It isn't fancy but very easy to do what I did 20 years ago on the phasing lines for 80m 4 Square. I just cut pieces of 5/8" aluminum tubing about 2 inches long and used a band saw to make four slits in each end. Perfect fit over the 1/2" hardline and PL-259 barrel. Then a little Noalox and hose clamps for the CATV end and the barrel of the PL-259 plus a good taping job. Never had a problem.
3/4" hardline connectors are really nice using a 3/4" (inside threads) to 1/2" (straight with no threads) copper fitting that can be self threaded onto the hardline. You need to be able to remove the guts of an Amphenol PL-258 to solder it inside the copper fitting. A dental tool works pretty well for removing the retainer ring. I have used those for over 40 years and have never had one fail. 73... Stan, K5GO > On Jun 4, 2020, at 2:00 PM, <[email protected]> <[email protected]> wrote: > > Hi Guys, > There is an article in one of the ham magazines from years ago that > describes how to make an adapter from brass tubing compression sleve fittings > (from auto parts store) that adapts from 1/2 inch CATV Hardline cable to UHF > male connectors RG-8 size. Anti-oxidants required. I have been doing this for > years with no problems at 1500 watts. There is a pair on my 80 meter 4-square > as we speak. Its been so long that I have since forgotten where the article > was. Perhaps an internet search would bring it up. I would write something up > but I have my hands full at the moment with cleaning up after a tornado like > storm with 100 MPH winds that went right over my house. Minimal damage except > for the top 1/3 of my 160 vertical and lots of tall trees down in what's left > of the yard. All else is fine with nothing I can't repair. > Good luck. > Lee K7TJR Culver OR > > > Clamps do work ok with CATV hardline, but you have to be careful as it is > very easy to crush the hardline. Also, waterproofing is always a pain. > > As W7WKR posted, I also adapt pin connectors, which are the standard way of > terminating catv hardline. Here are some comments: > > Pin connectors have the same thread size (5/8") that is found on so-239s or N > connectors. They are fairly cheap to buy new or can be found on ebay. One > difficulty with pin connectors compared to many other hardline connectors is > that it is nearly impossible to install them on catv hardline unless you have > a coring tool of the right size to fit the hardline. This is because the pin > connectors clamp onto the shield from both sides, so you have to completely > remove the insulation from the hardline for 1-2" back up into the cable. > Coring tools are > $100 new, but I have found them used for $20-$40. The used > ones are often pretty worn out: however, with care you can sharpen the > cutting parts with a file or stone, which makes a big difference. It can also > be tricky to figure out how much center conductor you need sticking out for a > given pin connector- some of the connectors have little tick marks on the > outside that show the correct length to cut the center conductor. > > Once you have the pin connector on, then: > > 1. For type N: the body of a "clamp" type N connector will screw directly > onto the pin connector (discard the smaller clamp part with male threads that > normally goes on the RG-8). I just cut the pin to length and file the end > down to a point. You do have to be careful that the point is not too wide, > otherwise it might break the female contact. > > 2. For UHF: there are similar clamp-type UHF connectors available with the > same 5/8 thread in the connector body. Here is one example: > > https://www.w5swl.com/Coax-Connector-UHF-Female-Clamp-fits-RG-8AU-RG-213-Series-Cable--by-W5SWL_p_466.html > > just cut the pin to the right length, solder on the center female connector, > and screw the body on. > > 3. You can also just drill a hole in a metal box and attach the pin connector > with a nut meant to go on SO239s. > > There are also splice connectors to join two pieces of hardline. These are > nice because they don't require any waterproofing. There are also some that > end in an F connector instead of a pin. > > Tor > N4OGW > > > > > > r > > _________________ > Searchable Archives: http://www.contesting.com/_topband - Topband Reflector _________________ Searchable Archives: http://www.contesting.com/_topband - Topband Reflector
