sundance-communications.com/forum Forums General General Telephone & Systems Information Origination of the Thomas and Betts LRC connector

Surprisingly, I've bought thousands of SNS connectors on E-Bay. There are lots of people selling them there.

From what I have read. DirecTV has gone back to the T&B connectors.

I think the PPC connectors as the best and I get all of mine off of eBay.

Are the T&B connectors still two-piece?

I always buy mine of eBay too. I can actually get them cheaper on eBay than from any supplier unless I'm buying a bulk pack (1000?) I do sometimes wonder if some sellers are D* guys selling them from the van though. And since I don't use them daily, a bulk pack just isn't worth sitting on considering what I would kind-of save.



DirecTV now approves and installs the red SNS connectors. SNS1P6U (fitting a wider variety of cable)

Yep, still 2-piece, kind-of. The standard ones come with the colour coded plastic boot pre-installed but it can eaisly be removed "in case of installation difficulty" (From lawsuit between PPC and T&B)

I've had a heck of a time finding the SNS BNC and RCA connectors though. The standard F connectors are everywhere but the compression BNC and RCA's aren't up on eBay often and defiantly not reasonably priced.

Great deals on T&B's and PPC F-connectors on eBay though. T&B are made in USA which gives them an even higher edge than PPC but, even without, they are still my preference. Just nicer to work with.

I just recently bought one of these:

https://www.service.kleintools.com/...s%20VDVTOOLS-VDVCRIMP/Product/VDV211-063


and they have a wide variety of connectors for it:

https://www.service.kleintools.com/Tool/PRD/Category/Coax%20Connectors,%20Splitters,%20and%20Accessories%20VDVTOOLS-VDVCOAXCON

I've always been very fussy about the compression tools I use and am very leery about the dumbed down "one size fits all" tools that are really being made for the sparkie and DIY market.

When compression fittings first started being used there were no such tools and like is still the situation with some BNCs, you have to use the tool designed for the connector. Compression connectors haven't changed much and in the beginning you could only find the tools at cable TV supply houses. Cable Prep was the most popular and is what I use today.

Funny thing about compression connectors, all are slightly different in the amount of "push" that the tool plunger must provide for a proper installation. All Cable Prep tools are adjustable for this reason and to enable the user to maintain the original factory calibration . I do notice a difference between RG6 PPC and Digicon and actually have two tools, each adjusted for each brand. So my point is that those "one size fits all" tools are a compromise at best and can't possibly seat everything properly, especially 6 and 11 on the same tool. To little and it's not seated all the way and too much the fitting is damaged. But what the hell would a DIY or sparkie know? VDV is a new source of revenue.

-Hal

I have a Platinum Tools compression tool that does F, RCA, and BNC (each with its own adapter) and a Ripley compression tool for F connectors. Both are fully adjustable.

LRC Electronics was up the road from us. For those of you who know the Corning, Inc. name, it was located about 15 miles East of Corning, New York. A hamlet by the name of Horse Heads.

I did a stint in the middle 70's for a mom & pop cable company, actually we had 9 systems of various sizes. I was the only employee. I had to go directly to LRC and get a bag or two of F connectors and some 1/2" mainline splices a couple of times.

Always amazed me how clean the place was and how many hundreds of thousands of pieces of connectors they had waiting to be shipped out.

J

I went the multi tool path because it was just easier. I own a Digicon branded tool and my original Ripley tool that I used for SNS. When I went to PPC's, it was easy to buy a new tool so I got the Ideal Omniseal set up for PPC's.

When Digicon's were being sold in bulk, I went to the eBay seller (in my case Tech Tool Supply out of Livonia, MI) and set up an account with them. I still get all of my cable hardware from them. Digicon has fallen out of favor, not sure if it's price or availability, and I still have a couple hundred SNS's in my gamefisher box. I have not done a video or hospitality property for a couple of years so I'm a bit out of the loop on what's the latest and greatest video distribution hardware. Pretty much, the startups just go to the local cable TV outlet and beat them up for $8 a room.

Carl

Yes! Horse Heads, NY. That's what I was trying to remember. Back in those days all cable companies were mom and pop. One day I was doing service calls and the next I was setting poles and hanging strand.

-Hal

Remember the f connectors that were available in the olden days? One type had a small separate ring ferrule and the other type had the small ferrule attached to the connector. It didn't matter how well you made the connection, a tug or sharp bend would pull the cable out of the connector. Then came the connectors with a longer attached ferrule meant to be used with a hex crimp tool. You needed a coax flaring tool to be able to insert the connector,and a tool to hold the connector so the copper steel center conductor didn't wind up inside your finger. Even the mil spec bnc connectors were not much better. They were similar to compression fittings for copper tubing. You first had to solder the center conductor to the pin and then wrench tighten the nut at the rear of the connector. A sharp bend would still pull the cable out of the connector. When I first used a LRC connector , I was astounded at the ease of inserting the connector on the cable and the pullout resistance. It's almost impossible to pull the cable out of the latest ppc xl connector.