If you have a handy that uses an SMA female socket for its antenna then this may be of interest to you.
I know lot’s of people will have bought an SMA male to BNC female adapter to use with their handheld. I dislike these as depending on the type purchased they can place undue strain on the SMA on the radio top plate. Also the build quality of some of the adapters from BV land is, shall we say, lacking. Much better is to make/buy a patch lead with an SMA male on end and whatever on the other. This way the leverage is reduced.
The downside is that most SMA plugs are designed for thin coax, RG-174 size as opposed to RG-58. You sometimes find small patch leads with an SMA male and a piece of flexible low loss microwave coax in the junk boxes at rallies. But you may need to look hard to find one at a good price. And you have to find a BNC or whatever that fits RG-174/RG-188 style cable. Or get something to crimp onto RG-316.
In 2008 W. H. Westlake were selling an SMA plug for RG-58 sized coax and I bought one and made up a patch lead with it and a BNC trailing socket on the far end. My VHF/UHF SOTA antennas terminate in a BNC plug for the FT-817. This patch leads means that I can use any antenna with any of my handhelds. I’ve wanted another of these connectors for some time but Westlake has been out of stock.
Hosanna in excelsis! Westlake had them on the stand at Blackpool for only £2.50 and I’ve stocked up. So if you want to make some patch leads that use coax thick enough to see on a mountain top you know where to go. The connector fits the same way as a BNC does with a waterproof compression screen fitting. 3 years of regular use and mine is still firmly attached to the cable which should ease the worries of those who lack a deft touch and find any form of precision connector crumbles at the slightest touch.
Andy
MM0FMF