felixrosbergen
Senior Member
Hi All,
Somehow i havent been really able to find a good guide on how to terminate RG6QS showing a step by step. I think i got it all sortedout and thought i would contribute with a small How-To. Please let me know if you see something incorrect.
The tools:
I used Paladin's tools, i got this kit which seems to contain all i need.
The cable:
I won't go into pros and cons of differen cables, but this guide used RG6QS cable swepth to 3ghz
Strip:
Use the strip tool to cut the insulation and dieletic (with plastic foamy stuff around the center conductor).
My stripper came setup just right, but you can use the provided hex driver to adjust the cutters if needed. You want a clean cut through to the copper center conductor with one blade and a verry shallow cut so you don't cut through any of the braiding with the other blade. Get a lenght of cable and make a few cuts, it's pretty easy to dial in. If after you strip you find loose braid pieces in the part you cut of than the blade cutting the outer jacket is a bit too deep, just adjust the hex screw and try again...
Note the arrow on the side of the tool indication the direction of rotations, not sure why it's important, but i'm sure they put it on there for a reason.
The tool actually shows you how to cut it, just put the cable in so the end is even with the side of the tool.
Rotate 3 times, pull sideways and presto!!! Slip on the compression ring of the fitting before you start flairing the braids. Actually the center conductor you see here sticks out too much. I didnt pay attention when i put it in the stripper. It shoudl be about 1/4" similar to the amount of braid exposed.
Flairing the braids:
You can use your hands or the triangular tool to flair and fold back the 2 layers of braiding and 2 layers of foil. I don't actually know if you HAVE to fold back the inner foil as well. On this particular cable it seemed to be tight and glued to the dielectric so i didnt mess with it.
Put on the connector:
Look into the connector, the idea is that the inner ring slides over the dielectric and then between the braid/foil and the dielectic. Slide it on and wiggle rotate it.
The goal is to have the end of the dielectic be even with the inside of the connector. See picture below.
Compress:
Bring back the compression ring you put on earlier and sit into the connector.
Note that i screwed this one up, the center conductor is sticking out way to far. I didnt pay attention during stripping. I just snipper the end of with the cutters, you want the center conductor to end even with the end of the compression connector, that way the center conductor wont bend or get otherwise messed up and you're in a mess or wires trying to get it screwed in somewhere.
Read the compression tool documents to find the proper setting for your tool and compression fitting size. For this particular tool you have to reverse the head (it will look different from this picture when it first comes out of the box. With the sealtime compression fittings that came with it a setting of about 7 seems to work. You can always compress and if it's not all the way in release a bit and turn the knob.
The End:
IF ANYBODY NOTICES SOMETHING IS NOT RIGHT HERE PLEASE LET ME KNOW SO I CAN ADJUST THE WRITE-UP. I AM BY NO MEANS A PRO AND HAVE ONLY MADE 2 DOZEN OR SO TERMINATIONS, BUT SO FAR SO GOOD.
Somehow i havent been really able to find a good guide on how to terminate RG6QS showing a step by step. I think i got it all sortedout and thought i would contribute with a small How-To. Please let me know if you see something incorrect.
The tools:
I used Paladin's tools, i got this kit which seems to contain all i need.
The cable:
I won't go into pros and cons of differen cables, but this guide used RG6QS cable swepth to 3ghz
Strip:
Use the strip tool to cut the insulation and dieletic (with plastic foamy stuff around the center conductor).
My stripper came setup just right, but you can use the provided hex driver to adjust the cutters if needed. You want a clean cut through to the copper center conductor with one blade and a verry shallow cut so you don't cut through any of the braiding with the other blade. Get a lenght of cable and make a few cuts, it's pretty easy to dial in. If after you strip you find loose braid pieces in the part you cut of than the blade cutting the outer jacket is a bit too deep, just adjust the hex screw and try again...
Note the arrow on the side of the tool indication the direction of rotations, not sure why it's important, but i'm sure they put it on there for a reason.
The tool actually shows you how to cut it, just put the cable in so the end is even with the side of the tool.
Rotate 3 times, pull sideways and presto!!! Slip on the compression ring of the fitting before you start flairing the braids. Actually the center conductor you see here sticks out too much. I didnt pay attention when i put it in the stripper. It shoudl be about 1/4" similar to the amount of braid exposed.
Flairing the braids:
You can use your hands or the triangular tool to flair and fold back the 2 layers of braiding and 2 layers of foil. I don't actually know if you HAVE to fold back the inner foil as well. On this particular cable it seemed to be tight and glued to the dielectric so i didnt mess with it.
Put on the connector:
Look into the connector, the idea is that the inner ring slides over the dielectric and then between the braid/foil and the dielectic. Slide it on and wiggle rotate it.
The goal is to have the end of the dielectic be even with the inside of the connector. See picture below.
Compress:
Bring back the compression ring you put on earlier and sit into the connector.
Note that i screwed this one up, the center conductor is sticking out way to far. I didnt pay attention during stripping. I just snipper the end of with the cutters, you want the center conductor to end even with the end of the compression connector, that way the center conductor wont bend or get otherwise messed up and you're in a mess or wires trying to get it screwed in somewhere.
Read the compression tool documents to find the proper setting for your tool and compression fitting size. For this particular tool you have to reverse the head (it will look different from this picture when it first comes out of the box. With the sealtime compression fittings that came with it a setting of about 7 seems to work. You can always compress and if it's not all the way in release a bit and turn the knob.
The End:
IF ANYBODY NOTICES SOMETHING IS NOT RIGHT HERE PLEASE LET ME KNOW SO I CAN ADJUST THE WRITE-UP. I AM BY NO MEANS A PRO AND HAVE ONLY MADE 2 DOZEN OR SO TERMINATIONS, BUT SO FAR SO GOOD.
Go go paladin tools!!