What type of F connectors+

[tanda35]

to use for Rg6/U cable I own? Compression or crimp. At my lowes, they sell a kit with a compression tool and f connectors that say they are for quad. Will they work with my /u?

 

[voomvoom]

I only get/use Compression Connectors these days. If the kit @ Lowes says the connectors will work for Quad, I'm sure they will. If not, you can take the kit back.

 

[rv1pop]

And from Lowes,probably a reasonable price.

 

[Mr Tony]

compression all the way

 

[Mike500]

Compression, and even better...................

Enclose ALL connections in a weatherproof enclosure.

 

[updatelee]

thomas and betts compression connectors, I use the fconn, bnc, and rca ones, all excellent. same tool for all.

 

[Tron]

Definitely use compression fittings. I like PPC EX6 fittings for F connectors (now available as re-branded Ideal fittings at Home Depot), or get them from Fleabay MUCH cheaper. I also like ICM F-Conn for RCA and BNC.

 

[lownote2]

Sounds like the winner is compression. I'd never use crimp on connectors. Especially outside in weather. A good compression connector like thomas and betts, digicon, ppc, sterling, perfect visioin, etc is a good fitting. I personally like the PPC series but have used others without issue.

 

[pedrogarcia]

There can be no doubt compression is far better than crimp connectors. In the UAE I used compression and what us Brits call self amalgamating rubber tape (not sure what it is called in the US) due to high humidity and temperature differentials which caused a capilliary leakage using US coax that had a harder outer sheathing. When we switched to Italian coax which had a more pliable outer no problem and I have to say it had a better spec and all copper sheathings.
I always thought crimped connectors were specially made to make cheap instalations and have I seen some real nasty Dish & Direct installs. I don't think they even supply them with crimping tools.

 

[Sadoun]

Compression connectors are the way to go, specially for motorized installation.

The PPC EX6XL are UNIVERSAL connectors that will work on Dual or Quad Shielded cables.

 

[pedrogarcia]

This thread mentions the best connectors but equally important is the cable. The best has to be copper foil sheaths as opposed to aluminum but the outer is equally important as I have found some to go porous in higher temperature areas.
Comments welcome please

 

[nydiver]

This thread mentions the best connectors but equally important is the cable. The best has to be copper foil sheaths as opposed to aluminum but the outer is equally important as I have found some to go porous in higher temperature areas.
Comments welcome please

In the past few years alot more development has begun into the cables we're using. As bandwidth expectations increase so has the need to redesign cable we once were fine with because it passed sufficient signal, gone are those days where a soldered together splice mid-reel was common place. A few vendors still pawn off this garbage as quality. The old adage of "you get what you paid for" doesn't have to hold water either. Some of the most exspensive, professionally sold cable when tested turned out to be no better and in some cases lower in quality than some of the medium priced import cable. Its all about the care and quality that goes into the cable.

Many variables attribute to the overall quality of the cable, the braid and its density plays a large role in the bandwidth capability of a cable, consistancy of the braid wrap, the overlay, the purity of the copper in the braid. The foil on the dielectric, AL or CU, deosn't matter, does it have the proper layering of metal and plastic elastemers (that isn't a solid metal foil, its metal and platic layers) is it properly bonded? does it create a solid 360 containment shield? is the dielectric properly made to ensure consistant impedence, even thru -40 to +140 degrees Farenheit? Is the center conductor bonded to the dielectric? is the bonding agent uniform? Is the jacket UV stabilized? if PVC what is the density of the jacket? is it temperature stable? Is it truely swept to 3GHz? Can I see a spectrum analysis of each reel I buy?

Ok so I got into questions you need to ask yourself, but fact is there is a LOT of crap cable out there, some middle of the road stuff, and then theres satellite level cable. Cable TV has yet to feel the pinch of the cables limitations, we're there now....

 

[pedrogarcia]

Sorry you are mistaken Al or Cu does indeed matter.
Many of the variables you mention are out of our control as consumers. I notice imported Chinese cable in the US does not meet the specs actually written on it.
The answer is only to purchase cable from a trusted warranteed US or EU manufacturer. Cable choice is probably more impotant than connectors, or even LNBs.

 

[skysurfer]

definitely compression. I just got my compression tool and connectors kit the other day and I made up a pair of 100 foot cables to do an experiment with a DVB-S2 8PSK signal using a dish about 100 feet away from my receiver.

Using the same spool of cable (RG-6 quad shield, with copper clad steel center) I made one cable with crimp connectors and made one cable with compression connectors (my first compression connector installation). I got .3 db more signal to noise with compression fittings than I did crimp fittings. that can mean quite a bit if you are that close to margin on a digital signal. With crimp, you might be just into tiling, while with compression fittings you should have no tiling. I was well above tiling signal/noise with my test signal so I would have had perfect reception with either cable, but I was impressed how just a connector makes that much of a gain in s/n.

I'm going to save my crimps for those problematic satellite cables (one of existing c-band dish (not used for testing) cables had the foil center shield loosened from the dialetric when I tried to change crimp for compression so you can't put a compression connector on) or use the crimps for tv or lower frequency RG-6 stuff. The rest of my 13 dishes I'm getting around to putting compressions on so I get the best performance possible.

 

[Tron]

Another factor in the favor of compression connectors is its ability to withstand pullout forces of 80 pounds or more. The cable and shield are well anchored in a compression connector. This is not always the case with crimp connectors, and certainly is not the case with twist-ons.

 

[skysurfer]

Another factor in the favor of compression connectors is its ability to withstand pullout forces of 80 pounds or more.

I can attest to that (maybe not 80 pounds of force) but the fact the compression connector can withstand pullout forces.

I put a compression connector on my 120cm dish, I hooked up my signal meter to the LNB coax, I forgot to anchor my 1 pound or so signal meter to a support arm or something in case I dropped it or it slipped, and the meter slipped from where I had it perched and the meter stopped short of the ground by the coax that had a compression connector on it. No harm to the meter but it did take about a 4 foot fall and jolt when the length of coax became taut. The other end, also a compression connector to the LNB, also did great.

if I have a need to remove a compression connector for whatever reason in the future, I'll try to pull it off first rather than just cut it off, but I know it should be on there really good.

 

[pedrogarcia]

Using the same spool of cable (RG-6 quad shield, with copper clad steel center) I made one cable with crimp connectors and made one cable with compression connectors (my first compression connector installation). I got .3 db more signal to noise with compression fittings than I did crimp fittings. that can mean quite a bit if you are that close to margin on a digital signal. With crimp, you might be just into tiling, while with compression fittings you should have no tiling. I was well above tiling signal/noise with my test signal so I would have had perfect reception with either cable, but I was impressed how just a connector makes that much of a gain in s/n.

I don't think you can draw this conclusion that the connectors make the difference. Nydiver touched on the problems of dielectric and bonding espceially since you mention steel centre. I would warrant the difference is in the cable despite being the same roll. What would be interesting if you have the time to replace the crimps with compression connectors on that cable and remeasure.

Having said that I still prefer compression.