I would like to make my own custom-length coax cables. What are the
best cable cutter, stripper and crimper for the money? (I'm assuming
three seperate tools here). I don't want to spend too much money since
this is just for around the house and not pro, but I don't want cheap
junk that's a waste of money either.

wrote:
I would like to make my own custom-length coax cables. What are the
best cable cutter, stripper and crimper for the money? (I'm assuming
three seperate tools here). I don't want to spend too much money since
this is just for around the house and not pro, but I don't want cheap
junk that's a waste of money either.

What kind of coax are you planning on using? There is a big difference
between RG-174/U and LMR400.

Travis Jordan wrote:
What kind of coax are you planning on using? There is a big
difference between RG-174/U and LMR400.

And what connectors? BNC, F, Type N, SMC, Mini UHF, TNC, or ?

In article .com,
says...
I would like to make my own custom-length coax cables. What are the
best cable cutter, stripper and crimper for the money? (I'm assuming
three seperate tools here). I don't want to spend too much money since
this is just for around the house and not pro, but I don't want cheap
junk that's a waste of money either.

For my basic home TV cable use, I just use reqular wire cutters for
the cable. For stripping and the F connectors, I have a Sargent 8600ESC
(for RG6 and 59). It strips the end, you put on a Snap-N-Seal type
connector, insert it into a holder, and screw down a little thumbscrew
to push it on.

--
If there is a no_junk in my address, please REMOVE it before replying!
All junk mail senders will be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the
law!!
http://home.att.net/~andyross

Travis Jordan wrote:
wrote:
I would like to make my own custom-length coax cables. What are the
best cable cutter, stripper and crimper for the money? (I'm assuming
three seperate tools here). I don't want to spend too much money since
this is just for around the house and not pro, but I don't want cheap
junk that's a waste of money either.

What kind of coax are you planning on using? There is a big difference
between RG-174/U and LMR400.

RG-6 or 59

Travis Jordan wrote:
Travis Jordan wrote:
What kind of coax are you planning on using? There is a big
difference between RG-174/U and LMR400.

And what connectors? BNC, F, Type N, SMC, Mini UHF, TNC, or ?

F

Home Despot has a nice cutter/stripper and crimp tool set for about $26.
Works well on RG-6 and 59. Completely redid my cable system with them.
Use only the gold terminals, spltters and crimp barrels, and high
quality coax cable.
JR

wrote:

I would like to make my own custom-length coax cables. What are the
best cable cutter, stripper and crimper for the money? (I'm assuming
three seperate tools here). I don't want to spend too much money since
this is just for around the house and not pro, but I don't want cheap
junk that's a waste of money either.



--
--------------------------------------------------------------
Home Page: http://www.seanet.com/~jasonrnorth

Use only the gold terminals, spltters and crimp barrels,

Waste of money, no benefit.

"toronado455" wrote in message
oups.com...

Travis Jordan wrote:
wrote:
I would like to make my own custom-length coax cables. What are the
best cable cutter, stripper and crimper for the money? (I'm assuming
three seperate tools here). I don't want to spend too much money since
this is just for around the house and not pro, but I don't want cheap
junk that's a waste of money either.

What kind of coax are you planning on using? There is a big difference
between RG-174/U and LMR400.

RG-6 or 59


Yes, the Snap-N-Seal versions are used by majority of CATV companies now for
home drops -
and are best choice - easy to install !
My local store - home DIY and building contractors
http://www.tselectronic.com/index.html

April specials (download PDF)
http://www.tselectronic.com/flier.pdf

There are specific connectors for each cable type RG-6/U Quad (purple) and
RG-6/U Dual shielded (blue) and RG-59/U Dual shield (Orange).

Here is my local dealer - NW suburbs of Chicago
http://www.tselectronic.com/thomandb...e847c21a9 04f

http://store.yahoo.com/technicalconn...snapnseal.html

Install tools (various mfg)
http://www.tselectronic.com/sargent/dp3195ct.html

http://www.tselectronic.com/thomandbetts/snstool.html

http://www.tselectronic.com/sargent/1098ct.html

http://www.tselectronic.com/sargent/8800us.html

http://www.tselectronic.com/paladin/901024.html

gb

"toronado455" wrote in message
oups.com...

Travis Jordan wrote:
Travis Jordan wrote:
What kind of coax are you planning on using? There is a big
difference between RG-174/U and LMR400.

And what connectors? BNC, F, Type N, SMC, Mini UHF, TNC, or ?

F


BTW, Cable does make a difference.

I now prefer Belden 7916A RG-6/U for backbone coax runs in a house from
cable or satellite drop point.
It is swept to 3 GHz .. great for any future bandwidth expansion.
a.. 18 awg solid bare copper center conductor , the best choice for baseband
thru broadband applications

Many CATV companies are installing coax that has ratings at least 2 GHz
swept.

I use to use Belden 1189A (which is good to 1 GHz - 18 awg solid copper
covered steel center conductor)
Don't remove copper covering from steel inner conductor)

For RG-59/U small runs - Belden 9275 is good !
RG59/U CATV Coax
20ga Bare Copper Covered Steel Center Conductor
Gas-injected foam polyethylene insulation
Duobond® II foil shield and 61% aluminum braid

JR North hath wroth:

Use only the gold terminals, spltters and crimp barrels, and high
quality coax cable.

Very bad idea.

Gold is great for corrosive or marine atmospheres. If you live in a
salt fog, then gold connectors are the way to go.

However, there are problems. You must use gold on both the plug and
receptacle. Mixing a gold connector with a tin, nickel, cadmium, or
solder plate, connector will result in enough electrolysis to trash
the non-gold side in short order. If you're supplying gold plugs, but
the customer has a device with non-gold receptacles, there may be
problems.

Gold is also only good for "dry" loads that do NOT carry any DC. This
is correct for most CATV applications, but not with DBS dish
receivers. These have DC power to the LNB going through the coax.
Connect and disconnect a gold connection with the power live and a
load, and even the small current will blow a hole through the gold
plating.

The bad news is that this also applies to ALL parts of the connection.
Tin plated coax braid and aluminized mylar shields will act the same
way as a mismatched connector material selection. To do it right,
literally everything has to be gold or there will be electrolysis at
the junction. Since nobody makes gold plated RG-6/u cable, I suggest
you forget the idea of using just gold plugs.


--
Jeff Liebermann
150 Felker St #D http://www.LearnByDestroying.com
Santa Cruz CA 95060 http://802.11junk.com
Skype: JeffLiebermann AE6KS 831-336-2558

toronado455 wrote:
Travis Jordan wrote:
And what connectors? BNC, F, Type N, SMC, Mini UHF, TNC, or ?

F

TV coax...OK.

For RG-6/U I just use a good pair of diagonal cutters for cutting.

For stripping and crimping I like these two reasonably priced tools.
http://www.partsexpress.com/pe/showd...number=360-016
http://www.partsexpress.com/pe/showd...Number=360-048

The "gold" plugs you find at the big box stores are more "goldeny"
than anything else. I'm not convinced that there's any gold in them
at all.

Jeff Liebermann wrote:
JR North hath wroth:


Use only the gold terminals, spltters and crimp barrels, and high
quality coax cable.


Very bad idea.

Gold is great for corrosive or marine atmospheres. If you live in a
salt fog, then gold connectors are the way to go.

However, there are problems. You must use gold on both the plug and
receptacle. Mixing a gold connector with a tin, nickel, cadmium, or
solder plate, connector will result in enough electrolysis to trash
the non-gold side in short order. If you're supplying gold plugs, but
the customer has a device with non-gold receptacles, there may be
problems.

Mike Berger hath wroth:

The "gold" plugs you find at the big box stores are more "goldeny"
than anything else. I'm not convinced that there's any gold in them
at all.

Well, I have a few of the consumer gold connectors around. They don't
tarnish so I presume they're really gold plated. MIL-G-45204 spec
connector plating is mostly 50 microns thick. Cheap commercial flash
plating goes down to perhaps 5 microns. I couldn't find any specs on
the consumer variety other than most claim that it's 24k (pure) gold.

Anyway, it really doesn't matter with RG-6/u because the all important
center conductor is bare copper. There is no center pin on an F
connector as it's just an extension of the coax cable center wire. All
that nice gold to make a better ground connection?

--
Jeff Liebermann
150 Felker St #D http://www.LearnByDestroying.com
Santa Cruz CA 95060 http://802.11junk.com
Skype: JeffLiebermann AE6KS 831-336-2558

"Jeff Liebermann" wrote in message ...
Santa Cruz CA 95060 http://802.11junk.com
Skype: JeffLiebermann AE6KS 831-336-2558

Jeff, those home photos are pretty amazing. You should register
with the EPA... lol

"John" hath wroth:

"Jeff Liebermann" wrote in message ...
Santa Cruz CA 95060 http://802.11junk.com
Skype: JeffLiebermann AE6KS 831-336-2558

Jeff, those home photos are pretty amazing. You should register
with the EPA... lol

I spent my first half century collecting this mess. I'll spend the
next half century getting rid of it. My office is worse.
http://www.LearnByDestroying.com/panorama/office.jpg
Hmmm.... that's when it was clean. I'll post a current photo later.

As for the EPA... about 10 years ago, I was collecting dead UPS
batteries from customers with the intent of eventually delivering them
to a recycler. The collection grew and grew and grew until I had a
fairly large pile in back of a customers warehouse. Someone
complained to the EPA and my pile was declared a toxic waste dump.
Apparently anything over 500 lbs of lead is considered hazardous. No
fine was imposed and this provided the incentive to recycle the mess.
Sorry, I couldn't find any photos.

Anyway, the bigger the mess, the better it works:
http://802.11junk.com/jeffl/pics/dri...es/mess01.html

--
Jeff Liebermann
150 Felker St #D http://www.LearnByDestroying.com
Santa Cruz CA 95060 http://802.11junk.com
Skype: JeffLiebermann AE6KS 831-336-2558

Travis,

Thanks for the links. I picked up a good Data Shark round cable cutter
at Fry's yesterday for only $6. I also got a cheap, generic crimping
tool for $7.50 just to see how they work. I tried crimping on an
F-connector yesterday for the first time. It took several tries and I
cracked the sleeve on the connector on the first try. I don't have a
stripper yet so I'm still manually stripping the sheidling. They had an
"RCA" brand stripper for $20 that I almost got but it looked the same
as the one you posted for only $10 so I think I'll get that one
instead.

The F-connectors I got have really short sleeves and the inner tube
thing that fits onto the dielectric is smallish. I've seen different
types of F-connectors and some of my coax cable (labeled Belden 8228)
has a larger diameter dielectric. So I guess I'll need to get some
different F-connectors.


Travis Jordan wrote:
toronado455 wrote:
Travis Jordan wrote:
And what connectors? BNC, F, Type N, SMC, Mini UHF, TNC, or ?

F

TV coax...OK.

For RG-6/U I just use a good pair of diagonal cutters for cutting.

For stripping and crimping I like these two reasonably priced tools.
http://www.partsexpress.com/pe/showd...number=360-016
http://www.partsexpress.com/pe/showd...Number=360-048

toronado455 wrote:
The F-connectors I got have really short sleeves and the inner tube
thing that fits onto the dielectric is smallish. I've seen different
types of F-connectors and some of my coax cable (labeled Belden 8228)
has a larger diameter dielectric. So I guess I'll need to get some
different F-connectors.


The little F connectors you have are for RG-59 and they aren't designed
for use with hex crimp tools. For those you need a ring-crimp tool.
Personally I don't like the round ring-style crimp connectors. The
shield connection is unreliable.

If you have different types of coax you need to match the connector to
the cable you are using.

I don't recognize Belden 8228. Is this an RG-59 or RG-6 sized coax?

Travis Jordan wrote:
toronado455 wrote:
The F-connectors I got have really short sleeves and the inner tube
thing that fits onto the dielectric is smallish. I've seen different
types of F-connectors and some of my coax cable (labeled Belden 8228)
has a larger diameter dielectric. So I guess I'll need to get some
different F-connectors.


The little F connectors you have are for RG-59 and they aren't designed
for use with hex crimp tools.

Really? That might explain why I was having such a hard time crimping
it with my hex crimp tool!

For those you need a ring-crimp tool.
Personally I don't like the round ring-style crimp connectors. The
shield connection is unreliable.

If you have different types of coax you need to match the connector to
the cable you are using.

I don't recognize Belden 8228. Is this an RG-59 or RG-6 sized coax?

I don't know. I've had it for many years. It probably dates back 20
years or so.

What's the difference between RG-59 ad RG-6?

toronado455 wrote:
What's the difference between RG-59 ad RG-6?

http://www.bluejeanscable.com/articles/rg6.htm

Is the Belden 8228 a single-shield cable? If so, don't use it for
cable-TV distribution. Too much ingress/egress. You'll want RG-6 in
double-shield or better.

Travis Jordan wrote:
toronado455 wrote:
What's the difference between RG-59 ad RG-6?

http://www.bluejeanscable.com/articles/rg6.htm


Good article! Thanks for the link.

Is the Belden 8228 a single-shield cable?

I believe so. It has a copper center conductor (probably just shy of
1mm), foam dielectric is aprox 4mm outer diameter, then aluminum foil
over that, and then exactly 4 (count 'em) tiny strands of wire over the
aluminum, and then the rubber outer jacket. Total outer diameter of
cable is aprox 6mm.

One thing that makes me think it is poor quality cable is the fact that
in several places the strands have poked through the outer jacket and I
have had to wrap electrical tape around the cable in those spots.
Though overall, the cable is not brittle and still has good flexiblity
and feels "new".

Full designation on cable is "BELDEN + 8228 DUOFOIL 82 CHANNEL COLOR
COAX 75 OHM"

I actually have never used this cable for anything. It was just some
extra cable that some cable TV installer left at our house like 20
years ago and I have had ever since. I'd like to use some of it to make
some custom-length cables. But I'm going to need to get a proper
stripper and the right F connectors to fit this cable.

If so, don't use it for
cable-TV distribution. Too much ingress/egress. You'll want RG-6 in
double-shield or better.

I actually don't have cable TV. I use a Sony "rabbit ears" antenna and
get free over-the-air TV and radio that way. I distribute the signal
from the rabbit ears to my VCRs and receiver using coax. Does the same
advice apply?

toronado455 wrote:
I actually don't have cable TV. I use a Sony "rabbit ears" antenna
and
get free over-the-air TV and radio that way. I distribute the signal
from the rabbit ears to my VCRs and receiver using coax. Does the same
advice apply?

You can use the duo-foil coax - it was actually an OK quality low-loss
cable.

For your application the cheap type F connectors are probably OK; you
could even use a pair of pliers to make the crimp connection.