Installing Crimp On PL 259 on LMR 400

[Chevyman22360]

I just bought a crimper and PL 259 ends to be used with LMR 400. I did not get any instructions to exactly how to install this connector, anyone have a step by step guide so I don't goof this up? Thanks in Advance!!!

 

[ledouxfan59]

I just bought a crimper and PL 259 ends to be used with LMR 400. I did not get any instructions to exactly how to install this connector, anyone have a step by step guide so I don't goof this up? Thanks in Advance!!!

1. return said items to place of purchase and obtain refund

2. purchase soldering gun and solder and quality "amphenol" pl 259's

3.google up , "soldering pl 259's" and learn to do it right !

you will be much happier in the end , and you wont have to do it again when the crimp on
style , falls off or develops a poor connection in 6 months

73

 

[fineshot1]

1. return said items to place of purchase and obtain refund

2. purchase soldering gun and solder and quality "amphenol" pl 259's

3.google up , "soldering pl 259's" and learn to do it right !

you will be much happier in the end , and you wont have to do it again when the crimp on
style , falls off or develops a poor connection in 6 months

73

Oh - then I guess crimping on LMR400 being the industry standard for many many years counts
for nothing and all the cables I have been using on 1.2ghz for many years should not work for
beans. Although soldering connectors to LMR400 is possible if your experienced at it I would not
recommend it to the novice as this type of cable distorts too easy when too much heat is applied
to it and when it distorts the 50 ohm impedance value is comprimised. To answer the OP's question
there may be a tutorial on the "RF Parts" web site. Google is your friend.....good luck

 

[davidmc36]

http://images.google.ca/imgres?imgu...mages?q=lmr400+pl259&um=1&hl=en&safe=off&sa=N

 

[fineshot1]

http://images.google.ca/imgres?imgu...mages?q=lmr400+pl259&um=1&hl=en&safe=off&sa=N

Good informative article - thanks for posting

 

[Chevyman22360]

1. return said items to place of purchase and obtain refund

2. purchase soldering gun and solder and quality "amphenol" pl 259's

3.google up , "soldering pl 259's" and learn to do it right !

you will be much happier in the end , and you wont have to do it again when the crimp on
style , falls off or develops a poor connection in 6 months

73

The reason I bought the tools to go solderless is the reason is all the soldered ends I ruined because I either got too hot or the solder doesn't go where it is suppose to. Solder is not my friend. The center conductor isn't bad, it's those little holes around the outside for ground. I am using high quality ends from the local ham shop.

 

[NeFire242]

Yeah crimp = bad.

Even if you can't do the outside braid you're still better off using soldered on connectors.

 

[N_Jay]

Yeah crimp = bad.

Even if you can't do the outside braid you're still better off using soldered on connectors.

Wrong!

 

[jim202]

I have to support fireshot1 on this. The LMR400 cable was never developed to be used on
solder connectors. Not only is it hard to do, the combo of the shield and the foil make it
very hard to obtain a good ground when trying to solder the shield down. The center
conductor insulation is not made to withstand much heat.

Jim

Oh - then I guess crimping on LMR400 being the industry standard for many many years counts
for nothing and all the cables I have been using on 1.2ghz for many years should not work for
beans. Although soldering connectors to LMR400 is possible if your experienced at it I would not
recommend it to the novice as this type of cable distorts too easy when too much heat is applied
to it and when it distorts the 50 ohm impedance value is comprimised. To answer the OP's question
there may be a tutorial on the "RF Parts" web site. Google is your friend.....good luck

 

[Hoofy]

I spent 2 days with the tower guys that installed the tower and all the antennas and coax and hard line at our 911 office which they don't use anymore..

I watched the guy do all the installs on the n-connectors for all the antennas including 800 and he crimped everything. He said he had never had a complaint since he started using the crimp connections.

The only thing he used for coax sealer at the antenna connection was high quality black plastic tape. I asked him about coax seal and silicon but he said he quit using anything but the black tape several years ago. The company he worked for was also doing a lot of the MPSCS towers in lower Michigan.

When I solder my connections on to lmr-400 I use a solder with low melting point and a hot soldering iron not a gun and have been very successful. I also tin the braid with solder (thin coat of solder on the braid) and let it cool before I put the connector on. I also use standard amphenol pl 259 connectors which fit very snuggly and you have to actually have to thread them onto the outter covering of the lmr-400.

So far so good. 5+ years and counting.

 

[N_Jay]

. . .

When I solder my connections on to lmr-400 I use a solder with low melting point and a hot soldering iron not a gun and have been very successful. I also use amphenol pl 259 connectors.

So far so good. 5+ years and counting.

How do you test your connections?

 

[Mike_G_D]

Good thread - keep it going!

I have never had good success soldering connectors to large low loss coaxial cable. But that is me. In any case, I think a good crimp on connection done right is certainly better than a hit or miss solder on attempt. I have too many memories of funky looking smith chart readouts on a network analyzer when characterizing cables and connectors at 800MHz to 3GHz! So far I only trust myself with those compression fit F connectors. I'd like to be better at BNC's and N's on good 50 ohm cable so this thread is very interesting to my ignorant self!

-Mike

 

[kb0nly]

I prefer solder on connectors versus crimped, but thats just my preference after having crimped connectors that were done by a professional shop fail after a short amount of time. I'm not saying one way is better than the other though, because i have seen some crimped connectors that really will last the test of time. Its a crap shoot...

