Could antenna ports resist "loosening" better?

One thing I’ve found with both of my pepwaves is that sometimes when attaching an LMR-400 antenna cable which can be quite stiff, or even a paddle antenna, the antenna port nut sometimes becomes loose and I have to tighten it. I worry that I don’t want the antenna port to rotate for fear that it could cause damage with the internal connection if it rotates – not sure if this is a real concern, but it always makes me a little nervous when I notice any looseness and have to tighten it with a little wrench or needle nose pliers.

1 Like

Having taken a few of these apart I’d have to say I think Peplink has done a really good job of mechanical construction. I don’t know how it could have been done better. Having said that …

  1. LMR400 cables come in two general types (actually, there are more, but …): “regular” and “flexible.” You want the latter if possible. You’ve figured out that LMR is very stiff and difficult to deal with. It’s popular but it’s not our favorite.
  2. An option is to place a short jumper between the transmission line and coaxial connector. If you do be certain to use high quality cables and connectors – not unknown ChiCom stuff from Amazon et al. There are losses associated with this scheme that you may or may not be able to tolerate.
  3. Secure the transmission line and the router so neither moves – ever. Screws, cable mounts and tie wraps are your friend. If you can keep them from moving that’ll help more than anything else.
  4. When you tighten the nuts use a 5/16" wrench or nut driver, not pliers. Don’t tighten too much. Occasionally we have had to put a small amount of liquid thread locker e.g., “Loc-Tite” on the threads. If you do, make it your last resort and use a tiny amount. And, never use the “red” product.

I’d start with suggestions 1 and 3.

1 Like

@Rick-DC provided sound information. I would agree however that the antenna SMA nut does loosen a bit and has been noticed specifically with the paddle antennas. I would love to see a snap on plastic bracket that could hold all the antennas from moving which I believe could help with the fatigue on the SMA connector causing the nut to loosen.

1 Like