you really want something in the 200 watt range. Consider the cost of that, plus some trial and error, against the cost of getting the crimp tool.

Coax Cable Connector Crimping Tool RG58-RG59-RG6-RG8-LMR400-9913

Coax Cable Connector Crimping Tool RG58-RG59-RG6-RG8-LMR400-9913

theantennafarm.com

 

[wpwx694]

If you do not have the crimp tool, any of the solder on PL-259 connectors should work just fine. I'm partial to the RF Industries connectors and you usually can't go wrong with Amphenol.

You'll need a high wattage soldering iron to properly attach those. If you don't have one, you really want something in the 200 watt range. Consider the cost of that, plus some trial and error, against the cost of getting the crimp tool.

Coax Cable Connector Crimping Tool RG58-RG59-RG6-RG8-LMR400-9913

Coax Cable Connector Crimping Tool RG58-RG59-RG6-RG8-LMR400-9913

theantennafarm.com

PL-259 Connector # 083-822 Amphenol

PL-259 (UHF Male)

theantennafarm.com

Will this work with regular
soldering gun?

 

[wpwx694]

If you do not have the crimp tool, any of the solder on PL-259 connectors should work just fine. I'm partial to the RF Industries connectors and you usually can't go wrong with Amphenol.

You'll need a high wattage soldering iron to properly attach those. If you don't have one, you really want something in the 200 watt range. Consider the cost of that, plus some trial and error, against the cost of getting the crimp tool.

Coax Cable Connector Crimping Tool RG58-RG59-RG6-RG8-LMR400-9913

Coax Cable Connector Crimping Tool RG58-RG59-RG6-RG8-LMR400-9913

theantennafarm.com

Will this work with regular
soldering gun?

PL-259 Connector # 083-822 Amphenol

PL-259 (UHF Male)

theantennafarm.com

 

[mmckenna]

Not sure what you mean by "regular soldering gun".

Those solder on connectors take a lot of heat to get the solder to flow. Unless it is a 200w - 300w iron, all you'll do is waste your time, get a cold solder joint, and probably melt the cable. You need a high wattage iron to get enough heat into the connector fast enough to get it to work.

It also takes practice. Make sure you but an extra connector or two and use some scrap cable to practice with.

I do enough of this stuff at work that it paid to have the correct crimpers. It's faster and does a much better job. If you are only ever going to do a few connectors, then get a properly sized soldering gun. If you plan on doing more than a few, get the crimpers. Soldering PL-259 connectors on larger coax (RG-8, LMR-400, etc) takes some skill.

 

[TrainsOfThought]

Is the crimp tool available from the same source(s) as the high quality connectors?

 

[FKimble]

May be cheaper to just order a cable correct length with ends that you need.

Frank

 

[Brales60]

May be cheaper to just order a cable correct length with ends that you need.

Frank

This is what I did.

 

[mmckenna]

Is the crimp tool available from the same source(s) as the high quality connectors?

See post #4

 

[Brales60]

See post #4

Do you prefer crimping vs solder?

 

[ems55]

If you do not have the crimp tool, any of the solder on PL-259 connectors should work just fine. I'm partial to the RF Industries connectors and you usually can't go wrong with Amphenol.

You'll need a high wattage soldering iron to properly attach those. If you don't have one, you really want something in the 200 watt range. Consider the cost of that, plus some trial and error, against the cost of getting the crimp tool.

Coax Cable Connector Crimping Tool RG58-RG59-RG6-RG8-LMR400-9913

Coax Cable Connector Crimping Tool RG58-RG59-RG6-RG8-LMR400-9913

theantennafarm.com

Just going to ask you for a recommendation for a crimper. Thanks

 

[Project25_MASTR]

I would not run a

Do you prefer crimping vs solder?

Crimp it all.

One of my friends (who also runs a long time one man radio shop) was talking to me yesterday about ordering a bunch of N male, N female, and UHF male crimp connectors. I told him, I've never put a UHF connector on LMR400...I would instead run a N Male connector on both ends and use either a LMR195 or RG174 jumper with UHF male and N female to adapt.

 

[TrainsOfThought]

This is what I did.
FKimble said:


May be cheaper to just order a cable correct length with ends that you need.

Frank

This crossed my mind...who or what blessed souls provide this for the radio hobbiest? Not necessarily a go-around for learning to make your own BUT would sure help getting started on new setups knowing the coax is right and proper from the get go.

 

[Brales60]

This crossed my mind...who or what blessed souls provide this for the radio hobbiest? Not necessarily a go-around for learning to make your own BUT would sure help getting started on new setups knowing the coax is right and proper from the get go.

I got all mine at the Antenna Farm.

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Thousands of High Quality RF Connectors

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Coaxial Cable by the Foot | Antenna Farm

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[mmckenna]

Do you prefer crimping vs solder?

Crimping, 100%.
Old hams will tell you that soldering on connectors is the only acceptable way to do it, but they'd be wrong. Aviation installations prohibit soldering since it makes for a brittle/stiff connection. Soldering is fine for hobby stuff, but you don't find it used in many other places. There are some center pins of some connectors that will require soldering, and I've used them. If you are careful and don't use too much solder, they are fine. At work, it's all crimping. It's faster and trying to use a soldering iron at the top of a tower with the wind blowing is an exercise in futility. You can't get enough heat into larger connectors to make it work reliably.

Like others here, I've done a lot of coaxial connectors:
Prep the cable per connector manufacturer specifications.
Use the correct connector for the cable.
Use the correct crimpers for the connector/cable
Follow all the directions.
You'll have a good installation.

 

[mmckenna]

Just going to ask you for a recommendation for a crimper. Thanks

That one is good for hobby use and will probably do a fine job. At work I have the Times Microwave kit that does LMR-400 and LMR-600 EZ crimp connectors. Kind of an expensive solution for hobby use, but it makes the prep and crimping of the connectors really simple and almost fool proof. Makes sense if you are doing a whole lot of connections, but for most hobby use, it's overkill.

At home, I have some random coax connector kit that I bought 15 years ago. No name, but does a fine job.

As with any of these connectors, it's a really good idea to buy some extra connectors and some extra cable and practice a few times. It takes some skill to do it right, and having a few crimp on connectors you can practice with is a good idea. Once you do a few, you've usually got it mastered.
And, hobby use, so if it's not 100% perfect, it's not the end of the world. Guys like PRCGUY sweep their connections up into the GHz range, but for GMRS use, it's not quite that critical.

 

[ems55]

That one is good for hobby use and will probably do a fine job. At work I have the Times Microwave kit that does LMR-400 and LMR-600 EZ crimp connectors. Kind of an expensive solution for hobby use, but it makes the prep and crimping of the connectors really simple and almost fool proof. Makes sense if you are doing a whole lot of connections, but for most hobby use, it's overkill.

At home, I have some random coax connector kit that I bought 15 years ago. No name, but does a fine job.

As with any of these connectors, it's a really good idea to buy some extra connectors and some extra cable and practice a few times. It takes some skill to do it right, and having a few crimp on connectors you can practice with is a good idea. Once you do a few, you've usually got it mastered.
And, hobby use, so if it's not 100% perfect, it's not the end of the world. Guys like PRCGUY sweep their connections up into the GHz range, but for GMRS use, it's not quite that critical.

Thanks Mmckenna, always a pleasure !!1

 

[TrainsOfThought]

Thanks EVERYONE for this discussion...It takes me back to my 90's 2 city rooftop scanner antennas and I put on my own connectors but hell if I can remember what and how I did it ...but they worked fine.

"Life, kids and hellish govt work" (especially the latter) intervened that time and now so unfortunately, post retirement, those days are a mental BLANK (govt work). Today it's like learning to do some things all over again.