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General Vintage Technology Discussions For general discussions about vintage radio and other vintage electronics etc. |
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12th Aug 2020, 1:34 pm | #61 | |
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Re: The most horrid connector ever...
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12th Aug 2020, 1:48 pm | #62 | ||
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Re: The most horrid connector ever...
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Funny old world! Martin
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12th Aug 2020, 1:53 pm | #63 |
Heptode
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Re: The most horrid connector ever...
Yes, these connectors are designed more to allow water to escape from them rather than them actually being waterproof, and yes the socket should have a cover, we have hundreds of the things (over 700!) at work and they all have covers.
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12th Aug 2020, 2:05 pm | #64 | |
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Re: The most horrid connector ever...
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12th Aug 2020, 2:18 pm | #65 |
Heptode
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Re: The most horrid connector ever...
At one time I would have said PL259 but once assembled they are pretty bullet proof and some I assembled years ago, except for possible losses with old cable, are still serviceable.
These days I would say USB and similar miniature connectors. It's perhaps often cable faults or, more often, cable to connector interface but these assemblies cause all manner of issues after, often small, periods of use. They are used for many things that they are not really up to. How many people have had to replace an ipad, or similar, charging lead? |
12th Aug 2020, 2:26 pm | #66 | ||
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Re: The most horrid connector ever...
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I wonder whether officialdom would regard me as a sufficiently competent person to modify the installation with a rain skirt. But I still think it needs a drain hole.......... Martin
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12th Aug 2020, 2:29 pm | #67 |
Dekatron
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Re: The most horrid connector ever...
How about those horrid PCB mounted screw terminal blocks.
They are like half a chocolate block soldered into a PCB. If you remake one the little shiny plate between the screw and the wire blocks the hole stopping you putting the wire back in again. |
12th Aug 2020, 2:36 pm | #68 | |
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Re: The most horrid connector ever...
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12th Aug 2020, 2:38 pm | #69 |
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Re: The most horrid connector ever...
Yes. but I still think the lid should be attached to the fixed part. I believe the connectors will still mate if both parts have a lid, but as this connection is "permanent" lids probably serve little purpose apart from stopping the socket pulling or dropping out of the plug. The lid latches onto a lug.
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12th Aug 2020, 2:39 pm | #70 | |
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Re: The most horrid connector ever...
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12th Aug 2020, 2:41 pm | #71 |
Nonode
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Re: The most horrid connector ever...
The F Connector, whilst at first glance a cheapo minimalist job, does have the distinct advantage of a reliable high pressure connection on to the solid copper inner conductor. Much better than an unsoldered Belling Lee coax plug with the inner conductor rattling about in the tubular centre pin..
Martin
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12th Aug 2020, 2:41 pm | #72 |
Nonode
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Re: The most horrid connector ever...
The only good PL259 are those with a nut, rubber pressure ring and the metal insert that pushes in between the centre insulation and inside the braid. Of decent manufacture as well, like Greenpar or Amphenol. Usually silver plated and with ptfe insulation. I am afraid the cheap copies or worse "simplified" types are a waste of time. A decent make, correctly fitted gives a solid connection electrically and mechanically. Used by Pye Telecom by the thousand at hf and vhf. I never found them a problem.
Unfortunately, the cb expert taxi driver type, when faced with fitting a bnc to an aerial cable, has on more than one occasion just cut everything off and used choc blocks! Or, threw most parts away and tried fitting it like a satellite plug! It was satisfying to know that the correction of this bodge could result in a hefty charge if they were a rental or maintenance contract customer. Rob
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12th Aug 2020, 4:33 pm | #73 |
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Re: The most horrid connector ever...
As long as you have the correct tool, many legacy RF connectors are available in crimp versions, eliminating the need for three hands.
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12th Aug 2020, 5:01 pm | #74 |
Dekatron
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Re: The most horrid connector ever...
The "older" and "newer" crimp versions of the generic PL-259/UHF/F+E and probably several other colloquialisms for the same thing were at least easier to terminate than the solder versions (I still have a pair of Oetiker crimps for older type and different gauges of hex crimp for the newer type) but didn't overcome its other inherent problems. The castellated screen contact arrangement is a very poor and inconsistent way of doing things, thank goodness the likes of the BNC and other connectors ousted it.
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12th Aug 2020, 5:02 pm | #75 |
Dekatron
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Re: The most horrid connector ever...
Crimp connectors are good: when I was specifying building-infrastructure I always used to require coax cables [thick/thinwire Ethernet, G.703 and IBM '3270'] to be installed with crimps.
As mentioned, the 'clamp gland' PL259 plugs are probably the way to go for most people; much better than the silly solder-through-the-hole-in-the-side-and-melt-the-insulation-into-a-gooey-mess variety. A clamp-gland is largely waterproof too; moreso if you put a bit of silicone grease in there before tightening. |
12th Aug 2020, 5:08 pm | #76 |
Octode
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Re: The most horrid connector ever...
Duraplug disease I acquired piles of these from work when they went to shielded pins. I don't mind un-shielded - but I do mind that they're so old now that the moulded-in brass ferrule which holds the top on, often breaks off on attempting to pull the plug out, leaving exposed live pins.
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12th Aug 2020, 5:13 pm | #77 |
Octode
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Re: The most horrid connector ever...
I wonder if the designers of the terrible connectors ever tried to use one in the field.
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12th Aug 2020, 5:24 pm | #78 |
Nonode
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Re: The most horrid connector ever...
Can I place a vote for my current least favourite connector, the Superspeed/USB 3.0 version of the micro USB connector? It's absolutely awful. Taking an already fiddly connector, making it wider, hanging a great big thick cable on the back of it, and making the sockets surface-mount only means that it's almost guaranteed to pull the entire socket and the pads off the PCB even with careful handling. It also suffers from the SCART problem of the cable being much too heavy and inflexible for the connector, so it falls out.
Utter rubbish, and happily mostly obsoleted by the (much more reliable) USB type C. Chris
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12th Aug 2020, 5:24 pm | #79 |
Dekatron
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Re: The most horrid connector ever...
The rubber 5/13/15A Duraplugs (and their 'Hercules'-branded counterparts sold by Woolworths) had an annoying feature that over time the sulphur used to vulcanise the rubber would egress and cause all the terminals under the cover to go black. This was only really a problem with the 13A versions, where it corroded the fuse and the fuse-clips.
Also, if they weren't plugged into anything for a while the rubber base-part would distort and the 3 pins would end up tilting inwards by a few mm so they needed to be wrestled into the socket when you came to use them again - a particular problem, I found, back in the days when I had an electric lawnmower and the extension-lead would spend the winter unused in the shed. Finally, after a few years the brass insert in the cover that took the screw which held the cover to the main body would sometimes pull-out, meaning the cover came off in your hands and exposed the still-active fuse/terminals. I'm glad the MK "ToughPlug", with its Nylon cover, came along! |
12th Aug 2020, 5:26 pm | #80 |
Octode
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Re: The most horrid connector ever...
Not keen on the side swipe type of connections, where the fixed 'U channel' is meant to cut through the wire insulation and grip the wire. Had no end where the wire either breaks inside the insulation or does not make connection due to it's insulation. Typically used in the telecoms industry and I have also had them break at the base of the said 'U'.
Also if you think 3.5mm 4 pole jacks are bad, wait while you attempt a 2.5mm 4 pole version and yes they do exist! Another hate of mine is cheap crimp on BNC plugs, that don't have a means of clamping the inner wire core, it's just a push fit. These are absolutely useless and should all be melted down to make something that actually works! |