Looking for good low cost sources for RF cables/connectors (SMA, IPEX/u.FL/BNC)?

[evb149]

Where do you recommend getting low cost RF cables / connectors / adapters and so forth?
Hard-line SMA to coax / SMA-to-SMA several short pieces whole and/or cut?
Semi-rigid SMA to SMA several?

Coaxial cables with terminations -- several
SMA-to-SMA
IPEX/uFL-to-SMA
BNC-to-SMA
BNC-to-BNC
uFL/IPEX-to-uFL/IPEX
various genders M-M mostly, some M-F, F-F.

The connectors themselves?

Looking to buy in the USA with minimum added shipping / import costs, and I prefer to avoid eBay/paypal if possible.

I looked at AMAZON and found some SMA / RP-SMA connectors.  Didn't find great prices on some of the cables.
Looked on eBAY and didn't find great selection / prices on some of the things though I've heard it can be occasionally a good source of the finished items and semi-rigid / hardline scraps at low cost, I'd rather avoid the risk of scams / uselessly bad quality junk etc. if there's a decent alternative that can be suggested.

I don't get out to flea-market / amateur radio swap meets often / conveniently.  Local surplus stores don't have much.

I could check Aliexpress again / more in depth though that might not be any better / easier than eBAY with respect to convenience, quality, risk.

Just looking for several dozen items total comprised of a various selection of things for general usages without spending much.

Ideas?

[KJDS]

These are the people to use in the UK.

http://www.gigatronix.co.uk/default.php?_minc=home

You could check the vendor lists on RFCafe for cable assemblies.

[LukeW]

If you're doing any serious RF work, you need some more specifications.

What frequency are you operating at? What impedance? How much loss is acceptable in a given adapter or cable assembly?

What you really want is not just cheap - but as cheap as possible whilst still technically fit for their purpose.

[nixfu]

In the US I like these guys... http://www.jefatech.com/

[gdewitte]

I've had good luck with http://www.2wayelectronix.com/Cable-Assembies_c5.htm where you can specify cable length and a variety of end connector options. He also carries some basic adapters. His focus is on amateur radio applications.

[aroby]

I know you said you'd like to avoid eBay, but I thought I'd share that I bought a few pigtail cables and adaptors recently from http://www.ebay.com/usr/rfbat.  The quality was very good, in my opinion.  I haven't done anything serious with them, just using them to connect up GPS and various oscillator assemblies, but they seem to work fine.

Anthony

[G7PSK]

I have purchased a number of SMA crimp on connectors from ebay and the quality as far as I can tell is every bit as good as that from RS and Farnell and a lot cheaper.

[KJDS]

The big problem I've found with a lot of cheap connectors are that the centre contacts are brass and not BeCu. That's fine the first couple of times they're used, but the wear rate is horrible.

[jlmoon]

http://www.winchesterelectronics.com/         in the U.S.A.

I wouldn't buy anything but Kings

but... only an opinion.

[Howardlong]

I buy SMA connectors a couple of thousand at a time from a chap I found on ebay in Hong Kong who still advertises there. About 0.25% are dodgy, where the metal finishing hasn't worked, so swarf remains and shorts, but it's usually visible during assembly, and of not it shows up in test. I wouldn't take them up to 18GHz, but they're fine for my application which is up to L band. They work out at about $0.25 each when bought in that volume, so as you can understand, I'll take a 0.25% failure rate at that price thank you.

[trophosphere]

I usually purchase from L-com for such things.

[KJDS]

UK/EU box source, available through RS and Farnell/E14

http://www.perancea.com/default2.htm

Every VCO you could ever wish for and a few more besides.

http://www.rfmd.com/product-category/oscillators

A list of companies that sell RF stuff

http://www.rfcafe.com/vendors/vendor-links.htm

[dadler]

I am looking for similar adapters/attenuators for experimentation with a DSA815-TG:

• N male -> sma female adapter
• N male -> BNC female adapter
• Various N/SMA attenuators
• Various adapters to convert between the above
• Decent quality coax with SMA connectors
• etc ...

