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connecting coax to sub D connector

T

tonyjohnson

Well Known Member
Like many of you I am using coax cable as my marker beacon antenna.

I am having trouble connecting the coax cable to the sub D connector on the back of the audio panel.

I stripped off the covering exposing the center solid wire which fit just right into the small pin that goes into the connector on the rear of my PS engineering audio panel. I put another pin on the shield wire and connected both into the connector.

While I was working with other wires in the connector, I noticed that the solid wire had broken at the pin. Suspecting that the solid wire broke because it could not flex like stranded wire, I attempted to attach a small section of stranded wire to the solid wire in the center of the coax.

First I tried to solder it. It would not hold (I admit to not soldering well).
Next I tried to clamp it with a butt splice, it did not take.
Then, I tried to use a solder sleeve...which did not take.

So, how did you guys using coax as your market beacon antenna attach it to the sub d connector of your audio panel?
 
Hmmmm...first off - what coax are you using that has a solid core? I always use stranded core in aircraft antenna installations - solid core is for home TV cables....

As you found - solid core is going to tend to break!
 
Here's how I did it:

http://www.rv7blog.com/2009/07/26/marker-beacon-adapter/

20090726_coax2.jpg


mcb
 
tonyjohnson said:
Like many of you I am using coax cable as my marker beacon antenna.

I am having trouble connecting the coax cable to the sub D connector on the back of the audio panel.

I stripped off the covering exposing the center solid wire which fit just right into the small pin that goes into the connector on the rear of my PS engineering audio panel. I put another pin on the shield wire and connected both into the connector.

While I was working with other wires in the connector, I noticed that the solid wire had broken at the pin. Suspecting that the solid wire broke because it could not flex like stranded wire, I attempted to attach a small section of stranded wire to the solid wire in the center of the coax.

First I tried to solder it. It would not hold (I admit to not soldering well).
Next I tried to clamp it with a butt splice, it did not take.
Then, I tried to use a solder sleeve...which did not take.

So, how did you guys using coax as your market beacon antenna attach it to the sub d connector of your audio panel?
Click to expand...

Use a co-ax cable that has a stranded center conductor. Are you using 50 ohm cable?

The solid conductor will eventually break after a few mating cycles.
 
which coax

I appreciate the input guys. It seems clear that the coax I was using is not the correct type.

So, what type do you use? 200 is a bit expensive and I have read that there are cheaper and lighter types of coax that work just fine. My mistake seems to be using a solid core.

Any suggestions about the best, lightest, cheapest coax to use?


I see that Matt has a rather long wire tail attached to his coax, I had brought my coax right up to the rear of the audio panel with only a couple of inches of wire connecting the coax to the audio panel. I like Matts setup better if it will perform as well as a more direct connection. Any information on that point would be appreciated as well.
 
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