2.4mm 50GHz coax cables

[Steve Wilson]

Does anyone know where to find inexpensive 2.4mm coax cables?

They can run over $2,000 for a simple 2ft cable. Here's an example:

https://tinyurl.com/wa4nck9

One of the least expensive I have found is CentricRF at $150:

https://tinyurl.com/sveffcr

It turns out there are a number of grades of cable:

http://na.support.keysight.com/pna/connectorcare/Connector_Grades.htm

Some versions cannot be mated with others without damage:

http://na.support.keysight.com/pna/connectorcare/What_mates_with_what.htm

I don't need Metrology Grade or Instrument Grade, but vendors rarely tell you
what grade they are offering.

What's the solution?

Thanks.

 

I don't need Metrology Grade or Instrument Grade, but vendors rarely tell you
what grade they are offering.

What's the solution?

I have an HP 70820A with V connectors. I just bought a few V-to-SMA adapters to use as connector savers.

Cheers

Phil Hobbs

 

[George Herold]

On Thursday, January 23, 2020 at 2:44:18 AM UTC-5, Steve Wilson wrote:

Does anyone know where to find inexpensive 2.4mm coax cables?

They can run over $2,000 for a simple 2ft cable. Here's an example:

https://tinyurl.com/wa4nck9

One of the least expensive I have found is CentricRF at $150:

https://tinyurl.com/sveffcr

It turns out there are a number of grades of cable:

http://na.support.keysight.com/pna/connectorcare/Connector_Grades.htm

Some versions cannot be mated with others without damage:

http://na.support.keysight.com/pna/connectorcare/What_mates_with_what.htm

I don't need Metrology Grade or Instrument Grade, but vendors rarely tell you
what grade they are offering.

What's the solution?

Thanks.

I'm not a GHz type, but would semi rigid coax work for you?
George H.

 

[Steve Wilson]

pcdhobbs@gmail.com wrote:

I don't need Metrology Grade or Instrument Grade, but vendors rarely
tell you what grade they are offering.

What's the solution?

I have an HP 70820A with V connectors. I just bought a few V-to-SMA
adapters to use as connector savers.

Cheers

Phil Hobbs

Thanks for the info.

The 70820 is a 40 GHz instrument, so you need 2.92mm cables. These will be a
bit less expansive than 2.4mm cables. Where do you get them?

 

[Winfield Hill]

Steve Wilson wrote...

Does anyone know where to find inexpensive 2.4mm coax cables

You can get awesome used microwave cables cheaply on eBay.


--
Thanks,
- Win

 

[Bill Sloman]

On Thursday, January 23, 2020 at 6:44:18 PM UTC+11, Steve Wilson wrote:

Does anyone know where to find inexpensive 2.4mm coax cables?

They can run over $2,000 for a simple 2ft cable. Here's an example:

https://tinyurl.com/wa4nck9

One of the least expensive I have found is CentricRF at $150:

https://tinyurl.com/sveffcr

It turns out there are a number of grades of cable:

http://na.support.keysight.com/pna/connectorcare/Connector_Grades.htm

Some versions cannot be mated with others without damage:

http://na.support.keysight.com/pna/connectorcare/What_mates_with_what.htm

I don't need Metrology Grade or Instrument Grade, but vendors rarely tell you
what grade they are offering.

What's the solution?

Buy cable and connectors and make up your own.

Element 14 - was Farnell and Newark - have an extensive ranges of cables and connectors.

You will probably need to buy a crimp tool to put the connectors on the cables. They aren't cheap but can get quite a lot of cable and quite a few connectors for $2000.

And why 2.4mm OD? The characteristic impedance matters, but the diameter is usually determined by the connectors you want to mate with.

You really do need to tell us what you are trying to do with the cable.

And George Herold is right - semi-rigid coax gives you the best quality cable, but it is expensive.

--
Bill Sloman, Sydney

 

[Steve Wilson]

Winfield Hill <winfieldhill@yahoo.com> wrote:

Steve Wilson wrote...

Does anyone know where to find inexpensive 2.4mm coax cables

You can get awesome used microwave cables cheaply on eBay.

