From a mechanical point of view, mating a bridge directly onto 2 fixed distance ports presents a challenge - the connectors must be aligned perfectly. These are precision connectors and even the smallest misalignment will cause stress to the pin/receptacle, uneven wear and possibly damage. Using Type-N flange connectors on the reflection bridge will form too rigid junction and they are difficult to install with such great precision. On the other hand I prefer somewhat rigid connection and don't want to use flexible coax as it introduces phase instability when bent or twisted. A few tenths of the millimeter lateral "play" in the connectors will be enough to take care of small misalignment.
To build the Type-N bridge I used a pair of male Type-N connectors (solder type, Digikey p/n ACX1132-ND) on ~3 cm pieces of semi-rigid coax (RG-402 - solid copper tube shield, not the hand-conformable type). The coax is inserted in a brass tube (very slightly larger than the diameter of the coax, 2.1 cm length, K&S Engineering 3/16 x .014 Stock #129) that goes thru the wall of the aluminum enclosure and it is soldered inside to a brass plate. A second, larger diameter brass tube (2 cm length, K&S Engineering 7/32 Stcok #130) goes over the small diameter tube but does not go thru the wall. The small diameter tube provides stress-relief on pull action, as one end of the RG-402 is soldered to it. The larger diameter brass tube goes over the solder collar in the base of the male Type-N connector and it is compressed between the enclosure and connector, providing stress-relief on push action.
The whole assembly might be a little over-engineered but it is very sturdy and gives me the few tenths of millimeter lateral flexibility at the connector end without being too flexible. It, also protects the RG-402 from accidental permanent bending and damage.
I love your labels, your Vna for example looks awesome. How do you make them ?
ReplyDeleteCheers
Michael OE1MIS
I designed the front panel graphics, using Corel Draw software. The method for making the front panel is described in my post from Sept 9, 2009 - http://blog.kotarak.net/2009/09/n2pk-vna-power-supply-and-enclosure.html
ReplyDeleteIt is fairly easy way to make graphics for front panels up to A4/Letter size and the results are excellent! The 3M laminating sheets (top protective layer) are sold in two different versions - glossy (the ones I am using) and matte finish (which is also nice but not as dirt-resistant as the glossy). Just a matter of personal preference.
I am not sure if exactly the same materials are available in your country but you might be able to find similar stuff.
Thank you, I will try that.
ReplyDeleteIn our global village fortunately we are no limited to local supplies any more. :)
It is interesting, we have a very similar taste in selecting the hardware we build, the inside of my N2PK looks exactly like yours, I also built two (one small and one big), but unfortunately the outside of mine looks way uglier,... Hopefully I can change that now.
My next project is a 0-3 Ghz sa based on Scotty Wsprowls labour.
Cheers
Michael OE1MIS
"Great minds think alike"
ReplyDeleteGood luck with your project!
I'm joining this thread late, sorry. Where can I find the schematic for the bridge?
ReplyDeleteDescription of the Reflection Bridge can be found here:
ReplyDeletehttp://www.n2pk.com/VNA/n2pk_vna_pt_2_ver_b2.pdf
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