Life Hacks How To Easily Solder 2 Coax Cables Together

Paul shows you how to easily solder 2 coax cables together to make a strong joint.
Using a budget priced battery powered soldering iron, solder and some heat shrink it can make a strong permanent and weatherproof joint.
It's always best to use the correct fittings to extend or repair coax cable but this can be carried out to as a temporary working joint until you have the correct fittings.
Please think safety as soldering irons can get very hot as can flames from a gas lighter.
This video is for guide purposes.
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Don’t pay someone else when you can Do It Yourself!

[@jeremyfeather]

Thanks for this, you confirmed what i would do in the same situation. NICE work!

[@abtra]

Thanks guy. I cut through my internet cable while trenching around the house. Was going to get some connectors for the splice but tried to solder it first. Works like a champ now. Cheers!

[@nordemoniac]

Thank you for pointing out this is only to be used as a temporary fix, UHF/VHF can get issues with very little damage to the cable.

[@enghaidersalam]

What is the gain loss in the process comparing to using a socket connector?

[@shawnerz98]

At 5:30 is is the point at which I realize I forgot to put the outer heat shrink on the cable. DOH! ;-)

[@DrivewayDudes]

Yes. I suppose if you don't have an open end it would be better to put some on first. Been there, done that also. 👍

[@didarfarage7129]

soldering for more than 5 years, still forget to use heatshrink

[@luckydubeinrc5165]

perfect , for a emergency. I use very thin copper foil over the braid, ..yeah we might get some rf lumped current, but in a emergency who cares . aluminium foil (kitchen wares) can be used too. I know you get aluminium tape that is conductive as well as copper (expensive)

[@almcdonald7599]

Very helful tips there, thanks. I`m going to try it with very slender audio cable on a guitar pickup but the principle should be the same. Thanks again.

[@DrivewayDudes]

Hi Al, Thanks for the comment. You may find some of our other cable videos useful too. 👍

[@johnmartinez5363]

Always good to learn new things. Thank you.

[@davidmcmillan343]

Well done!

[@A.nasierkhan]

Does this works for the car radio antenna cable?

[@salfordjc]

l prefer to use an hair dryer on heat shrink if my hot air gun is not available it is so easy to burn the shrink as u can see in the later part of the video

[@AvocaSingleTrack]

you had the soldering gun right there. Why didn't you solder the braid ? It completes the circuit !!!

[@DrivewayDudes]

The braid acts as a screen to shield against leakage and receiving stray signal. By evenly fitting it around the dielectric (inner insulator) and using heat shrink or insulating tape it should be able to do its job without the need for soldering

[@MartiA1973]

Anthother option better than the F-type connectors that never crimp correctly. thank you

[@michaeldaly3166]

Hello, how would you do the connections if wishing to repurpose a coaxial cable with an existing F type socket to carry 12v power...?

[@DrivewayDudes]

The centre conductor can carry + and the braided shielding -

[@1883GotDown]

Brother you should have soldered the braid as well. The braid is not just for shielding RF It is the other connection of the Coax. For example, you will have as equal of a load on your shield. It needs to be completly connected back to each other just as you did with the center connector. The way you demonstrated for example may only have 5 to 10 percent of the shields actually touching each other. If you had no choice and had to do this you would actually need to add some wire to make sure both peices of the shield are touching completly. I know radio waves are not DC but think about it. Would you take a pos cable and a neg, solder the pos together then just take the neg and lay it on each other then heat shrink it? Of course not. Same applies here. If o attempted to do this with my legal limit ham system doing 1500w through the cable i would either burn something up from lack of coaxial ground, have much rfi introduced, or the coax would get warm due to lack of ground (shield). Here is what i would do....add a bit of wire to make sure both sheilds will be able to connect...add flux to both. This will help you twist it and stay together. Then put solder on your iron...a hot iron..and hit it up and down so the solder can flow. So it quick. Then use a metalic plumber tape for extra shielding then you can water prooof it or use another form of tape on top of that. Of course the best way would be to use a splice made for the coax lol. Hope thia helps...i would remake the video doing what i just said brother. Connect that shield just as much as you did the center.

[@DrivewayDudes]

Thanks for your comment and observations. Ideally use connectors but if none are available this is one example of a quick fix until connectors become available. The shield/braid in this example is for ground for use with satellite, tv, radio, broadband, etc. I overlapped the two ends of braiding so most is touching to shield and cut down on ingress and egress. At each end is f and bnc connectors which have the centre pin isolated from the casing. It may give a small amount of reflection at the solder point but that is to be expected. I have used this cable for RF and Data and it works fine.

