#347 RF Connectors

Notes on miscellaneous RF connectors.

Notes

All about Radio Frequency connectors and cables, typical applications:

• between VCR and TV receiver (back in the day!)
• into cable TV, satellite dish
• cable modems
• ham radio
• test equipment

Typically use coaxial cable.

“UHF” Connector

UHF Connector is dated terminology for RF connections using SO-239 (socket) and PL-259 (plug).

• most common type used on HF, also used for VHF, UHF
• scientific, test equipment
• see UHF connector - wikipedia

BNC Connectors

BNC - Bayonet Neill–Concelman.

• used on VHF, UHF, sometiems HF. Use in RF applications is gradually fading.
• widely used outside of RF e.g. test equipment etc

See also:

• BNC Connector - wikipedia
• BNC Connector Series - Amphenol. From 50 Ω to 75 Ω Impedance

How to install a BNC connector on RG-58 coax

w2aew has a great video on crimping your own RG-58 connectors:

A similar technique works for RG174, although with those I find extreme care is required not to destroy the inner pin (I’ve destroyed a few with just a little extra force when crimping)

Crimping Tools

I have an AN-02H1 crimping tool, which conveniently handles RG58 and RG174, among many others.

SMA connector

• commonly used on VHF and above
• used in low-power, mobile

SMA (SubMiniature version A) connectors are semi-precision coaxial RF connectors. SMA connectors can be visually confused with the standard household 75-ohm type F coax connector

Type N

The N connector is a threaded, weatherproof, medium-size RF connector used to join coaxial cables.

• used for high power on VHF, UHF and above

F Connector

• F Quick Connect - non-threaded, goes over thread
• used RF splitter
• RF adapter - F connect to RCA
• F connector - wikipedia
• F-Type connector series - Amphenol’s F-Type is a 75 Ω connector featuring 30 dB return loss at 1GHz.

Coaxial Cable

• Coaxial cable - wikipedia
• RG-58/U - 50Ω Used for radiocommunication and amateur radio, thin Ethernet (10BASE2) and NIM electronics, Loss 1.056 dB/m @ 2.4 GHz. Common.[22]
• RG-59/U - 75Ω Used to carry baseband video in closed-circuit television, previously used for cable television. In general, it has poor shielding but will carry an HQ HD signal or video over short distances
• RG-174/U - 50Ω - Common for Wi-Fi pigtails: more flexible but higher loss than RG58; used with LEMO 00 connectors in NIM electronics.
• RG-213/U - 50Ω - For radiocommunication and amateur radio, EMC test antenna cables. Typically lower loss than RG58. Common.[30]

Typical Crimp Die sizes

Resources and Tutorials

RF Connectors and what they’re for: AD#35

Credits and References

• Practical Electronics: Components and Techniques
• Tech Basics: Cables & Connectors - udemy course
• Coax Connectors - Peculiar Parts, the series - elektor article
• AN-02H1 RG58 RG59 RG62 crimper BNC fiber optic Crimping Tool for crimping coaxial cable connectors
• BNC Connector Series - Amphenol. From 50 Ω to 75 Ω Impedance
• Coaxial cable - wikipedia
• BNC Connector - wikipedia
• F connector - wikipedia
• F-Type connector series - Amphenol’s F-Type is a 75 Ω connector featuring 30 dB return loss at 1GHz.
• ..as mentioned on my blog