I don't want super-high end parts, but I do not want junk (read: eBay china junk)

I found the following suppliers but don't know if the quality is up to snuff:

• http://www.minicircuits.com/
• http://www.rfsupplier.com/

Are these reputable places with high quality components, or should I look elsewhere?

[TimFox]

A not-so-cheap but very high quality source for coaxial cables from DC to blue light:
http://www.pasternack.com/cable-assemblies-category.aspx

[G0HZU]

In my experience, the best bargains are to be had when somebody dismantles a load of ex govt/mil/commercial rack based equipment that operates in the GHz region.

Often there are numerous short SMA-SMA or N-N cables of very high quality to be salvaged. These cables will be old but may have only been mated a few times in 10+ years.

Radio flea markets and ebay are both good places to spot stuff like this.

[Howardlong]

Radio flea markets and ebay are both good places to spot stuff like this.

Definitely, I have a reasonable stock of cables from these events collected over the years. A few don't work or don't work well, but often the patch cables have been hand assembled to serious standards. They also often have right-angle connectors too. The SMA cables tend to be shorter lengths, for patching etc.

Regarding the use of SMA connectors, these frequently use narrower cable approx. 3mm diameter, which is sometimes more logistically convenient but is also more lossy, so keep that in mind when measuring things. 1m of RG174/RG316 at 1GHz is about 1dB loss.

I bought several 1m and 3m SMA cables on ebay from this guy earlier this year http://www.ebay.co.uk/cln/double-turbo/RF-Adapter-Cable/154267801019 they're reasonable quality and slightly better than spec for losses when measured on the VNA up to 3GHz.

[KJDS]

If you're after anything specific in the UK, then

http://www.gigatronix.co.uk/default.php?_minc=home

are very good and sensibly priced.

[dadler]

Thanks for the info and tips.

RFSupplier, though seemingly well regarded, turns out to be a front for cheap Chinese RF parts and adapters so they are off the list.

I just placed an order with Mini-Circuits for various N/SMA/BNC adapters, a set of 2W SMA attenuators, and a few sma coax cables. Total cost was ~$250. I'll report back on the quality, but the data sheets look good and they seem legitimate.

[tggzzz]

Thanks for the info and tips.

RFSupplier, though seemingly well regarded, turns out to be a front for cheap Chinese RF parts and adapters so they are off the list.

I just placed an order with Mini-Circuits for various N/SMA/BNC adapters, a set of 2W SMA attenuators, and a few sma coax cables. Total cost was ~$250. I'll report back on the quality, but the data sheets look good and they seem legitimate.

Minicircuits have been around for a very long time and, unless something has changed, always had a high reputation.

[bingo600]

I am looking for similar adapters/attenuators for experimentation with a DSA815-TG:

• Various N/SMA attenuators

I don't want super-high end parts, but I do not want junk (read: eBay china junk)

I just got a few of these , for my tests

http://www.ebay.com/itm/221746646860

Bingo

[dadler]

I just got a few of these , for my tests

http://www.ebay.com/itm/221746646860

Bingo

Thanks for the link. Just ordered one to play with.

[Vgkid]

On the topic of cables.
is it worth it to make your own.

[nctnico]

No. I usually buy cables and adapters from China through Ebay. There are many different cable types available including the high quality stuff.

[Howardlong]

+1 for Minicircuits. But they are not cheap. I guess it depends on where one sees value. I have collected plenty of Narda and Minicircuits pads in my collection, but they were never bought new. You can never have enough pads or interseries connectors. This is about as organised as I get, there is a smaller assorted selection that I keep at the ready on the bench, these are a further three seconds away. My name is not David Sparks as you can prolly tell.

[Howardlong]

On the topic of cables.
is it worth it to make your own.

Ten years ago I'd have said yes, now not really - in the main. Having the skills to make up cables is worth having though: if you want to make up a coax power splitter, phasing harness or quarter wave coax transformer for example, being able to terminate a cable well, although time consuming and grunt work, is useful sometimes particularly in the Ham world.