BNC Compression Connector Help

[fidler4 0]

I am having a difficult time getting the BNC compression connectors to work. I am using Ideal RG59 compression connectors and a Klein Tools compression tool. I have watched several You Tube videos on how to do it and it seems simple. I strip the RG59 cable as instructed ( 1/4" center cable, 1/4" white plastic sheet then pull back the copper braid). Then I push the RG59 cable into connector and put it into the compression tool. When I use the compression tool it seems as if the cable is not going in anymore but is coming out backward because most of the time the copper wiring on the outside is being pushed out of the connector. I have gone through about 20 connectors and have only had success with 4 of them.

 

Is there something obvious that I am doing wrong? I have two camera's working and five more left to install at my house.

 

Thanks in advance

[jxk716 0]

I don't know if this will help but I always try to push the center pin out from the connector, place it on the bare copper then push the connector all the way until the pin can not travel any further. This way I know everything is secure and pushed all the way in.

[ChuckE 0]

Based on your description, it sounds like the center conductor of the cable is not inserted all the way into the barrel that guides it into the center pin. That results in the compression ring sliding over the braid and eventually comes out from under the ring. The connector will be loose and you'll have very poor continuity with the center tip and braid when this occurs (the connector may even pull off or twist).

 

I can think of 3 things which can cause this:

1. The center conductor is not going into the barrel when you insert the cable into the connector, and instead is starting to be inserted between the outside of the barrel and inside of the connector. The insulated part of the center conductor should fit all the way into the barrel, so the very tip fits into the center pin, before you compress the connector with the tool. This can happen if the center conductor is bent slightly and you don't reshape it before putting the end of the coax into the connector. -or-

2. The insulated center conductor is not seated all the way into the barrel, so the very end of the uninsulated part of the conductor does not go into the center pin of the connector. If you twist the connector slightly back-and-forth as you push the coax into the connector it will be easier to fit everything into correct position, before using the compression tool. - or -

3. The center barrel is too small to accommodate the insulation over the center conductor, so it won't properly fit all the way in. This prevents the center conductor from seating all the way into the center pin, and keeps the shield from being in the correct position for compressing with the tool.

 

I got some RG59 connectors about 6 months ago in one of the hardware super stores that were actually made for RG-6 cable. The insulation on the center conductor of RG-6 is not as big in diameter as RG-59, so RG-59 insulated inner conductor would not fit all the way into the barrel properly. Funny thing is they were the compression connectors with the blue plastic on them and were supposedly made for RG-59 per the packaging -- while the black plastic was made for RG-6. So somewhere they got something screwed up during manufacture. Fortunately I discovered this when installing the first connector from the package.

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When you get done stripping all the insulation as you described, hold the cable next to the side of a connector, so the very end of the center conductor insulation is even with the upper edge of the fixed ring on the outside of the connector. Then mark the coax where the very end of connector compression ring is even with the coax. That is where the connector should fit of the coax is inserted properly. The coax doesn't move when you compress -- the compression ring on the upper end of the connector moves in instead to lock the braid in position on the outside of the barrel, so everything is tight and won't move. You shouldn't see any braid on a properly made connector, if you stripped the coax to the correct dimensions as you described.

[fidler4 0]

Thanks for all of your help!

 

After reading your posts I realized I was not seating the center copper wire in all of the way. Once I figured out the proper way of insterting it in all of the way it worked fine.

[Riley6407 0]

Try the new BNC connectors from Klein Tools... They are much easier to use based on the design. Continuity is there every time... no more guessing or wasting connectors.