[@MoneyManHolmes]

Could I tightly wrap the braided splice in heavy duty foil to help the pieces all connect together? This would theoretically be for a cable tv connection.

[@dunbustin]

The information I have read on the internet refer to the braid as shielding. I suppose the tiny signal from the aerial or dish could be subject to interference from electric motors in the long coaxial cables and the braid gets in the way to prevent it. Also it prevents the signal in the core leaking out. It is good not to have gaps in it and to make sure it is earthed (grounded).

[@Broeckhoest]

Nice vid. Now, if you also want to solder the mantle - active antenna, power feed through screen - how would you do that?

[@colinbattocchio]

Brilliant

[@h.sapienstechnologicus8865]

if its stationary, this might work. notsure about that shielding solution tho. Id be tempted to wind and airchoke around this terminal.

[@davep6977]

I'd have trouble trusting the shield and intermittent high swr

[@k9nmt]

FYI, this is NOT the proper way to splice. The ONLY way is by proper installation of F connectors and an F-81 barrel splice and properly tightened. This method will only cause problems especially with lower frequencies and cause major ingress/egress with RF frequencies.

[@DrivewayDudes]

This is an alternative method if nothing else is available to hand. It may affect certain frequencies in the lower Hz band but not so much in MHz and higher bands. The braided shielding with the addition of foil should mostly prevent ingress and egress. There may however be some minor reflection but rather to join the two coax cables together to get some signal reception than none at all. I may in future make a comparison video of the different types of splicing and jointing techniques and using metering equipment note their effects on signal loss, reflection and frequency.

[@garyhaley3072]

He is just jealous because he can't solder like that ,, great job

[@233kosta]

Hahaha with those tiny wires coming from my turntable's cartridge? Pff forget it :P I might have to find a better way to shield it all though

[@gblargg]

@@garyhaley3072 He wasn't criticizing the craftsmanship, but the design. You can do a good job with any design.

[@marcusproctor90]

Yea, an alternative method to causing a noise outage and having your cable company come disconnect your service.

[@dx990uk5]

Done like a Boss😀👍🏻

[@mattysiam]

Worked for me, cheers.

[@jfarinacci0329]

Good video. Thank you.

[@bolokurowo3724]

how to soldering coax to alumunium?

[@RavenMadd9]

thank you Sir

[@jemussi7842]

Should have soldered the braid together as well or fastened it electrically. It's part of the circuit.

[@stereomann83]

i tried to solder the braid shield but solder won't stick to it.

[@redoverdrivetheunstoppable4637]

one word... "aluminium", you probably have aluminium shield and iron inner conductor, guess why ($$$)... also keep your eyes open for garbage aluminium regular wires, like probably the "red and black" ones for speakers, they look goldenish but if you scrape em with a cutter they turn silver, they are crap and hard to solder on, they fully corrode under humidity and snap easily

[@769270865]

Onece the coax is broken the only way is to install a connector and use a barrel connector. It can not be soldered back without changing electric properties. Connector loss has been tested and show no detectable loss

[@rs19147]

With crimp connectors? I cut my car antenna coaxial in half. I have used block connectors but the intetference is awful. Will something like spades or bullets be better?

[@donovanhill7367]

@@rs19147 No. you'll have the same problems.

[@stevenlawrence278]

That really annoys me! You make it look so easy, and do such a neat job, but even after years of soldering, my jobs look like a pigeon has dumped all over it! I am going for a sulk....

[@DrivewayDudes]

A Pigeon finish can be due to an iron not reaching the required temperature for the type of solder you are using or the solder may have a higher melting point temperature than the iron you are using can reach

[@faditech6793]

Good Job

[@DrivewayDudes]

👍

[@parisgr99]

I put already a like for the neat and nice job. A question : is soldering better than using adapters-connectors in terms of specific impedance change (so there might be a fraction of signal reflected back). I mean do connectors behave better, the same, or worse , in terms of Signal transmission in comparison to soldering. Just asking, who knows please enlighten.

[@DrivewayDudes]

Soldering is always the preferred method rather than a block connection, Take for example, a circuit board. solid connection, better conductivity and continuity, nominal impedance and slimmer chance of leakage

[@parisgr99]

Well, I was showing this video to someone and he said that this procedure is good for low frequencies like 10-15Mhz but not as good for higher VHF, even less UHF zone. There is Z specific change of the cable in the matching area and there is back reflection of the signal. Because by inserting just some dielectric doesn't mean has the same characteristics such as that of the cable. Instead by using proper adapters, there will be an "insertion loss" for the signal, but after that the proper characteristics of the adapter make sure that no specific Z change happen...

