Author Topic: APC7 to SMA adapter from China ok?  (Read 2726 times)

0 Members and 1 Guest are viewing this topic.

Offline rfspeziTopic starter

  • Regular Contributor
  • *
  • Posts: 173
  • Country: 00
APC7 to SMA adapter from China ok?
« on: February 14, 2018, 09:17:06 am »
 

Offline TheUnnamedNewbie

  • Super Contributor
  • ***
  • Posts: 1211
  • Country: 00
  • mmwave RFIC/antenna designer
Re: APC7 to SMA adapter from China ok?
« Reply #1 on: February 14, 2018, 11:54:14 am »
No. And yes. Well, it depends.

It could be. It depends on your spec. But:

The quality of connectors is vital. A precision connector like APC7 should be built to very tight tolerances. If it is not, it will give you reduced performance, mainly visible as increases S11 at the connector interface. This can swamp the DUT S11 and as such ruin your ability to accurately characterize the DUT.

But that is not the main issue. The main issue is that if that connector is not built to the right tolerances, it can (and likely will) damage the "good" connector on your VNA. And once that happens, there is no way to get high precision and repeatable measurements unless you replace the connectors on the VNA - and this will cost you a lot more than just getting high-quality adapters would have.

Chinese cables and connectors can work fine for basic stuff - especially if you know where to look. I use them all the time! But I clearly mark them and they only get used with adapters that are sacrificial and on connectors that don't have as tight tolerances as APC-7 in the first place. The N-to-SMA adapters (rosenberger or huber+suhner).
In the case of the adapter you list: just look at the surface finish of the (supposed to be) teflon in the SMA connector. Or how dull the suposed-to-be-gold-plated contacts of the APC-7 side are.
The best part about magic is when it stops being magic and becomes science instead

"There was no road, but the people walked on it, and the road came to be, and the people followed it, for the road took the path of least resistance"
 

Offline rfspeziTopic starter

  • Regular Contributor
  • *
  • Posts: 173
  • Country: 00
Re: APC7 to SMA adapter from China ok?
« Reply #2 on: February 14, 2018, 12:38:15 pm »
Ok, thank you.
I'll order some and carefully check quality/dimensions before connecting them to the VNA.
I think there is no other way when it comes to low cost and amateur radio usage.
 

Offline TheUnnamedNewbie

  • Super Contributor
  • ***
  • Posts: 1211
  • Country: 00
  • mmwave RFIC/antenna designer
Re: APC7 to SMA adapter from China ok?
« Reply #3 on: February 14, 2018, 12:57:10 pm »
You can't check these tolerances by hand. You need special tools for it.

I realize this doesn't really help you in your quest, but I just want to make sure that you are aware of this. Once you damage the connectors on your VNA there is no way to undo it without spending a lot of money.
The best part about magic is when it stops being magic and becomes science instead

"There was no road, but the people walked on it, and the road came to be, and the people followed it, for the road took the path of least resistance"
 

Offline hendorog

  • Super Contributor
  • ***
  • Posts: 1628
  • Country: nz
Re: APC7 to SMA adapter from China ok?
« Reply #4 on: February 15, 2018, 06:28:22 pm »
Are these APC7 to SMA adapters on aliexpress ok for use with an 6 GHz 8753 VNA?

https://de.aliexpress.com/item/10pcs-lot-Flat-Retractable-RJ45-CAT5E-Ethernet-Cable-Network-LAN-Flexibility-Extension-RJ45-Cable-2-5m/32295632285.html

FWIW, A friend of mine has two of those on his 8753, from the same aliexpress page, and is very pleased with them.

 

Offline Neganur

  • Supporter
  • ****
  • Posts: 1156
  • Country: fi
Re: APC7 to SMA adapter from China ok?
« Reply #5 on: February 16, 2018, 11:36:14 am »
Those look used US-made ones actually. Compare to these: eBay auction: #362002502232

I don’t think the polished golden ones are great anyway, most Amphenol ones are dull gold
 

Offline sixtimesseven

  • Frequent Contributor
  • **
  • Posts: 330
  • Country: ch
    • Flickr
Re: APC7 to SMA adapter from China ok?
« Reply #6 on: April 05, 2019, 02:18:39 pm »
Are these APC7 to SMA adapters on aliexpress ok for use with an 6 GHz 8753 VNA?

https://de.aliexpress.com/item/10pcs-lot-Flat-Retractable-RJ45-CAT5E-Ethernet-Cable-Network-LAN-Flexibility-Extension-RJ45-Cable-2-5m/32295632285.html

FWIW, A friend of mine has two of those on his 8753, from the same aliexpress page, and is very pleased with them.



Any chance your friend has four of them and could measure two back to back  8)
 


Share me

Digg  Facebook  SlashDot  Delicious  Technorati  Twitter  Google  Yahoo
Smf