Thanks. I've tried but no luck. EBay lists anything that has 2.4 in the
title, but nothing to do with 50 GHz coax cables. Same problem with Amazon,
and a lot of cruft with Google.

 

On Thu, 23 Jan 2020 07:44:14 -0000 (UTC), Steve Wilson <no@spam.com>
wrote:

>Does anyone know where to find inexpensive 2.4mm coax cables?

I wondered about the 50 GHz in the subject line...

They can run over $2,000 for a simple 2ft cable. Here's an example:

https://tinyurl.com/wa4nck9

One of the least expensive I have found is CentricRF at $150:

https://tinyurl.com/sveffcr

Now I understand where you got it, apparently the text written by some
marketing people .

While 50 GHz might be the upper cut-off frequency for a 2.4 mm coaxial
cable, since at higher frequencies only some waveguide propagation
modes might occur. But what is the dielectric losses at 50 GHz ?

It turns out there are a number of grades of cable:

http://na.support.keysight.com/pna/connectorcare/Connector_Grades.htm

Some versions cannot be mated with others without damage:

http://na.support.keysight.com/pna/connectorcare/What_mates_with_what.htm

I don't need Metrology Grade or Instrument Grade, but vendors rarely tell you
what grade they are offering.

What's the solution?

Thanks.

 

Bill Sloman <bill.sloman@ieee.org> wrote in
news:e05b277e-f441-486a-b0cf-0ea897834c49@googlegroups.com:

You will probably need to buy a crimp tool to put the connectors
on the cables.

No shit. All us dummies here in sed thought they went together like
snap together model cars from the seventies.

Don't forget to mention how hard it will be to get 50GHz acceptable
performance. That is what he asked for.

 

Bill Sloman <bill.sloman@ieee.org> wrote in
news:e05b277e-f441-486a-b0cf-0ea897834c49@googlegroups.com:

And why 2.4mm OD? The characteristic impedance matters, but the
diameter is usually determined by the connectors you want to mate
with.

There are standard form factors for coaxial cables. That way actual
engineers can incorporate them into a chassis and know what
displacement they and their connectors will have.

..141 .250... Those are Imperial of course. The .141 is common in
high frequency applications. That is 3.6mm. 2.5 is .1 imperial. The
closest the industry makes for that sizing is .085 inch. or 2.16mm.

 

[Phil Hobbs]

On 2020-01-23 09:31, Steve Wilson wrote:

pcdhobbs@gmail.com wrote:

I don't need Metrology Grade or Instrument Grade, but vendors rarely
tell you what grade they are offering.

What's the solution?

I have an HP 70820A with V connectors. I just bought a few V-to-SMA
adapters to use as connector savers.

Cheers

Phil Hobbs

Thanks for the info.

The 70820 is a 40 GHz instrument, so you need 2.92mm cables. These will be a
bit less expansive than 2.4mm cables. Where do you get them?

No, it actually has APC-2.4 connectors. V connectors fit.

Cheers

Phil Hobbs

--
Dr Philip C D Hobbs
Principal Consultant
ElectroOptical Innovations LLC / Hobbs ElectroOptics
Optics, Electro-optics, Photonics, Analog Electronics
Briarcliff Manor NY 10510

http://electrooptical.net
http://hobbs-eo.com

 

Steve Wilson <no@spam.com> wrote in news:XnsAB4D1BD83358idtokenpost@
144.76.35.198:

Does anyone know where to find inexpensive 2.4mm coax cables?

That operate at 50GHz? Wow.

<https://www.pasternack.com/semi-rigid-50-ohm-coax-rf-cables-
category.aspx>

Out to 20GHz is common. But 50?

Won't be cheap.

 

Winfield Hill <winfieldhill@yahoo.com> wrote in
news:r0c84u02bev@drn.newsguy.com:

Steve Wilson wrote...

Does anyone know where to find inexpensive 2.4mm coax cables

You can get awesome used microwave cables cheaply on eBay.

A lot of mil surplus stores have spools of it too. At least the
one in El Cajon did.

