Notice in my selection of these, some appear to cater for difference sizes of the inner core insulation. And perhaps different sizes of the outer, too.
Is there a way of specifying the correct ones, and what are the various types called? Or does it actually matter, assuming no shorts?
Normally they spec the cable diameter in mm. If you get the wrong one, they won't fit correctly or likely, at all. So for example, the "normal" twist on plugs fit ~7mm co-ax, but are too large to fit on the 5mm "shotgun" style figure eight pair cables. (having said that I have been able to bodge those by increasing the effective diameter with a few turns of insulating tape to make up some extra diameter)
Connectors are suited to the cable
I do not think the hole for the inner core matters too much, but the internal diameter to fit WF100/CT100 co ax should be about 6.5mm. However if you are mounting them on shotgun cable as supplied by Sky then the internal diameter is smaller, I cannot recall the actual size but obviously less than 6.5mm.
Richard
Satcure used to be so good but now they have closed and the website just provides info. They once sent me some F Plugs which were a bit small. When I complained they sent some some larger replacements FOC. I thin silicone grease of maybe be vaseline might help to wind the plug onto the cable.
Oh yes it does!
It doesn't help the OP if you post innacurate thoughts.
I've always respected the wisdom behind your posts until npw and certainly never thought of you as being a cowboy but recomending bodging a connection like this for the sake of a few coppers for the correct connector has destroyed my faith in you, I'm afraid.
The type description should tell you which cable it is designed for - RG59, RG6, CT/WF100 or 'shotgun' cable.
Shotgun cable refers to two cables, in this context identical with the sheaths moulded as one giving the appearance of a double barrelled shotgun. I've found sorces of both WF100 and RG6 shotgun cable but the type favoured by Sky installers will almost certainly be WF65 or a cheap imitation.
The connector should be a snug fit for the inner dielectric and foil screen. This should automatically ensure that the connector also is the correct size for the outer sheath'
Here are the sizes for the various cables:
Type inner outer RG59 3.8mm 6.1mm RG6 4.8mm 6.9mm CT100 4.6mm 6.7mm WF65 2.9mm 4.6mm
As you can see, there is virtually no difference between CT/WF100 and RG6 cable and the same connector should fit either.
One further point. CT100 cable is semi airstaced and I don't know if it is still available (it kinks easily) and a superior foam filled type (F) is used these days. The first letter will vary because it identifies the manufacturer and is usually W or P. However, these are ofter called as well as sold using the generic CT100 title although they are not!
If you are buying cable, buy WF100 rather than the cheaper RG6. WF100 has a a guaranteed spec/performance wheas RG6 is a type, not a spec and can vary widely, as Bill Wright has posted at length in the past!
It's a perfectly legitimate thing to do, given that cable diameters vary so much and are not standardised. I do it and I've never had a problem with it. You have to use proper tape though with the correct adhesive.
Incidentally, at one time the cable size was indicated on the barrel of the plug by the number of engraved circles, but that's fallen into disuse.
Bill
As long as a large cable isn't plugged into a standard socket, then replaced with a smaller size.
Bill
As an aside to this discussion, crimp plugs are nicest.
Bill
I'm aware that samples of the same basic type of cable can have variations in the diameter of the outer sheath, Bill - I think PF100 is smaller than WF100, for example, but by shotgun cable I assumed the smaller size cable so we are looking at a
2.9mm inner dielectric passing through a nominal 4.8mm hole. That is what I object to, Bill.
Agreed, Bill, particularly the modern types with fool proof tooling.
The earlier type that was an entirely manual strip was a pain and many installers estimate of strip lengths was way off!
I recall a headline in a US cable magazine when I first became involved with public CATV networks in 1990 which read something like:
"The humble F connector costs us 8¢ and $70 for a truck roll if it is fitted badly."
Well your call.
Keep in mind I am not a professional aerial rigger - I have a toolbox dedicated to working on that kind of stuff, not a fully stocked out van. So a couple of packs of different sized F connectors usually seem to cope with all the installations I am called on to do.
Now I was not suggesting it is the right and proper way (hence why I use the term "bodge"), but having said that, I can't see it's much of an issue. If you think about it, you add tape, then fold the braid back over the widened jacket. So you maintain full screening as before, and I would be surprised if you could detect much difference in impedance from a connection made with the slimmer barrel plug. All you are doing is adding enough additional plastic to get a good interference fit with the threads on the plug and the braid.
Also look at the bigger picture, lets say the shit really does hit the fan and the wire pulls out of the plug, someone is going to get sub optimal TV reception until they fix it, its not going to blow their nuts off!
Apologies for lengthy post.
Perhaps I'm a bit oversensitive about this because of an experience I had many years ago when I was commissioning the headend equipment for what was then ntl: for their DTV rollout. We'd covered a large area of the country without any major problems until we got to a small hub fed from the Poole headend.
One feed had a terrible error performance and was completely unuseable. We checked equipment at both ends - nothing found - the passive components - nothing found.
Then we tried swapping the cable with another - the fault moved with the cable - but what could be wrong with it? There was no sign of any damage anywhere and it would have taken some time to re-run it but it was our last day there and time was running out.
Then a colleague spotted something - "come and look at this", he said.
Now the cable we were using was Commscope RG59 Headend cable: triple screened (one foil, two woven) and, unusually, it had a particularly clear solid dielectric.
I've no idea what it was because solid polyethylene cables have a very poor performance at UHF whilst this one had an identical spec to a foam dielectric version. It was a very heavy cable and incedibly flexible, thus making it ideal for headend work.
Unfortunately, Commscope no longer make this cable and appear now to just distribute cable from other manufacturers, so I can't find a specification.
It always looked blue which, in fact was the colour of the adhesive layer between it and the foil shielding.
In this case, however, one (the faulty one) didn't look quite as blue as the other. So we cut the plug off. While one of us prepared the cable and fitted a new F connector, the other managed to remove the remains of the cable from the connector.
With a new connector, the fault cleared and that feed performed spledidly. As for the dimembered cable, we found that when it was being prepped, a small triangulat piece of the screening foil had somehow been torn off one side.
Hence I remain very fussy about using the correct connector to match the cable - apart from the prepping, of course.
I quite agree that some cables might have different outer dimensions which might need compensating for but the inside of the connector? That is entirely different!
I've only needed F-connectors at home and have preferred to use these (inside and out):
SteveW
For that type, it will be more critical certainly... however for the more common type:
Although again one could add a couple of turns of tape round that as well to better match the hole through the plug :-))
[none needed]
OOI, was the bit of screen simply missing or was it lost elsewhere in the connector?
I have no problem with that - especially in critical installations like a CATV distribution point...
On the occasion I first needed to terminate a bit of sky installers shotgun cable and did not have the small F plugs to hand, it was an install for a mate who was too cheap to want a proper outlet box fixed on the wall, and just wanted the end of the downlead from the LNB connected to the back of the sky box. A slightly less critical application I would say!
Yes fine details matter, but not always enough to actually impact performance in every situation.
Oh yeah, well, that would be taking the piss really. I'm taking about small adjustments using one or at most two turns of tape. Apologies for misunderstanding.
Bill
A common problem is that a turning made when the thread is cut remains in the plug and shorts it out. Always look inside the plug and even blow through it.
Bill
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