Crimp vs. Solder vs. Compression: Pros & Cons

First of all, whether using solder or crimp as your attachment method, you must bring the right tools and skills to the table.

Good tools are not optional. The proper instruments and components, along with the knowledge gained from training and experience, set the stage for success in field and bench installations.

Installing the connector’s center contact to the cable’s center conductor is reliably achieved using either solder or crimp methods. Push-on, twist-on or wire-wrap methods can be very problematical and should not be considered for any assembly needed to perform over 1 GHz.

Both crimp and solder types of connection, properly executed, produce solid mechanical and electrical connections. Some technicians prefer a combination of the two contact installation methods where an assembly will be used in rough conditions or when assembling test probes. The contact connection is first carefully crimped and then solder is flowed into it. Although a technique that can be difficult to master, it creates a connection that will never fail except under conditions of extreme mechanical damage or heat. Never crimp a soldered joint! Solder has no compression strength.

First Step is Cable Prep

Whichever method is used, the cable must first be carefully prepared and stripped according to installation instructions for the connector.

Solder

This fabrication method is often considered the most labor-intensive because the connector’s center contact is soldered to the cable’s inner conductor. Performed properly, it is also one of the most reliable connections and can be used on cable with solid or stranded center conductors. If metals and plating of contacts and cable center conductors are compatible and solder-able, and, if the technician is skilled in this type of installation, solder connections can be expected to perform for long periods of use.

Advantages of Solder

Tooling for this method is simple: the main tool is a low-wattage solder iron with an assortment of tips. Installation is aided by the use of a decent vise to hold the work in place while applying solder. Beyond that, the materials consumed are solder and flux.

Soldering is much more tolerant of non-optimum technique.

Disadvantages of Solder

It takes more time to terminate than other methods.

“Cold” solder joints can cause problems if the connector is contact is not soldered properly to the cable, observing solder flow through the contact solder hole.

Soldered joints between the contact and the cable’s center conductor can work harden if subjected to excessive vibration during use and develop micro-cracks followed by solder fatigue.

Soldering can be inconsistent and subject to failure as a result of mechanical or temperature stresses.

Care must be taken to control heat applied during the soldering process and not allow solder to wick or hot tip to distort the cable dielectric.

Results of poor technique are likely to reduce performance. This operation should be corrected or begun anew before continuing with installation.

Crimp-on

This fabrication method has always been the workhorse of the industry, and is probably the most frequently used method of terminating coax cable with connectors.

Advantages of Crimp-on

There is no need for soldering; therefore, installation time is reduced.

It takes an experienced technician about 15 seconds to install a crimp-crimp connector, thereby greatly reducing the time required to create cable assemblies. This is very important in today’s cabling market where time is of the essence and fewer technicians are being asked to maintain more and more equipment. Digital video, computer and network cabling is almost universally crimped today. If you are precutting for very large commercial jobs, substantial savings can be gained by having your supplier prepare your cables in advance.

Crimped connections, done correctly, can be superior to soldered connections.

A good crimped connection deforms the metal sufficiently past the yield point, but not too much, so that the “spring back” keeps the connection secure, even under thermal cycling (the coefficient of expansion of the two metals might be different) and vibration.

A good crimp connection is gas tight and won’t wick: it is sometimes referred to as a “cold weld”.

Like the solder method, it can be used on solid or stranded conductors, and provides a good mechanical and electrical connection.

Disadvantages of Crimp-on

If done poorly, the crimped contact will not seat properly within the connector taking the interface out of specification. Both signal continuity and quality will suffer.

Crimped contacts cannot be un-crimped and re-installed. In many cases, this means the entire connector assembly must be scrapped and replaced by a new one.

Unless crimped with the proper dies using professional crimp handles, crimped connections on solid wire can be poor and prone to failure.

Sometimes, although rarely and under conditions of frequent flex, stranded wire can shift within the crimped joint and loosen. This occurs more frequently with clamp connectors than connectors with crimped ferrule studs.

An important point to remember when using the crimp method is to select the proper connector for the coax cable you are using. A tight fit on the inner conductor before the crimp is necessary. The proper ratios of ferrule stud ID to cable dielectric OD and ferrule stud OD to ferrule ID is important to avoid a substandard crimp even with proper tools. Always avoid double crimping, especially on the contact; this is known as “flagging” or “dog ears”.

Compression

Although relatively new to wireless communications, compression connector attachment was developed and predominantly used by the cable TV industry. As with crimp or solder connector attachment, there are pros and cons to compression connector attachment.