XPost: uk.radio.amateur   
   From: Aero.Spike@mail.invalid   
      
   On 19/08/2017 16:25, Rambo wrote:   
   > Brian Reay  wrote:   
      
   >> Well, the B&L connectors are used for TV which covers well into the 100s   
   >> of MHz. There is also the F connector, another 'cheap and cheerful'   
   >> beast, used beyond 1GHz. I've not done any measurements but it obviously   
   >> performs were enough for the task demanded of it.   
      
   >> Both the B&L and F connector suffer (as do all connectors) problems if   
   >> not fitted correctly but they are more  prone to being 'bodged'. The B&L   
   >> is, for example. prone to issues with poor braid bonding while the F   
   >> connector, which uses the centre conductor as the pin, tend to be prone   
   >> to the 'pin' not aligning etc. I believe the F connector is used in the   
   >> US where we would, generally, expect to see a B&L connector. I believe   
   >> the B&L is virtually unknown in the US. I was contacted by a US amateur   
   >> some time back who had acquired a bit of UK kit (KW?) which had B&L   
   >> sockets. He'd not seen them before. I sent him some plugs etc.   
      
   >> Of course, there is nothing 'magic' about 50 ohm coax or the connectors   
   >> we 'normally' use on our radios. If we were to stick to using 75 ohm   
   >> coax and B&L connectors the world wouldn't end. Likewise, if you mixed   
   >> 50 ohm and 75 ohm, while you may be able to measure a slight difference,   
   >> chances are, in real terms, it wouldn't make much difference to the   
   >> overall set up performance- at least unless you were doing something   
   >> 'exotic'. You'd be more likely to notice the impact of a poorly fitted   
   >> 'correct' connector in an all 50 ohm system.   
      
   >> I tend to favour N types but I've not change all the connectors on my   
   >> radios. The 'first' patch lead as whatever the radio needs on one end   
   >> and required N type to connect to rest on the station on the other. The   
   >> same for my mobile set ups.   
      
   >> I also have a good collect of, quality, interseries, adaptors etc and a   
   >> set of the correct connectors for my Bird power meters and dummy load   
   >> etc. Through in a few home brew special adaptor leads for things I don't   
   >> have adaptors for and I can interconnect virtually anything.   
      
   > Oh! has he finished? I dozed off for a moment there.   
      
   It's the sledgehammer and nut syndrome, rather like using a VNA to set   
   up an antenna when the distant station couldn't tell the difference   
   between the results for that and using a 20p light bulb to do the same   
   thing.   
      
      
   --   
   Spike   
      
   --- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05   
    * Origin: you cannot sedate... all the things you hate (1:229/2)