What would you replace it with?Why is it that ham guys love PL-259 connectors?
I'm just curious more than anything. In my current job, I come across the occasional old work that was run with rg-8 and terminated with pl-259's. Just about every time, the original cable run was garbage. Cable runs that are entirely too long for the cable type, cable running directly on ceiling tiles with a rats nest thrown in for good measure. Cable just being tossed across a roof to be blown around and what not. It's almost guaranteed that the connector wasn't even put on correctly. Just complete crap work. When you get curious and ask who did the work, it tends to be the "Oh, had my buddy do it a few years ago, he's a "ham guy" and knows a lot about this stuff."What would you replace it with?
I know the connector has it's uses, but now I just associate with somebodies garbage work.
Many hams that I know have never attached an N connector and can't solder a PL-259 to save their lives. N connectors are much easier to attach, somewhat weather resistant and constant impedance. They are more expensive. I think the ham radio community needs to pressure radio manufacturers to switch.
Back in the CB hay day I hated PL-259 coax connectors. I thought I was fairly good at soldering but I was never proud of my work on PL-259's. The ones I saw suposedly done my professionals either got too hot and ended up melting insulation or were cold joints that looked like Hell!
As has been mentioned above, almost all amateur base and mobile radios have mating SO-239 connectors on them, even recent models like the 2015 Icom IC-7300. This includes models that span the HF/6M/2M/440 frequency range. The relatively low power (10W) Icom IC-705 is bucking this trend however. Introduced in 2019, it uses a “New Technology” BNC connector.Why is it that ham guys love PL-259 connectors?
I haven't noticed it so much in recent years, but I can remember seeing hamfest vendors with signs advertising their cheap PL-259 connectors. As I recall, they were usually priced at $1 each, or less, with discounts for buying in bulk (usually poly bags of 5, 10, or 25 connectors). I remember looking at these connectors and thinking "these are pretty low quality". The connector bodies and shells were usually un-plated aluminum which seems like it would have long-term corrosion issues. The center pins might be gold or silver plated. The insulators appeared to be nylon or teflon. What struck me most was the poor quality of the machining. The solder holes drilled through the body often had burrs on them. The threads on the bodies and the shells were rough so the two parts would not screw together smoothly. Just not a quality product, in my opinion....and connect it all together with crappy, no-name PL-259s...
(and have even converted my CBs over to N).
I haven't noticed it so much in recent years, but I can remember seeing hamfest vendors with signs advertising their cheap PL-259 connectors. As I recall, they were usually priced at $1 each, or less, with discounts for buying in bulk (usually poly bags of 5, 10, or 25 connectors). I remember looking at these connectors and thinking "these are pretty low quality". The connector bodies and shells were usually un-plated aluminum which seems like it would have long-term corrosion issues. The center pins might be gold or silver plated. The insulators appeared to be nylon or teflon. What struck me most was the poor quality of the machining. The solder holes drilled through the body often had burrs on them. The threads on the bodies and the shells were rough so the two parts would not screw together smoothly. Just not a quality product, in my opinion.
Why is it that ham guys love PL-259 connectors?