Installing connectors on LMR400 is no big deal, i've done it plenty of times, solder on. The biggest mistake i always see when it comes to applying too much heat is using cheap connectors, like the ones Rat Shack sell. They don't solder for crap, usually have a chrome or nickel look to them, sure they are nice and shiny but crap. I always use the silver plated variety, you can tell which ones are the silver plated because they have more of a dull gray finish kinda like aluminum, not really shiny, and they suck the solder up like a sponge, takes very little time for each hole with a hot iron, not long enough to cause damage.

I actually had a guy bet me one time that there was no way in heck that i could solder a PL-259 on LMR-400 without causing damage. I took that bet, told him to bring over a scrap and i will put one on. Grabbed a new silver plated connector, prepped the coax and put it on. After i put it on we then tested the cable, a short jumper about 5 ft long, and then i cut the coax about a half inch behind the PL-259 i soldered on and we examined the dilectric, no noticeable damage. Was fun watching him pay up.

Anyway, take your time, be patient, and it can be done. If you want a little info on installing PL-259's on RG-8 size coax go to my website, click on Hints & Tips on the left hand side, and then click on PL-259 Installation... For the record i don't consider myself an expert, but i get asked enough times by new hams how to put one on, so i decided to write up a quick reference. This is the way i have been doing them for about 15 years now, haven't had one fail yet.

 

[Hoofy]

"How do you test your connections?"

I'm not sure what you mean. If you mean electrically then I use a continuity tester. If you mean mechanically then I give them the ole try and twist them test. I've used this system on previous 9913 coax also with very good results.

There should be no stress on the solder portion of the connector so a high strength solder shouldn't be needed. That was my reasoning for the low temp solder.

I should add that I remove a little more of the outside plastic coating from the outside of the coax than needed and then when I tin the braid I tin more than needed, but very thinnly, then I cut through a portion of the tinned braid and foil and insulating material and it provides a smoother cut edge and you don't have any wild braid wires left. This is for Ham radio and scanner applications.

I cool the connector as soon as it it soldered with a wet towel to help keep the heat from migrating into the insulator portion.
I've read where if you nick the center conductor on the LMR 400 (I think this is copper clad aluminum) it can cause a heat problem if you use a high power source when transmitting through it.

 

[n8emr]

I just bought a crimper and PL 259 ends to be used with LMR 400. I did not get any instructions to exactly how to install this connector, anyone have a step by step guide so I don't goof this up? Thanks in Advance!!!

Did you buy the correct crimper and do you have the correct PL-259's ? There are a lot of JUNK crimpers. A good crimper is going to cost $100, a commerical one even more. Plus you need the coax cutter to make it look and work right, thats another $50. YOU need quality pl259's $5 each in small quality. The newer crimp technology does allow for good crimp connections, many of the commercial (wifi) crimped cables are done with a crimp press, not some hand tool.

I personally would spend the time to lear to solder, get the correct soldering iron and practice.

 

[NAVCAN]

Since about 5 years ago, when we install new ILS systems, every single N connector on LMR400 was soldered. From a maintenance standpoint, solder types make more sense, since if you need to rephase, or remove water from the connector, you can take it apart and clean it up without replacing the entire cable.

That being said, we now use crimp connectors for everything on LMR400. There were so many connectors to do (over 80 per Localiser, and over 50 per GlidePath), it just took too much time. Crimping everything cuts the assembly time in half if not more, and you do get improved reliability. It's much more difficult to phase the cables, but with some practice, it is easily achieved. The biggest problem we had with the solder types was small, almost invisible solder bridges between the shield and the pin, and pin breaks when aligning it to mate properly with pliers or whatever.

We still use the solder types on other types of equipment, but it's mostly until we get rid of the stockpile we have. They are reliable, you just have to be careful with the center pin.

Sorry for the long winded post!

 

[Alliance01TX]

LMR Crimping - Connectors

Just one (1) item to add to the fray....LMR Cables have specific connectors, per specs.....just in case your trying to use non-spec connectors.... and that too will make a difference in performance as well....just an fyi in case it was-not apparent...and crimping is almost the defacto standard for many folks working with LMR, especially if you are in very-cold / foul weather it can be rough holding an iron with extreme temps, et al..

Best

 

[W6KRU]

I am considering going to crimpon connectors because the bulk of the work I do is in the middle of desert. We have to fire up a generator to power the iron. I tried a butane torch and killed it on the first trip.

 

[smason]

Either solder or crimp if installed properly will work great.

For crimp, you need the correct connector for the cable, the correct tool, and the correct cable prep.

For soldered, you need the correct connector, the correct cable prep, and the skill to solder properly without messing it up. Both take, some skill.

I recently purchased a proper tool for compression connectors for RG6. Even though I'm a solder guy, I can whip on an RCA, BNC or F connector quickly and easily.

 

[wwhitby]

I've used crimp on connectors exclusively on a variety of cable sizes for the last 10 years. Besides the right tools, you also need quality connectors. Quality meaning connectors that won't fall apart when you crimp them on. Years ago, I had sworn off crimp on connectors after having no luck with Radio Shacks crimp on PL-259s.....

Last month, I installed a run of LMR-400 for my ATCSMon server feed. That was the first time I had used LMR-400. I used three piece crimp on BNCs and they went on without problems.

Warren