DX Engineering
Coaxial Cable Preparation Tools
Reviewed by Mark Wilson, K1RO
QST Product Review Editor
k1ro@arrl.org
I don’t know how many coaxial
cable connectors I’ve installed
over the years. A couple hundred, probably. To prepare the
cable for a PL-259 connector, I’ll use diagonal cutters,
a razor knife, wire stripper,
and scissors. The ARRL
Handbook shows the proper
dimensions for the braid and
center conductor, but usually I just eyeball it. It’s not
brain surgery, but the coax
dielectric and outer jacket
are tough stuff. Sometimes
it takes a few tries to prepare the cable end to the
right dimensions without
nicking the braid or center
conductor or deforming the
dielectric material.
DX Engineering offers cable
preparation tools designed to
ease the pain of installing PL-259 and
two-piece N connectors on certain
types of coaxial cable. This review
discusses the DXE-UT-KIT4 that
includes a complete set of tools for
preparing RG-8 and RG-8X size cable
packaged in a sturdy, padded case. All
of these tools are available separately.
Working with RG-8 Size Cable
The instructions and DX Engineering
website list several types of DX
Engineering, Belden, Davis RF,
and Times Microwave RG-8 size
cable that have been tested with the
DXE-UT-8213 stripping tool included
with the kit. The tool is designed to
work with cable that uses a rigid PVC
(polyvinyl chloride) or PE (polyethylene) jacket material and won’t work
with cables that have a soft, flex-
ible outer jacket. I ordered some DX
Engineering DXE-213U cable to try.
The kit includes a comprehensive
instruction manual with detailed instructions and many color photos. The
first step is to make a clean cut at the
end of the cable using the supplied
Channellock 911 cable cutters. This
Bottom Line
DX Engineering’s coaxial cable
preparation tools are well made and
make it easier to do a good job of preparing for connector installation. They
only work with certain types of cable,
so make sure that tools and cable are
compatible with your needs.
tool cuts through the cable like but-
ter and makes the cleanest cut I
have ever seen without deform-
ing the end of the cable.
Next, use the supplied DXE-
CG-8U cable gripper to hold
the cable. The gripper is about
11⁄2 inches in diameter. You’ll
appreciate it if you’ve ever
had your hand cramp while
trying to hold the 0.405-inch
diameter coax securely.
Next, insert the cable
end into the side of the
DXE-UT-8213 stripping
tool labeled “1st Cut.” Make
sure the cable is straight, not
bent from being rolled on a
spool, and that it is inserted
straight into the tool, not at
an angle. Keep the gripper
close to the stripping tool
so the cable does not flex.
Slowly turn the stripping tool
in a clockwise direction. You’ll
feel it take a bite and start to cut.
Keep turning and use a little pressure,
and you’ll see copper and plastic cuttings start to fall out of a hole in the
side of the tool (see Figure 8). It reminded me of turning a wooden table
leg on a lathe.
At some point, you’ll feel the tool stop
cutting and spin freely. Pull the cable
out, and you should see a gleaming
copper center conductor stripped to
the right length for a PL-259. Next,
turn the stripping tool around, insert
the cable end, and repeat the operation.
This step removes the outer jacket and
exposes the correct length of braid for
a PL-259 connector. The result should
look like Figure 9.
Next, use the included Xcelite 170M
side cutters to trim back the braid
QST® – Devoted entirely to Amateur Radio www.arrl.org Reprinted with permission from January 2017 QST
the kit), but that made no difference.
I contacted DX Engineering and
quickly received some hints from Tom
Parkinson, KB8UUZ. He explained
that the tool depends on tight dimensional tolerances to cut correctly, and
that there can be small variations in
the cable itself. Also, sometimes the
dielectric material works its way into
the center conductor strands, making
it harder to remove. Tom also emphasized the importance of making sure
Figure 8 — The DX Engineering DXE-CG-8U cable gripper is used to hold the cable
while the DXE-UT-8213 stripping tool does its work. Cut pieces of braid, cable jacket,
and dielectric material are ejected from the tool as it cuts.
the cable is straight, the end is round,
and the cable is inserted straight into
the stripping tool. Finally, Tom suggested more practice.
Preparing RG-8X
The kit also includes a DXE-UT-808X
stripping tool and DXE-CG-8X cable
gripper for RG-8X. The instructions
say that the stripping tool has been
tested with just three types of RG8X
Figure 9 — The stripped cable end, ready for
a connector.
slightly and remove any stray strands.
Figure 10 — The DXE-UT-80P connector assembly tool screws onto
the PL-259 connector and provides
a good grip while twisting the connector onto the prepared cable.
Then install the PL-259. A bit of the
coaxial cable jacket screws into the
back of the PL-259 connector to help
secure it to the end of the cable. In the
past, when I could not get a good grip,
I’ve used pliers — not ideal, as it’s
easy to damage the connector plating.
The kit includes a DXE-UT-80P connector assembly tool that screws onto
the PL-259 connector and gives a good
grip for this step (see Figure 10).
Once the PL-259 is seated, remove the
tool, solder the braid and center conductor, and you’re done. I prefer using
high-quality silver-plated PL-259s,
such as those from Amphenol or DX
Engineering. They are more expensive,
but they are always the right size and
take solder easily.
The DXE-UT-8213 can also be used
to prepare RG-8 size cable for twopiece Type N connectors. If you’ve
ever struggled with the small parts and
Reprinted with permission from January 2017 QST ARRL, the national association for Amateur Radio
tight dimensions required for conventional N connectors, you’ll appreciate
these. They are no more difficult to
install than a PL-259. The only difference in cable prep is that you need to
shorten the center conductor and use
the included DXE-UT-80N connector
assembly tool to thread the connector
body onto the cable.
All of the tools worked well. The one
issue I had was that sometimes the
DXE-UT-8213 first cut did not remove
all of the dielectric from the center
conductor. Sometimes, it left a very
thin layer that I had to remove before
proceeding. That was easy enough
to do because the tool had already
removed the bulk of the material. I
thought that perhaps the cutting blade
was dull and replaced it (two spares
and an Allen wrench are included in
— DX Engineering DXE-8X, Belden
9258, and Times LMR-240. I tried it
with DXE-8X (see Figure 11).
RG-8X uses a standard PL-259 with a
reducer that screws into the back of the
connector shell. For RG-8X, the “1st
cut” removes the cable’s outer jacket.
Then, you fold the braid back over
the outer jacket to expose the center
conductor and dielectric. Turn the tool
around and use the other end to strip the
dielectric from the center conductor.
Next, slide the reducer up to the end
of the cable and trim the braid back so
that it is clear of the reducer threads.
Screw the reducer into the PL-259
body and solder the braid and center
conductor.
The RG-8X tools stripped the cable
cleanly every time. The instructions
say that with LMR-240, the tool may
leave some dielectric on the center
conductor. If that happens, it’s easy
enough to clean off.
Final Thoughts
After making some new cables for my
station, I hunted around my garage for
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