Finally figured out why my coax crimps kept failing the VSWR test

I was working on a Garmin G500 install in a Cessna 182 last week, and my third cable failed. My lead came over, watched me for a second, and said, 'You're putting the center pin in after the outer sleeve, right?' I'd been doing it backwards for two years, crimping the sleeve first. I switched the order, and the next five cables passed first try. Has anyone else had a simple process step they were getting wrong for way too long?

3 comments

3 Comments

the_angela2mo ago

Oh man, does the order REALLY matter that much? I had the same kind of blind spot with a different connector, swore I was doing it right for ages until someone pointed out I was forgetting to trim the tiny bit of shielding that folds back. Felt like a total goof. It's wild how one tiny step can mess up the whole thing.

joel_adams792mo ago

Absolutely, the order matters. It's the difference between a clean signal and a noisy mess.

quinn_fox1mo agoMost Upvoted

Tell me about it, @the_angela. I once spent an hour troubleshooting a cable only to realize I'd put the washer on backwards.