Crimping 90-degree BNC

[Flying Scotsman]

Fabricating antenna cables now...going to use a 90-degree BNC to keep the cable run away from moving parts like pushrods, etc. Quick question...do I do anything different for stripping/inserting/crimping the 90-degree connector? I have one of those nifty twirly coax strippers that's all set perfectly for straight BNC/TNC for RG-400...do I just do the same thing with the 90 degree connector?

I'm asking rather than running an experiment because the freakin' connectors are $pricey$.

TIA!

Steve

[Ironflight]

I've used a number of different 90 degree BNC's over the years Steve, and no two seem to have ever been identical. I usally just "custom" strip and trim them to match what I need. Does the one you have need to have the conductor soldered to the pin?

[Flying Scotsman]

No, they're Stein's 90 degree crimp connectors, top right on this page:

http://www.steinair.net/store.cfm?tlcatid=8

[samray]

The 90 degree connector from Stein is Amp part number 31-335-RFX which is stripped to these lengths (get these documents from Mouser or Digikey):

a = 0.677"
b= 0.350"
c=0.156"


<--jacket--><--shield--><--dielectric--><--conductor-->
___________<--aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa-->
______________________<bbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbb-->
__________________________________<--ccccccccc-->

The straight connectors from Stein are amp part number 31-320-RFX which are stripped to these dimensions:

a=0.630"
b=0.303"
c=0.156"

I bought three coax strippers (Stern HT322) from ebay, removing the 2 blades not needed for each of the three cuts; each stripper is for one operation only:

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Coaxial-Cabl...item336faadd50

I found the manual method with a razor blade was prone to error and not very fast, plus hard to do when scrunched up inside a baggage comparment or under the instrument panel. I wanted to be able to reliably cut the coax first time right since the coax length was a fixed value with no service loop, making for a clean installation. I found the following order and number of turns worked best:

jacket: 1 turn
center: 1 1/2 turns
shield: 1 turn

All this was discovered by spending a Saturday morning test stripping a couple of feet of coax before I got the right formula. A little more information than you requested but I figured it might help others too. Good luck!

[Flying Scotsman]

Thanks, samray and Paul...got 'em stripped, crimped, tested and installed...they were very, very close to the lengths for the stripper I had, and everything worked out fine.

2 more wires down... On to PTT and trim servos next!

Steve