F connector - precise

Hi,

can you tell me, where can I buy precise F connector in the picture ? (or similar) For 0.8 - 2 GHz, and good return loss.... is it possible buy it ?

There is a wide variance in the quality of F connectors to say the least. Holland Electronics is a good source. Trompeter is another. Dow Corning also has a few that are not too bad. There are numerous choices if you are driving to the lowest possible cost and are not too fussy about performance. The key to a good interface is finding a female that is reasonably "tubular" rather than the folded sheet metal versions that look like bobby pins. In all cases you are pushing your luck using these at anywhere near 2 GHz. That is much higher than they are normally used.

People are pushing BNC'c as a better choice at these frequencies but I would not recommend going there either. The BNC is a better choice, but still really marginal in general. Particularly in L band.

I took another look at the photo you attached. I cant tell for sure but I suspect that it is one of the connectors that I was cautioning you about. Cut it open and look at the inside parts to see for sure. You will probably see two flat sheets in a zig zag pattern. I have seen s21 on the order of -3.5 dB in some of these at the frequencies you are asking about. The -3.5 dB insertion loss was not a typo.

Thank,

yes, all is absolutly true :D

Exactly, there is "two flat sheets in a zig zag pattern" - I think, it is not good design. I mesured some and over 1 GHz is s11 >-10 dB, so it is not good :( We tried made it, but design is problem, because "zig zag" it′s bad and rear socket (wire with hole) is very difficult to make. But I looked at Holland Electronics and may be is good source.


Thank you

Molex is another source for better RF performance.

A rather impolite analogy is to remember that we are discussing something that is like Honor among Whores. I find it difficult to get excited about using type f connectors at microwave frequencies. They are reasonable choices in the cable TV bands where low cost is the primary concern.

Low cost and "made in china" is global problem :). We use precise connector only for measurement. Thank