Pl-259 connector

[RussGW270]

Okay, 3 tries and the damn things are a pain in the .....back end.

Trying to cut down the 20ft of extra cable. Realized I should have done it before I installed them onto the roof, however....done is done.

Soldering, forget it. Can’t hold the stupid wire and solder and soldering iron at the same time...that was a mess. Not enough room for the clips.

so, Shakespeare has a compression fitting but I messed up two of the fittings before I decided not to solder, so said to hell with it. Will order two more, walk away before I beat the hell out of a radio or two....lol.....and do them when the new ones come in the mail.

I also have no-one to radio check with in Bastrop T...wait, I can try the handheld...hrm...
Welp, that was my day...heh. Hopefully better next weekend when the decal wheels are here and the cable ends

R

 

[Parthery]

I use the Shakespeare solderless crimp connectors all the time. As long as you go slow and crimp the pins slowly and carefully with a pair of pliers, the connectors work just fine.

You won’t be able to test your TX power until you get to the coast, but you should be able to receive WX channels (1 or more). From my driveway I can receive 4 WX stations around North Georgia when the connection and antenna are good.

 

[RussGW270]

I was reading those are hit and miss, but since I have zero idea who around here can solder these correctly, guess a crimp will have to do.

 

[Meanwhile]

Check for a local Ham radio club, they might talk your ear off but would probably be happy to solder for you.

 

[seasick]

You probably didn't assemble in the correct order. All the mechanical work is done before you solder the center conductor.
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[BigB]

Okay, 3 tries and the damn things are a pain in the .....back end.

Trying to cut down the 20ft of extra cable. Realized I should have done it before I installed them onto the roof, however....done is done.

Soldering, forget it. Can’t hold the stupid wire and solder and soldering iron at the same time...that was a mess. Not enough room for the clips.

so, Shakespeare has a compression fitting but I messed up two of the fittings before I decided not to solder, so said to hell with it. Will order two more, walk away before I beat the hell out of a radio or two....lol.....and do them when the new ones come in the mail.

I also have no-one to radio check with in Bastrop T...wait, I can try the handheld...hrm...
Welp, that was my day...heh. Hopefully better next weekend when the decal wheels are here and the cable ends

R

Wow. Take a deep breath bro. You’ll persevere . I do not have a t top but a cutty. I’ve heard of folks mounting somehow to their windshield . Hoping someone with the same boat chimes in with good news. Can’t wait to get offshore soon. Boat is at marina on dry dock and ready . I’m waiting to launch till I figure this out. Also looking at a new vhf. I’ve looked at some high tech units. Hoping for some input on some of the better units. Would need to mount a new transponder

 

[Bayhouse]

You probably didn't assemble in the correct order. All the mechanical work is done before you solder the center conductor.
Watch this video

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Probably like the OP, I thought your were also supposed to solder the ground strap through the holes?

I also think his solder iron is a big difference, not sure what temp mine gets to but doubt if its 775*.

 

[seasick]

The center conductor of the cable will solder more easily if pre -tinned as shown in the video. The temperature of the iron is not the critical factor since all it has to be is hotter than the melting point of the solder. The wattage on the other hand is more important since that determines if there is enough latent heat to warm up whatever you are soldering to the correct melting point. For connectors like that I use an old fashioned weller soldering gun. I don't know if you can still buy those. I have several soldering tools from my old electronics days and the smaller ones are great for electronic components but lousy for big connectors)
Good rosin core solder, a wet sponge( or wet paper towel wad in a pinch) to wipe the hot iron tip and a generally clean tip are critical.
The barrel of that connector is not tinned and soldering would be difficult if not impossible and is not needed at all.