Baofeng UV82 SMA connector

[blindfire]

Ok, this will sound dumb, but I'm a n00b...forgive me.

I'm not familiar yet with the various connectors that UHF/VHF use.

I have a Baofeng UV82 with a slimjim/j-pole type antenna. It connects up to my UV82 just fine and does a wonderful job.

I can hit Paxton from Shirley and I'm pretty well heard there.

So, I bought a mobile station (Kenwood TM-281) that I plan to use for a base station for now.

I'm in the process of getting my antenna gear all lined up, but I was thinking about using the little slim jim in the interim. It is rate to max out at 35W...so I would set the TM281 to transmit at 25W to avoid any possible damage.

Problem I'm having is I need a converter to go from the SO239 on the TM281 to the SMA connector on the antenna.

Problem I'm having is that I cannot figure out if my Baofeng is a male or female connector.

Can someone point me to the correct adapter to convert from the SMA that is on the antenna to the SO239 on my Kenwood?

Thanks!

 

[cockpitbob]

Problem I'm having is that I cannot figure out if my Baofeng is a male or female connector.

Thanks!

Gender confusion is a common problem in this modern world.

Actually they can be confusing because the male threaded part on an SMA has a female center contact. It's the center contact that determines the gender, so the UV82 has a male SMA.


This kind of adapter is commonly used, but it is intended to have coax between it and the radio to change the gender of the big connector.

This is what you want if you want to plug the slim-jim right into the radio.

 

[blindfire]

Gender confusion is a common problem in this modern world.

Actually they can be confusing because the male threaded part on an SMA has a female center contact. It's the center contact that determines the gender, so the UV82 has a male SMA.


This kind of adapter is commonly used, but it is intended to have coax between it and the radio to change the gender of the big connector.

This is what you want if you want to plug the slim-jim right into the radio.

LOL...thanks. That is what was driving me crazy.

Just out of curiosity, what would happen if I ran the radio at 65W on the slim-jim? Would the antenna heat up? Could I hurt the transmitter on the radio?

 

[drgrant]

Get one of the adapters that has the little piece of RG174 on it. This way when the radio falls you wont bust the SMA connector.

 

[cockpitbob]

Just out of curiosity, what would happen if I ran the radio at 65W on the slim-jim? Would the antenna heat up? Could I hurt the transmitter on the radio?

I'm a little out of my technical strengths here, but I'll give an educated guess. It's probably a voltage limitation in the antenna's insulation. At the connector it's a 50 Ohm antenna and at 35W the radio is putting 42V into it. But along the length of the antenna the voltage can get quite high so I suppose something might arc. If it arcs through the insulation your radio would see a short and that might blow its output transistors.

 

[blindfire]

I'm a little out of my technical strengths here, but I'll give an educated guess. It's probably a voltage limitation in the antenna's insulation. At the connector it's a 50 Ohm antenna and at 35W the radio is putting 42V into it. But along the length of the antenna the voltage can get quite high so I suppose something might arc. If it arcs through the insulation your radio would see a short and that might blow its output transistors.

Yeah, I kinda thought something along that line.

We'll just keep at at 25W.

 

[chaser001]

although you question has already been answered, here is a small link that may help you in the future to figure out what connector you're looking at: http://www.buytwowayradios.com/blog/2014/01/two_way_radio_antenna_connector_types.aspx

 

[drgrant]

Yeah, I kinda thought something along that line.

We'll just keep at at 25W.

If the repeater is hitting you hard (like dead full quieting), and you're not mobile, you probably don't need any more than about 10-15 watts anyways... Most of them have way better RX than they do transmitters.

-Mike

 

[blindfire]

If the repeater is hitting you hard (like dead full quieting), and you're not mobile, you probably don't need any more than about 10-15 watts anyways... Most of them have way better RX than they do transmitters.

-Mike

The TM281 only has Hi and Lo power....hi = 65W and Lo = 25W

 

[drgrant]

The TM281 only has Hi and Lo power....hi = 65W and Lo = 25W

That's weird, then again can't say I'm surprised, the Kenwood TM-255A rig I had only had 2 settings too.... I think low was 5W and high was 40W.

-Mike

 

[AHM]

Gender confusion is a common problem in this modern world.

Actually they can be confusing because the male threaded part on an SMA has a female center contact. It's the center contact that determines the gender, so the UV82 has a male SMA.


This kind of adapter is commonly used, but it is intended to have coax between it and the radio to change the gender of the big connector. ...

Look at the photo of that pigtail:

It obviously won't attach to a TM-821[A]:

If you want to buy something from DHT Electronics (never heard of them) that attaches a TM-821[A] to a Baofeng-compatible antenna lead-in, you want a RF coaxial coax cable assembly SMA male to UHF PL-259 male 6'':

---

Get one of the adapters that has the little piece of RG174 on it. This way when the radio falls you wont bust the SMA connector.

^This. It's particularly important to eliminate leverage when connecting an H/T to big clunky coax, but it's not a bad idea even in the case of attaching a big radio to an H/T antenna.

 

[cockpitbob]

Look at the photo of that pigtail:

It obviously won't attach to a TM-821[A]:

If you want to buy something from DHT Electronics (never heard of them) that attaches a TM-821[A] to a Baofeng-compatible antenna lead-in, you want a RF coaxial coax cable assembly SMA male to UHF PL-259 male 6'':

---

You missed where I said "...but it is intended to have coax between it and the radio to change the gender of the big connector...". Good find on the pigtail with the male connector. I would have posted it too if I had found it.

 

[AHM]

You missed where I said "...but it is intended to have coax between it and the radio to change the gender of the big connector...". Good find on the pigtail with the male connector. I would have posted it too if I had found it.

Whoops, sorry about that. I was fixated on using an adapter cable rather than a monolithic adapter.

It could have been worse; at first I was about to link to a 3' pigtail instead of the 6" model. Heh.

(I follow W1BXM/ex-N1RKB/SK's advice: add to your assortment of adapters even when unneeded, so you have what you need in stock when you need it. I do it even with monolithic non-pigtail adapters from the bust-stuff-off school of design).

73's.

 

[blindfire]

Whoops, sorry about that. I was fixated on using an adapter cable rather than a monolithic adapter.

It could have been worse; at first I was about to link to a 3' pigtail instead of the 6" model. Heh.

(I follow W1BXM/ex-N1RKB/SK's advice: add to your assortment of adapters even when unneeded, so you have what you need in stock when you need it. I do it even with monolithic non-pigtail adapters from the bust-stuff-off school of design).

73's.

Thanks guys...the second adapter / pigtail that AHM posted was the one I really needed. I did order the first one cockpitjob suggested and turned out to be the wrong one...but as pointed out, I'll keep it in the off chance I do need it in the future..

Now, I'm just waiting on the brackets to mount it to the gable end of my shed. Either that or the tripod I purchased.

As it is now, I've jury rigged my mast and bungied it to the side of my deck railing. It is stable enough for now, but it is obviously a cluge until the permanent mounts show up.

I need more height, but I DO NOT climb ladders. I live in a 2 story colonial and no way in hell am I going up on to the roof. I like living too much. So, I'll just get a 10 foot mast and mount it on my shed. That will give me about 20 feet of height (give or take).

I already noticed the difference hitting Paxton. SOOO MUCH CLEARER THAN MY HT WITH THE SLIM-JIM.

God, I love this hobby already!