I was all set on making my own interconnect cables and bought a few things toward that end.

I bought some good raw RG59 cable with solid copper conductor -- Belden 1505F.
I bought some decent connectors, F-conn compression connectors for RG-59.
And finally, I bought a fairly cheap compression tool (http://www.partsexpress.com/pe/pshowdetl.cfm?PartNumber=360-046&raid=51&rak=360-046) that said it could be used for "F", "BNC" and "RCA" compression connectors.


I already had a coax cable stripper which seems to work fine. But as it turns out, that might be the only thing I have that works the way I want it to.

First, I found out that my compression tool doesn't work well with the F-conn connectors. They do not get compressed all the way down by the tool. And it's not adjustable in any way.

Second, I recently read something that leads me to believe that my connectors may not work on the cable I bought since it has a stranded center conductor.

I was thinking about buying a better, adjustable compression tool, but as I was reading up on that, that's when I saw mention of the possible problem with the stranded center conductor. So, now I'm thinking my connectors (even if I get the right tool) won't work with my cable. :mad:

The original goal was both to save some money over buying pre-made cables, and to enjoy having custom length cables that I could change or remake at minimal cost. But now I'm frustrated at the wasted effort and money and I just want to salvage what I can and still (hopefully) go the DIY route without more screwups.

Will the stranded conductor be a problem? Maybe I could just get an adjustable compression tool and I'd be all set, but I just don't know.

Can anyone help me out with this? Thanks!

It looks to me as if the the compression tool is designed to work with the line of connectors that are sold by PE as intended for the 3 in 1 tool. Why not use them? There is very little magic in connectors.

I've not used any stranded center conductor coax, but Belden says the center conductor is stranded and compacted, and nothing is said about needing special connectors.

It looks to me as if the the compression tool is designed to work with the line of connectors that are sold by PE as intended for the 3 in 1 tool. Why not use them?

Yep. I have this tool and it works great with the PE connectors that are designed to work with it. Very solid connections.

I agree the PE connectors would work fine assuming the stranded center conductor is not a problem. In fact, if the PE connectors came color coded then I probably would have bought them in the first place. The color coding is really the only reason I bought the other connectors.

Has anyone tried putting RCA compression connectors on Belden 1505F? Is it possible to fit them over the stranded center conductor?

If that will work, then it's case closed. I guess I will order some of the PE connectors and go from there. I'll post back here whether they work or not. :eek:

Alright. Changed my mind on this since I realized I probably had about $40 in connectors that I'd basically have to throw away vs. spending just over that to buy the adjustable compression tool. After that I should be able to use just about any brand of connectors (hopefully). So the new adjustable Steren compression tool should be here mid-week. Anybody want to buy a barely used compression tool (http://www.partsexpress.com/pe/pshowdetl.cfm?PartNumber=360-046&raid=51&rak=360-046)?

Also, I tried the F-conn connectors with the Belden 1505F cable and could *not* get the RCA center pin to go on the center conductor. The strands just flexed and would not go in. :( So I'll probably have to buy some more raw cable, probably just get the 1505A which is a solid center conductor. I guess I'll just have to make more cables before I can claim to have saved anything by going the DIY route. :rolleyes: