Old timer told me to stop using push-on connectors for coax

I was in a crawlspace with this 30 year veteran last month and he watched me pop a push-on F connector on and just shook his head. He made me redo it with a compression fitting and honestly, the signal reading went from -12 dB to -6 dB. Has anyone else had luck switching away from those quick connectors?

2 comments

2 Comments

the_lee7d ago

Oh, come on. A 6 dB difference from one connector swap? That sounds like you had a bad connection to begin with or the old push-on was already corroded. I've seen plenty of those quick connectors work just fine for years in clean setups. Not saying compression fittings are worse, but let's not pretend your whole system is falling apart because of a push-on. I'd bet money that your signal reading had more to do with how tight you got it on the jack or some crud on the cable end than the connector type itself.

emma_ramirez7d ago

Oh man, I've definitely been there! A little corrosion on the contact or even just a slightly loose fit can kill your signal way more than people expect. A quick dab of dielectric grease and making sure the center pin is clean can make a huge difference.