[@DrivewayDudes]

All cables and connectors are frequency sensitive. Some will show (on the label) the suitable frequency range where it will work for a particular application though it can also carry signal outside of that range but may be less effective. I use HF, VHF and UHF with runs of no more than 20 metres. Using a powered antenna/down converter I may have losses of up to 3db. Using snap/screw/block connectors I have experienced greater losses. Varying losses are also dependent on the frequency and the length of cable used. You can experience reflection when joining 2 cables or wires together, i.e. using connectors, soldering or even if you just bend a cable, scratch the outer part of the pin or damage it in any way whatsoever can also cause signal loss, ingress, egress, etc. This is a diy and cost effective option. It may not be suitable for all applications.

[@parisgr99]

OK, I assume you have done your measurements on the different cases, so you can be confident about this method. I am mostly concerned in the 433Mhz zone, so I understand that soldering method is what you would prefer here. Thanks for sharing info.

[@ward9]

Hi I'm a cable technician, don't do this. Either call your isp company and request a tech or if you must repair it yourself, just buy a cable stripper, some quality fittings, a compression tool, and a barrel and just splice it. loss is .01 db on a splice it's hardly noticeable and won't effect the upstream or downstream.

[@drakesorkhab8124]

wow i really thought you'd have to solder the outer wire too. i guess i wasnt thinking . good video

[@stevebroadbent5080]

Would the overlap of the inner conductors not cause signal reflections? Similarly with exchanging dielectric for 2 x layers of heat shrink. The finished HS on the inner is of variable diameter and definitely different density c/f the standard, which is usually PE or PTFE. I guess HS on the outer, so long as hermetically sealed would probably be fine, since it is outside of the shield. Am not an electronics or radio engineer but my understanding is that any disruption to internal geometry of coax is likely to cause reflections and lead to signal degradation. Am planning to use RG58 for antenna extension cables on a 4g LTE router. Every dB of signal counts so will probably skip soldered or spliced connection altogether .

[@Nickerian91]

yes and u just explained why everything today use digital instead of analog. solder aint that bad if u solder the ends togheter and try to make sure its stright. any deformation causes inbalance in the signal

[@dmaxrc]

I am going to do this to 1.5-1mm thick 🙃🤔

[@pranitlgg4661]

No effect on clearity?

[@DrivewayDudes]

Hi Pranit Lgg4, Just about all components/contacts in a circuit are joined together by way of solder. Using a joiner piece (push connector, screw type or snap type) may be easier and was designed as a quick fix and is the simplest way but can be prone to electronic interference - ingress (in), egress (out) and corrosion over time. Doing it this way, providing the solder joint is good, the shield is refitted well and weather proofed if needed, you would then have a far superior joint to pass signal be it audio, video or data one way or bidirectional. Hope this helps to answer your question. Paul

[@NathansHVAC]

you didn't solder the ground shielding.

[@DrivewayDudes]

Interesting question. This is a temporary fix until the cable is fitted with more permanent connector/s or the cable is fully replaced. Soldering the screen/shielding would be quite time consuming and possibly of no additional benefit

[@jeffm9227]

Why isn't it better to twist the center wires together rather than lay side by side?

[@roberthopkins346]

As a cable technician I can only say that when this ghetto rig causes either your internet to fail, or worse, takes down your neighborhood, don't complain when you're slapped with a hefty service fee. The stuff to do this the RIGHT way are available at almost any hardware store for next to nothing.

[@DrivewayDudes]

There are many homes not on a cable network. This is an option for an extension or repair. Carrying out diy cable work on a subscription network is not advisable as you stated above and we do not encourage it.

[@sammas7440]

That's why you're a technician and not an engineer...typical response from a Wannabe. LOL This was a quick fix until it can be properly done. Good job to the Driveway Dudes for the temp fix.

[@sunitabk2526]

How to connect coxial cable and ethernet cable

[@DrivewayDudes]

Together?

[@husamelgasi]

Fancy work

[@DrivewayDudes]

Glad you like it 👍

[@joeycottontailakajoeschmo3366]

You are a fucking wizard.

[@DrivewayDudes]

Not really. Just a bit of knowhow

[@joeycottontailakajoeschmo3366]

@@DrivewayDudes I scrounged up some old f connectors and and a barrel splice and did it that way. I had them in my junk drawers. If not I would have did it this way. I repaired cable for car antenna in my car after it broke off where plugs into radio. Cut end off junkyard radio and voila. It works. Perhaps a smidgen less crisp. I'm a forking wizard.