Well over half of all system problems are caused by bad connectorisation. Poor connection between connector and outer conductor, the use of a wrong or no crimp tool or the installation of a connector with insufficient holding power are all factors which can contribute towards a system’s failure.

Andy Watts from Webro takes you through the seven golden rules of perfect connectorisation!

1 - Cut the cable end squarely. Use a strip tool that prepares the cable to the right dimensions for the connector that you are using. Once stripped it should look similar to this with the braid still intact.

2 - Fold the braid back. This gives better contact onto the outer-conductor and helps with the holding power of the connector.

3 - Smooth the foil. It is important to make sure that the foil is in place right through to the equipment that it is being attached to. A tip for a smooth foil is to reverse the connector and twist and push over the foil to flatten down. This ensures a good connection with the outer conductor when crimped.

4 - The inner post or mandrel should slide over the top of the foil. This ensures the characteristics of the cable are maintained right through to the equipment.

5 - Insert the connector onto the cable until the dielectric is level with or just below the chamfered edge of the inner face as shown. It should not protrude past this face as the connection will not be made inside the F nut if it does.

6 - Use the correct crimping tool. It sounds incredibly obvious but you would be amazed at the different tools used for this job. Using the correct tool ensured maximum holding power. When crimping use one smooth action until the jaws butt together.

7 - Pull Test. Once crimped a connector should not pull off the cable. If it does, then either the wrong connector has been used or it is badly fitted. A good quality connector should tear the sheath off the cable and still have the remains inside the crimp part.

Webro produce a wide range of connectors which are ‘made to measure’ and produced to match each size of cable perfectly, ensuring the best possible insertion loss, holding power, shielding and return loss can be achieved.