If you want to do your own terminations. Depends on what your tool
library is comprised of. Crimpers are not cheap. If you are making
a bunch though, might be cheaper. Getting 50GHz performance is a lat
to ask. The places that sell them to you that meet that spec likely
culled it out of a batch of ten with only a few from each batch
making the grade. Until you form or bend it into shape. Then all
bets are not only off, but they went out the window.

Spurious.

 

[Steve Wilson]

Phil Hobbs <pcdhSpamMeSenseless@electrooptical.net> wrote:

On 2020-01-23 09:31, Steve Wilson wrote:
pcdhobbs@gmail.com wrote:

I don't need Metrology Grade or Instrument Grade, but vendors rarely
tell you what grade they are offering.

What's the solution?

I have an HP 70820A with V connectors. I just bought a few V-to-SMA
adapters to use as connector savers.

Cheers

Phil Hobbs

Thanks for the info.

The 70820 is a 40 GHz instrument, so you need 2.92mm cables. These will
be a bit less expansive than 2.4mm cables. Where do you get them?



No, it actually has APC-2.4 connectors. V connectors fit.

Where do you get the cables?

Cheers

Phil Hobbs

 

[Phil Hobbs]

On 2020-01-23 10:53, Steve Wilson wrote:

Phil Hobbs <pcdhSpamMeSenseless@electrooptical.net> wrote:

On 2020-01-23 09:31, Steve Wilson wrote:
pcdhobbs@gmail.com wrote:

I don't need Metrology Grade or Instrument Grade, but vendors rarely
tell you what grade they are offering.

What's the solution?

I have an HP 70820A with V connectors. I just bought a few V-to-SMA
adapters to use as connector savers.

Cheers

Phil Hobbs

Thanks for the info.

The 70820 is a 40 GHz instrument, so you need 2.92mm cables. These will
be a bit less expansive than 2.4mm cables. Where do you get them?



No, it actually has APC-2.4 connectors. V connectors fit.

Where do you get the cables?

Cheers

Phil Hobbs

I just leave the adapters on the box and use SMA cables. I don't do
anything above 26 GHz, so they work fine. (The 70820A doesn't get that
much use anyway.) I forget where I got the adapters, but they weren't
cheap either--$120 for the pair or thereabouts. Pasternack wants $300
apiece. I only paid $900 for the whole instrument including the
mainframe, so I wasn't about to shell out as much again for connectors.

Cheers

Phil Hobbs

--
Dr Philip C D Hobbs
Principal Consultant
ElectroOptical Innovations LLC / Hobbs ElectroOptics
Optics, Electro-optics, Photonics, Analog Electronics
Briarcliff Manor NY 10510

http://electrooptical.net
http://hobbs-eo.com

 

[Steve Wilson]

Phil Hobbs <pcdhSpamMeSenseless@electrooptical.net> wrote:

On 2020-01-23 10:53, Steve Wilson wrote:
Where do you get the cables?

Cheers

Phil Hobbs

I just leave the adapters on the box and use SMA cables. I don't do
anything above 26 GHz, so they work fine. (The 70820A doesn't get that
much use anyway.) I forget where I got the adapters, but they weren't
cheap either--$120 for the pair or thereabouts. Pasternack wants $300
apiece. I only paid $900 for the whole instrument including the
mainframe, so I wasn't about to shell out as much again for connectors.

Thanks. I have the same problem, but I need to go to 50GHz. Maybe CentricRF
is the solution, but I need to find out what grade they are offering.

Next problem is a 50GHz prescaler. Pacific Microchip sells a macro for a
50GHz ASIC, but that sounds like a risky way to go. InPhi used to sell a
50GHz D-flop and prescaler, but I can't find them on their website any
more.

They do design a high speed TIA that might interest you.

https://www.inphi.com/products/

Thanks for your help.

Cheers

Phil Hobbs

 

[John Larkin]

On Thu, 23 Jan 2020 17:30:19 -0800 (PST), "John Miles, KE5FX"
<jmiles@gmail.com> wrote:

On Wednesday, January 22, 2020 at 11:44:18 PM UTC-8, Steve Wilson wrote:
One of the least expensive I have found is CentricRF at $150:

https://tinyurl.com/sveffcr

Seems like a good deal, except for the part about being 4 inches long.

