Couple weeks ago I realized I'd been stripping coax wrong for 10 years

I was on a job in Des Moines and this old timer watched me prep a connector. He just shook his head and showed me I was leaving too much center conductor exposed. Cut it down to 1/8 inch like he said and suddenly my signal levels jumped from -15 dB to -8 dB. I felt pretty dumb standing there holding my stripper. Anyone else learn a basic thing way later than they should have?

2 comments

2 Comments

oscarwilliams10d ago

I mean I get what you're saying but I think you're giving that old timer too much credit. It wasn't the length of the conductor that magically fixed your signal. More likely you had a bad connection before and reseating it properly did the trick. Or maybe your connector was just loose and he tightened it up. The spec for center conductor exposure is like 1/8 to 3/16 depending on the fitting and your cable type. Your old length might have been fine if it was within range. People put too much stock in the old guard's tricks when half the time it's just confirmation bias.

kevin_murray889d ago

Had a similar issue with my truck's CB radio last fall. Kept getting static on transmit and the SWR was bouncing all over. Old timer I know trimmed my center conductor back just a hair, maybe 1/16th of an inch, and it cleaned everything up. I'd already checked the connection twice and it was seated fine. The difference was measurable on the meter not just in my head. Sometimes those little details matter even when the spec sheet says otherwise.