Coaxial Cable Tester
Have you ever found yourself in a situation where you have :
(a) had the gut feeling that there may be an issue with one or several coaxial feeder(s) leaving the shack, as you are experiencing a loss of audio and/or intermittent/permanent high VSWR on one of them ?
(b) had multiple coaxial feeds running out from the shack and thought how do I pin down the right cable in order to resolve an issue ?
Well, thanks to Dave Tadlock, KG0ZZ, there's a very simple and effective solution !
Build the little cable "tester kit" that he has ingeniously designed and put online. All details are available via the practical view and build video that he has posted on You tube.
Having gathered the very minimal parts, I built mine in under half an hour. It is excellent and saves having to try and trace out the ends of coaxials runs and it will prove how good the cable is, whether the plugs have dry jointed or become disconnected.
Anything for an easy life I say
In essence there are two boxes. Attach the "terminated" box in the shack and go to the far end of the cable run and attach the other box with an LED to the far end. If you have multiple cable runs and cannot figure out the correct one, this device will resolve the problem in jig time. Upon connecting test box one (no LED) in the shack, go and attach test box two (LED) to the coaxial cables outside in turn. When the correct cable is selected, the LED will illuminate. Importantly, the LED should glow very brightly. If it doesn't light, you've gotten the wrong cable and if it does light but is dim, intermittent etc; you have found the right cable and you have a problem; water in the cable or the plug solder
has dry jointed or parted.
Below are some pictures of the finished items. Take a look at Dave Tadlock online and all will be revealed.
You can test any coaxial cable and if for example you have
BNC, N type or PL259, just fit an adapter to suite.
Simple and effective and, most importantly, it saves time and
energy tracing out a specific cable.
The parts are very cheap and readily available from the junk
box.
The Link to youtube is :
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WJXr9LEE0vk
My tester resides in the same box as my MFJ antenna tuner
and has proven invaluable.
Give it a go
My grateful thanks to Dave Tadlock KG0ZZ
BNC, N type or PL259, just fit an adapter to suite.
Simple and effective and, most importantly, it saves time and
energy tracing out a specific cable.
The parts are very cheap and readily available from the junk
box.
The Link to youtube is :
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WJXr9LEE0vk
My tester resides in the same box as my MFJ antenna tuner
and has proven invaluable.
Give it a go
My grateful thanks to Dave Tadlock KG0ZZ