Consequences of Coaxial Connector Problems

In the modern world, we need our broadband to work fast and reliably - download speeds and picture and voice quality are our primary concerns as consumers. This has led to a surge in demand for network capacity in broadband, satellite, telecom, and security networks.

Today's coaxial connectors must be high-performance and provide near-perfect signal transmission to accommodate the high volume of traffic from supplier to end user.

Increased demand and better performance requirements mean that service providers need to use the latest technologies to bring new and enhanced products to market. This means that connections throughout the network and the home must work flawlessly, and the cost of maintaining the communication network must be kept as low as possible.

Unfortunately, in every network, there are loose connections - either hand-tight or less than hand-tight. With millions of connectors installed, they can become loose in many ways, even at the beginning of the installation, and in any given household, just one loose connector can cause performance problems. The survey showed that most technicians reported finding more than 25% of indoor connectors loose and more than 6% of outdoor connectors found to be loose.

Customer self-installation: As more and more Self-Installation Kits (SIKs) are deployed, the number of loose connections is also increasing. Consumers are not trained to properly install the connector and are likely to just put on the connector before successfully receiving video and audio. While SIKs offer subscribers flexibility and autonomy if that can lead to problems and expensive service calls.

Customer equipment relocation: If the set-top box was originally installed correctly by a technician, it does not mean that it will remain installed correctly. It's not uncommon for homeowners to decide to rearrange the interior of their homes. When this happens, they may disconnect the F-connector to relocate the box to another location in the room, and during the reconnection, the connector is likely to come loose.

Customer adds additional equipment: Homeowners may disconnect connectors and cables when attempting to add additional equipment such as audio/video receivers. When they reconnect the connectors, they may not fit tightly enough.

Torque cannot be applied to the Customer Premises Equipment (CPE): Technicians are not allowed to use a wrench to fully tighten the connector to the CPE, which means they are limited to hand-tightening at best. These under-tightened connections can loosen over time, especially if the user moves the box, presses the coax against the wall, or fights wire bias in any way.

Problems at work: Technicians have to perform many tasks during installation. Combined with the constant pressure on technicians to increase the number of installations, it is conceivable that performing a final torque check before leaving is not a priority.

In addition to the possibility of loose connections, connectors must maintain their reliability under a variety of conditions. Here are our recommendations for some pre-installation testing that all connectors should do:

Environmental aging - Uses salt spray to simulate a coastal environment. Accelerated UV exposure chambers are also used for testing with and without salt spray testing.

Power supply issues - The current carrying capacity test is twice the output of the industry standard power supply.

Temperature cycling - Product performance is verified by repeated cycling from -40℉ to +185℉/85℃ with 1 hour transition time between extremes.

Red dye test - The real-life weather survival of outdoor products is measured by immersion in a red dye solution with temperature cycling, followed by dissection and microscopic examination.

Return and insertion loss - Qualify the product using the latest network analyzers.

RF shielding - All products are tested for effective use of the 13' G_TEM unit, one of the few used in the industry today.

Surge testing - As cable plants are subject to network power demands, PPC has the ability to simulate these conditions.

Continuous ground connector - The F connector is tested in a loose state and must show the maximum resistance parameter (in ohms) measured from the nut to through the full range of motion. Test in loose (only one meshing thread) and tight conditions to measure entry difference.

Have your connectors been thoroughly tested to save on possible future replacement or repair costs? With high-quality connectors and a qualified technician to install them, a task that might have been slightly more expensive at installation could prove to be a clear and strong future investment in your network connection. If you want to buy or customize TV antenna connectors, welcome to contact us.

SOMI is a professional custom antenna accessories manufacturer. We are a professional manufacturer of high-quality CATV system accessories, audio and video connectors, CATV amplifiers, CATV distributors, distributors, satellite distributors, CATV wall sockets (junction boxes), and other connecting cables manufacturer. We have our own engineers, so we can design and produce products according to customers' requirements. All products are produced by automatic machines and thoroughly tested to ensure the quality of our products.