CrimperGate – When the Coax Crimper Jaws Won’t Crimp Close – A Mystery
After 58 years of being a ham radio operator, I recently took the plunge and bought a coax crimp set from Ham Radio Outlet.
Not to sound too much like Caesar, but all of my coax needs are divided into three parts: LMR-400, LMR-240, RG8X. I use the LMR for my satellite antennas and my VHF/UHF antennas. I use RG8X for my HF antennas and my mobile antennas.
My new crimper had no problems with the 240 or the 8X. Even with my arthritis, I had no difficulty clamping down so I got complete closure on the jaws of the crimper ensuring that I had a good crimp for the connector.
LMR-400 Was a Problem
The LMR-400 connectors proved to be another matter.
No matter how hard I tried to squeeze the handles, I could not close the jaws all the way on the connector. I even put the crimper handles vertically and put all of my weight on the downward force to close the jaws. But there was no joy.
Keep Your Friends Close…And the Mystery of CrimperGate
I posted my dilemma to my 3,200 ham radio followers on Twitter and to my 51,000 close friends on the Ham Radio Facebook group. Besides the usual troll comments on both platforms, I got a lot of very valid suggestions.
My friends on Twitter coined the term “CrimperGate” even though the only thing that got deflated was my ego for apparently no longer being strong enough to solve the problem with the Armstrong Method.
Most of the suggestions on the Facebook group focused on the HRO crimper set – with many of them believing that the crimper did not have sufficient mechanical advantage to handle LMR-400. A not insignificant number of them echoed that they had exactly the same problem when it came to the 400 connectors.
Three Potential Culprits
With a multitude of tweets, it was obvious to me that there were actually three potential culprits when it came to the mystery of CrimperGate:
- The HRO crimper was defective.
- The cheap N connectors that I bought off of eBay were not to spec or otherwise had a problem.
- The existing coax that I was trying to use was not genuine Times Microwave LMR-400 – even though it was advertised as such on Amazon – and that the thickness of that coax was different enough to cause a problem.
At this point, it was not clear which of these three culprits was the guilty one. Or, if there might be multiple culprits working in tandem to keep those crimper jaws open.
The DX Store to the Rescue
One of my followers on Twitter is The DX Store. I had never bought from them before and I had not asked them for help on this issue.
Nevertheless, they were kind enough to Priority Mail me what they sell for N connectors and for PL-259s – and a 14 foot section of official Times Microwave LMR-400 – all for no cost.
I’m very appreciative to The DX Store for providing these parts to me so we could quickly identify the real culprit in this mystery. They will definitely be getting some wallet share for me in the very near future!
The Results
I once again used the HRO coax stripper and prepped the coax to the exact specifications for the Amphenol N crimp connector even though the connectors we had been using were not Amphenol – including the connectors from The DX Store. I again used electronic calipers to ensure that the measurements were correct. (The HRO coax stripper that came in the crimper set was, surprisingly, very good for the LMR-400.)
I then soldered the center pin and pushed the connector on the coax. Everything lined up properly just like it had on the original try that had not worked.
Now, For the Real Test
I put the new, assembled connector in the crimper and squeezed with both hands – and success with what looks to me to be a perfect crimp with the jaws of the crimper completely closed! I tried the same thing on the other end of the coax with the same success.
Happily, my alpha manliness has been reaffirmed since it did not take anywhere near all my strength on either connector to close the jaws!
That 14 foot section of coax with two properly crimped connectors is now outside hooked up to my satellite antenna system and working perfectly!
What We Know and What We Don’t Know
We learned that the HRO crimper works well with The DX Store N connectors. However, it’s also clear that the HRO crimper will not work with just any N connector that comes along.
We still do not know if the cable or the eBay N connectors is/are the culprit or culprits.
My guess is that the N connectors from eBay are the culprit. As an additional test, I’m going to order 10 more N connectors from The DX Store and see if I have the same success with their connector on the other coax that had been the problem. Once that additional test is run, I’ll update this webpage with the results.
Thanks To Everybody Who Played
I very much appreciate all the help and suggestions I got from both my Twitter followers and fellow members of the Ham Radio Facebook group. The suggestions, the dialogue and the genuinely helpful suggestions are greatly appreciated!
Nowadays, hams my age often complain that the ham radio tradition of Elmers has disappeared. I completely disagree.
Maybe you no longer have a human being looking over your shoulder giving you suggestions. Instead, you have dozens or hundreds or even thousands of Elmers from all over the world taking time out of their lives to help a fellow ham solve a problem on a moments notice 24/7.
I, for one, think that is seriously GREAT!
73,
Robert
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73 de Robert K3RRR
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