What use is an F-call?

With coax going between radios, amplifiers, tuners, SWR meters and antennas there is no shortage on connectors. You can buy pre-made connecting cables, but after a while you'll likely realise that you're spending a fortune on such luxuries and you'll likely come to the conclusion that the pre-made solution is never quite the right length, either too long or too short. So you take like a duck to water and you start making your own cables, patch leads, etc.

Leaving aside what kind of connector to select, where to buy it or which of the bewildering array of coax to acquire from a bevy of suppliers, you have a fundamental choice between crimping and soldering.

If you spend a little time online you'll find that there is solid evidence either way and adherents to either school. Just like Holden versus Ford or Mac versus PC, each "side" vehemently defends their turf.

Until recently I was exclusively a crimper. I crimped each connector that I could and I was happy. Well, mostly happy that is. I had this really annoying tool that for some reason would not crimp RG58 BNC connectors without leaving a little wing on the ferrule. Turns out that my dear supplier had snuck some RG59 connectors into the mix and they look really similar until you hold them side by side - and if you're wondering, the RG59 ferrule fits around the RG58 one, so no wonder it bulged like that.

Anyway, that started the conversation about crimping versus soldering.

Now, I'm not going to tell you what to choose. I suspect there are solid arguments that I'm avoiding here, but food for thought is this:

A crimp has no undo. That is, once you've mashed your lug, it's all over. If you stuffed it up, you cut off your connector, throw it out and start again. Of course if you practice enough, stuffing it up hardly ever happens. Better crimping tools help you achieve your aim.

However, if you solder, then if you stuff it up, you have the opportunity to heat it all up again, remove the offending poor connection and try again. I've just acquired a gas soldering iron - I never even knew such a thing existed, I'd never have bought the 12V travel iron for my trip if I'd known, and now I have the option to solder in the field.

So, why does this matter? What should you choose?

You have no need to be exclusive one way or the other. Just like one antenna doesn't do all jobs, and one screwdriver is never enough, crimping and soldering are two options in your arsenal. They complement each other.

I'm Onno VK6FLAB