Made a few RGS-400 BNC Cables Today!

[Smoky]

I needed a few BNC cables for my HP35660A DSA so I decided to make a few on my own. Pre-made ones are pricey so why not just buy the parts and the crimper since it adds up to about the same amount?

The used Amp Pro-Crimper II came with the .068", .213", and the .255" die used to crimp the RG58 and RG59 varieties. I used Amphenol 000-36875 BNC's and the MilesTek 10-21001-240 crimp-on RCA plugs. The die size used for the BNC's is the .213" and the RCA plugs required the .255". The .068" die wasn't used since I soldered the center pins. The RGS-400 coax is made by Thermax.

All I can say is Sweeeeet

I made two 36" BNC to RCA cables, one 36" BNC to BNC, and one 12" BNC to BNC. The 12" cable will be used to send the "Source" signal of the DSA directly into its Channel 1.

Spring clamps securing the cable while working on it was like having a second set of hands. I trimmed the RGS-400 cable by hand too and used Kester's silver solder for the soldering of the pins. I tested all cables with the DMM for shorts afterwards.

I plan to make more cables in the future but I'm going to give the RG-316D double-braid a try. I imagine it will be more flexible than the RGS-400 but still shield audio frequencies just fine. It'll require a .176" crimp and I see a replaceable die for the Amp Crimper for sale on Ebay too!