BNC Female reverse polarity

[NHdave]

I haven't done much with cable assembly, always used pre assembled stuff. I need a 25 foot extension for my indoor scanner antenna. I contacted the antenna farm and they sent me this link.
https://www.theantennafarm.com/catalog/times-mic-lmr-400uf-1472.html

For an extension I assumed I needed a BNC male to BNC female, but all they have listed for female is reverse polarity. I did some googling and it seems all reverse polarity means is it has the lugs on the side for the male to lock on to? Just wanted to make sure this is correct before I spend $58 on a cable, which seems a bit pricey, but I haven't bought cable in ages.

 

[WA0CBW]

A BNC male on one end and a female on the other is what you need. I don't think you want a "reverse" connector. You could also use a BNC male on both ends and BNC female to female adapter to connect the two cables together.

 

[NHdave]

A BNC male on one end and a female on the other is what you need. I don't think you want a "reverse" connector. You could also use a BNC male on both ends and BNC female to female adapter to connect the two cables together.

Hmmm, when I go to the website I linked to they don't offer a BNC female, only a reverse polarity female. I'd rather not use adapters and degrade my signal any more than I'm already going to.

 

[dmg1969]

To expand on what WA0CBW said, I just bought a patch cable from ShowMeCables (a 6' double ended male BNC) and connected them using a doubled ended female coupler from RS. That route would be cheaper. The 25' from ShowMeCables is $9.75 plus a few bucks for shipping. RG58 BNC Patch Cable - Male/Male - 25 FT | ShowMeCables.com

The coupler is $3.50 from RS. Type UG-914 BNC Female-to-Female Coupler : Couplers | RadioShack.com

 

[NHdave]

That's certainly cheaper than $58! I was looking on antenna farm as someone on this forum recommended them, I think I'll go with your suggestion, thanks Dave

What kind of signal loss will I get from the double female, is it worth worrying about?

I can solder with the best of them so maybe I'll get a female connector and replace one of the males.

 

[dmg1969]

NHdave, first of all...let me say this. I have bought from The Antenna Farm and not had a problem. And I don't like the thought of under-cutting him. I was in the same boat as you looking for a cable I needed. Mine was for my new HP-1 to install in my vehicle (replacing a BC125AT). I have a Hustler MOR antenna which terminates in a BNC connector. I needed to extend the antenna coax to reach the new mount location on the dash. I did a bit of looking and wanted a 6' extender which was a BNC male on one end and female on the other. Without spending a lot on a custom made cable, I opted for this solution. I then use a BNC to SMA adapter at the scanner.

I am not into amateur radio and not a radio expert by any means. Scanning for me has been a life long hobby. But, from my personal experience, I did not notice any significant degradation in signal quality. If money were no object, I would have probably done the custom cable. But, at least for now, it is working just as well as I expected.

Good luck!

 

[NHdave]

Thanks for the additional input, I don't mind paying for quality, but I think almost $60 for a 25 foot cable is a bit on the high side, on the other hand I think $10 for 25 feet is a bit on the cheap side, but I've not much experience in cable. If the $10 one doesn't work I haven't lost much, if it does I saved $50.

 

[LIScanner101]

I too want to say that dealing with John at the Antenna Farm has always been great. His custom made cables are high quality through and through.

 

[dmg1969]

Right, NHdave. You can try it and, if it is not the quality you expected, throw it in the spare radio parts box and buy the custom cable from TAF. The six footer I bought seems to work just fine, but your application may be different. Let us know how you make out regardless of which you decide on.


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

 

[NHdave]

Yup, considering my antenna consists of an ANLI RD-88H on a suction cup glass mount it's not the most high performance thing out there, but it's the best I can do, and it does pretty well for what it is.

Thanks all for your input.