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SMA Mating Cycles: How Many Connections Can an SMA Survive?
Every time you thread an SMA connector pair together, a little gold comes off the contacts and a little metal burnishes on the coupling surfaces. Do it a few dozen times and nothing measurable changes. Do it a few hundred times and the return los… More
Posted on 10/13/2026
Solving Antenna Range Loss on an IoT Device: A Worked Diagnostic Example
The device worked on the bench. Two kilometers of range in field trials with the antenna on a short pigtail. Then the production enclosure shipped with the antenna mounted remotely on a mast, connected by eight meters of thin coax cable, and rang… More
Posted on 10/13/2026
Why Cheap RF Cable Assemblies Fail: Construction Shortcuts and How to Spot Them
Two coaxial assemblies sit on the bench, same cable class, same RF connectors, same length. One costs a third of the other. Six months later the cheap one is intermittent in a rain storm and the expensive one is boringly alive. The difference is … More
Posted on 10/13/2026
Low MOQ Custom RF Cable Assemblies: Buying Small Lots Without the Runaround
You need 10 custom RF cable assemblies for a pilot build, a field trial or a repair stock. Three suppliers reply. One quotes a 500-piece minimum. One quotes 50 and a four-week lead time. One asks for a drawing you do not have yet. This page explain… More
Posted on 10/19/2026
How to Qualify an RF Cable Assembly Manufacturer: A 12-Point Audit
Your team has a shortlist of three RF cable assembly suppliers. All three sent a quote, all three say they test everything, and the prices are within 15 percent. How do you pick? This page gives you 12 checks, the question to ask for each, and what… More
Posted on 10/19/2026
Quick-Turn Custom Cable Assemblies: What Lead Time Is Realistic
A line is down, or a demo is next Thursday, and the cable you need is not on anyone's shelf. Suppliers quote anywhere from 2 days to 8 weeks for what looks like the same assembly. This page explains where lead time actually goes, what you control, … More
Posted on 10/19/2026
Custom vs Off-the-Shelf RF Cable Assemblies: Cost, Lead Time and Risk
A catalogue SMA cable costs little and ships tomorrow. A custom assembly costs more and takes longer. So why do engineers keep ordering custom? Because the catalogue part sometimes does not fit, and forcing it to fit costs more than the custom buil… More
Posted on 10/19/2026
How to Compare Cable Assembly Quotes (and Why the Cheapest One Costs More)
You have three quotes for the same RF cable assembly and they differ by 40 percent. The cheapest one is tempting. Before you choose, find out whether the three quotes describe the same product. Usually they do not. This page shows how to normalize … More
Posted on 10/19/2026
First Article Inspection for Cable Assemblies: What to Require Before Production
The sample passed incoming inspection on a single piece. Then production started and the next lot behaved differently. First article inspection (FAI) exists to catch this before the lot is built. This page is for quality and procurement teams: what… More
Posted on 10/19/2026
Replacing an Obsolete or Unavailable Cable Assembly From a Sample or Spec
The supplier that built your cable assembly has discontinued it, gone quiet or been acquired. The equipment still needs the part, and you have a sample, a partial drawing or a part number that no one stocks. This page covers three ways to get a rep… More
Posted on 10/19/2026