A 50 GHz signal won't travel far over coax!

I've wondered how useful a 100 GHz sampling oscilloscope can be. It's
hard to get a signal to it.

--

John Larkin Highland Technology, Inc
picosecond timing precision measurement

jlarkin att highlandtechnology dott com
http://www.highlandtechnology.com

 

[John Miles, KE5FX]

On Wednesday, January 22, 2020 at 11:44:18 PM UTC-8, Steve Wilson wrote:

One of the least expensive I have found is CentricRF at $150:

https://tinyurl.com/sveffcr

Seems like a good deal, except for the part about being 4 inches long.

> What's the solution?

For the cables, you could search on eBay for the specific HP part # that
has the fittings you want. E.g., one good part number I use with an
8517B / 8510C is 85134-60003. These are convenient because the 3.5mm
hardware at the other end will mate with an SMA F-F barrel.

On my 70820A I use 2.4mm / 3.5mm adapters. $100 will get you good-quality
adapters from various sellers. If you insist on a 50 GHz-rated cable,
as opposed to adapters that you can "get by" with, it may hard to find
anything new or used for less than a kilobuck.

-- john, KE5FX

 

[Steve Wilson]

"John Miles, KE5FX" <jmiles@gmail.com> wrote:

On Wednesday, January 22, 2020 at 11:44:18 PM UTC-8, Steve Wilson wrote:
One of the least expensive I have found is CentricRF at $150:

https://tinyurl.com/sveffcr

Seems like a good deal, except for the part about being 4 inches long.

Thanks for the reply.

Here's 6, 12 and 18 inch cables. All 50 GHz, all $150:

https://tinyurl.com/vvca72h

What's the solution?

For the cables, you could search on eBay for the specific HP part # that
has the fittings you want. E.g., one good part number I use with an
8517B / 8510C is 85134-60003. These are convenient because the 3.5mm
hardware at the other end will mate with an SMA F-F barrel.

On my 70820A I use 2.4mm / 3.5mm adapters. $100 will get you
good-quality adapters from various sellers. If you insist on a 50
GHz-rated cable, as opposed to adapters that you can "get by" with, it
may hard to find anything new or used for less than a kilobuck.

Yes, that's a problem. There are different grades of cable. The Metrology
Grade is the most expensive, followed by the Instrument Grade. These are
probably the kilobuck cables:

http://na.support.keysight.com/pna/connectorcare/Connector_Grades.htm

Some versions cannot be mated with others without damage:

http://na.support.keysight.com/pna/connectorcare/What_mates_with_what.htm

I don't need Metrology Grade or Instrument Grade, but vendors rarely tell
you what grade they are offering.

Fortunately, I only need short lengths, and because they are short,
ordinary Production Grade will be fine. I suspect this is what CentricRF
is selling, but I'll still email them and ask.

> -- john, KE5FX

 

[Steve Wilson]

John Larkin <jlarkin@highland_atwork_technology.com> wrote:

On Thu, 23 Jan 2020 17:30:19 -0800 (PST), "John Miles, KE5FX"
jmiles@gmail.com> wrote:

On Wednesday, January 22, 2020 at 11:44:18 PM UTC-8, Steve Wilson wrote:
One of the least expensive I have found is CentricRF at $150:

https://tinyurl.com/sveffcr

Seems like a good deal, except for the part about being 4 inches long.

A 50 GHz signal won't travel far over coax!

Crystek claims <1.44 dB/ft at 50 GHz:

https://www.crystek.com/microwave/spec-sheets/rfcable/150.pdf

Fortunately the 50 GHz runs are probably short.

I've wondered how useful a 100 GHz sampling oscilloscope can be. It's
hard to get a signal to it.

Probably bragging rights. The cables and connectors will cost a fortune.

Another potentially huge market is automobile Long Range Radar at 77 GHz.

https://www.sciencedirect.com/topics/engineering/automotive-radar

That's my next target after 50 GHz.

BTW, I found another source of 50 GHz cable. Thor Labs is now the cheapest
vendor:

https://www.thorlabs.com/newgrouppage9.cfm?objectgroup_ID=9827