March 05, 2014

Rusk County Hams get connecting

Jerry Ritchie gave a very interesting talk on various RF Connectors and their impedance characteristics. Surprisingly the very common PL-259 connector is not even rated for impedance, but is used extensively in the Amateur Radio Service.

The BNC and N connectors can be purchased for use in 50 Ohm feed line circuits. Fortunately the PL-259 can provide acceptable service in the HF
bands but is reaching its upper limits in the 2 meter band and can really degrade an antenna system in the 70 CM band.