Posted: 6/19/2016 11:40:47 PM EDT
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Making coax for Field Day. I've got 200' of RG-8X out in the shop that I have cut into four 50' sections. I've just
soldered PL-259's on each end of all four. This reminded me of some things... So, a few tips. PUT THE SHELL ON FIRST!!!! On .400" coax just fold the braid back over the jacket and screw on the body of the PL-259. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qPlcT9SXNPs Of course, RG-8X requires a reducer and soldering the braid through the holes of the body of the PL-259. Again, PUT THE SHELL ON FIRST. PUT THE REDUCER ON NEXT. Tip #1. Use Amphenol Silver Plated PL-259's. They are MUCH easier to solder. Use a little rosin paste flux. Should you do as I sometimes do, get solder on the threads of the body, it will make it impossible to screw the shell up into position. Ruined! Cut it off and start over... no, you don't have to do this, it can be easily salvaged. As soon as you have the four holes soldered, cool the PL-259 with a wet cloth. Tip #2, WEARING YOUR SAFETY GLASSES, simply use a Dremel tool with the small 3/4" diameter steel wire brush, tool turned up to medium high (30,000 rpm) and brush away the excess solder. Takes only seconds and you will have the soft solder cleaned out of the threads. You can also clean excess solder from the tip of the PL-259 should you have a too large drop of solder there. |
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I hate soldering PL259s. They are one of the hardest things I have ever had to solder. I bought a monster soldering iron just for them. I just made up a couple of one foot jumpers with RG8X a few weeks ago. I used a little heat shrink for strain relief. Plus I think it gives them a nice finished look. You could smear some sealant on the end of the connector before heat shrinking if it is going to be used outdoors.  These connectors are just cheap ones that have 2 rectangular windows instead of the 4 holes, but they actually weren't any easier or harder to solder than an amphenol connector. Besides the chrome or nickel or whatever plating seems to resist corrosion better than the silver ones. Of course I have silver reducers on these so there is probably some issue with dissimilar metals that might create a semiconductor junction or something screwy.  I will definitely commit the wire brush tip to memory. |
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The heat required to solder PL-259's is very damaging. Any way that they are soldered sucks. I'm more and more
coming into the "crimp-on" camp. The first time I saw the "twist it on over the braid" method I had doubts. The more I think about it the more I think in the long run this is the better method. And no one is having failures from this method. I squirt some sealant into the holes. The tip is soldered, of course. Checking the prices at DX Engineering, the cost of good crimp-on's is about the same as solder-on type, so why not? |
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Quoted:
The heat required to solder PL-259's is very damaging. Any way that they are soldered sucks. I'm more and more coming into the "crimp-on" camp. The first time I saw the "twist it on over the braid" method I had doubts. The more I think about it the more I think in the long run this is the better method. And no one is having failures from this method. I squirt some sealant into the holes. The tip is soldered, of course. Checking the prices at DX Engineering, the cost of good crimp-on's is about the same as solder-on type, so why not? I just used the DX engineering crimp on pl-259s to installed two antennas. The thing I like about the crimp on is I can install them very easily outside and don't need a soldering station, all I need is my butane powered bernsomatic for soldering the tips - which takes about 1 minute. |
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Quoted:
I just used the DX engineering crimp on pl-259s to installed two antennas. The thing I like about the crimp on is I can install them very easily outside and don't need a soldering station, all I need is my butane powered bernsomatic for soldering the tips - which takes about 1 minute. Quoted:
Quoted:
The heat required to solder PL-259's is very damaging. Any way that they are soldered sucks. I'm more and more coming into the "crimp-on" camp. The first time I saw the "twist it on over the braid" method I had doubts. The more I think about it the more I think in the long run this is the better method. And no one is having failures from this method. I squirt some sealant into the holes. The tip is soldered, of course. Checking the prices at DX Engineering, the cost of good crimp-on's is about the same as solder-on type, so why not? I just used the DX engineering crimp on pl-259s to installed two antennas. The thing I like about the crimp on is I can install them very easily outside and don't need a soldering station, all I need is my butane powered bernsomatic for soldering the tips - which takes about 1 minute. Yep butane soldering for the win. 
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The subject 'PL-259 installation tip' should be followed by "Don't do it".
If you're going for the cost & hassle of creating new long coax leads for outdoor use or could possibly be used for VHF just switch to N connectors. Or BNC. It's time to leave the 1940's and modernize. On the back of my dash mounted ft-2800 is a SO-239 to BNC adaptor. The coax to the NMO-antenna mount is BNC-N. As I've been replacing my original RG-8x feed lines I have done the following: All of my surge protectors are N-type female. All of the coax runs from there to the antenna feedline are low-loss coax, some LMR-600 some Davis BuryFlex with N-type males. The coax feed panel in my window uses N bulkheads. I'll used SO-239 adapters on the inside for now. And at the antennas until I move them to N. Some comparison test results. [updated to correct typo on NMO-antenna.] |
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You could also blow, or rap the connector on a solid surface, the solder will flow off.
If you're not careful, you can abrade the surfaces with the dremel, giving corrosion a place to take hold. Aren't you getting a lot of energy loss with multiple 259 splices? |