The chart below is a guide to the proper crimper sizes for various coaxial cable and connector combinations. These are not accurate for every cable and every connector listed that may be made by varying manufacturers, so always check your manufacturer’s suggested values before crimping. These are listed as a quick guide in case your coax/connector doesn’t have documentation to at least get you in the right ballpark to start.
Where more than one value is listed, it is to call out that it varies by manufacturer, and more than one suggested value was found between different connector manufacturers. When this is the case, always start with the LARGER of the 2 sizes. You can always crimp more with a smaller diameter if needed, but you cannot go back and crimp less once it is done.
Some connectors below are listed as NA, meaning Not Applicable. Although manufacturers make connectors for those combinations of coax and connector, we do not recommend using large diameter wire, which is stiff and heavy, with those smaller connectors due to the likelihood of damaging the connectors. If you do choose to use the smaller connectors with larger diameter coax, be sure you are using some form of stress relief to keep the coax from putting its weight onto the receiving connection. For example, using a BNC with LMR-400 might be needed to connect to a duplexer for a repeater. However, in this case you would want to use some form of mounting hardware (zip ties, clamps) to keep the coax in place and to ensure it is not putting stress on the connection.
For very small diameters, it is suggested that you SOLDER instead of crimping. If you insist on crimping, there are some manufacturers who will list values smaller than .100, but again, we don’t recommend this due to the higher chance of an error with such small crimping dies.
| Coax | OD/avg | PL-259 | Type N | BNC | SMA | ||||
| Pin | Ferrule | Pin | Ferrule | Pin | Ferrule | Pin | Ferrule | ||
| RG-316 | 0.102 | Solder | 0.128 | 0.068 | 0.178 | 0.068 | 0.178 | Solder | 0.128 |
| RG-174 | 0.110 | Solder | 0.128 | Solder | 0.178 | 0.068 | 0.178 | Solder | 0.128 |
| RG-58 | 0.195 | 0.068 | 0.213 | 0.100 | 0.213 | 0.068 | 0.213 | Solder | 0.213 |
| LMR-195 | 0.195 | 0.100 | 0.213 | 0.100 | 0.213 | 0.068 | 0.213 | Solder | 0.213 |
| LMR-240 | 0.195 | 0.068 | 0.255 | 0.100 | 0.213 | 0.068 | 0.255 | 0.068 | 0.255 |
| RG-8X | 0.242 | 0.068 | 0.255 | 0.100 | 0.255 | 0.068 | 0.255 | 0.068 | 0.255 |
| LMR-400 | 0.405 | 0.118/.128 | 0.429 | 0.118 | 0.429 | NA | NA | NA | NA |
| RG-213 | 0.405 | 0.100/.128 | 0.429 | 0.100 | 0.429 | NA | NA | NA | NA |
| RG-8 | 0.405 | 0.100/.128 | 0.429 | 0.100 | 0.429 | NA | NA | NA | NA |
| RG-8U | 0.405 | 0.118 | 0.429 | 0.118 | 0.429 | NA | NA | NA | NA |
Recommended Coax and Connectors
Crimp Connectors
PL-259 (aka UHF Male)
RG-58, LMR-195 (0.195 Inch OD) – Best Quality
RG-58, LMR-195 (0.195 Inch OD) – Good Quality/Economy
RG-223, RG-59, LMR-240, RG-8X, mini 8 (0.240 Inch OD) – Best Quality
RG-223, RG-59, LMR-240, RG-8X, mini 8 (0.240 Inch OD) – Good Quality/Economy
RG-8, RG-213, LMR-400 (0.405 Inch OD) – Best Quality
RG-8, RG-213, LMR-400 (0.405 Inch OD) – Good Quality/Economy
SO-239 (aka UHF Female)
RG-58, LMR-195 (0.195 Inch OD) – Best Quality
RG-223, RG-59, LMR-240, RG-8X, mini 8 (0.240 Inch OD) – Best Quality
RG-8, RG-213, LMR-400 (0.405 Inch OD) – Best Quality
Type N Male
RG-58, LMR-195 (0.195 Inch OD) – Best Quality
RG-223, RG-59, LMR-240, RG-8X, mini 8 (0.240 Inch OD) – Best Quality
RG-8, RG-213, LMR-400 (0.405 Inch OD) – Best Quality
RG-8, RG-213, LMR-400 (0.405 Inch OD) – Good Quality/Economy
Type N Female
RG-58, LMR-195 (0.195 Inch OD) – Best Quality
RG-223, RG-59, LMR-240, RG-8X, mini 8 (0.240 Inch OD) – Best Quality
RG-8, RG-213, LMR-400 (0.405 Inch OD) – Best Quality
BNC Male
RG-174, RG-316, and LMR-100A (0.100 Inch OD) – Best Quality
RG-58, LMR-195 (0.195 Inch OD) – Best Quality
RG-223, RG-59, LMR-240, RG-8X, mini 8 (0.240 Inch OD) – Best Quality
BNC Female
RG-174, RG-316, and LMR-100A (0.100 Inch OD) – Best Quality
RG-58, LMR-195 (0.195 Inch OD) – Best Quality
RG-223, RG-59, LMR-240, RG-8X, mini 8 (0.240 Inch OD) – Best Quality
SMA Male
RG-174, RG-316, and LMR-100A (0.100 Inch OD) – Best Quality
RG-58, LMR-195 (0.195 Inch OD) – Best Quality
RG-223, RG-59, LMR-240, RG-8X, mini 8 (0.240 Inch OD) – Best Quality
SMA Female
RG-174, RG-316, and LMR-100A (0.100 Inch OD) – Best Quality
RG-58, LMR-195 (0.195 Inch OD) – Best Quality
RG-223, RG-59, LMR-240, RG-8X, mini 8 (0.240 Inch OD) – Best Quality
Bulk Coaxial Cable
0.100 Inch OD
RG-174 – High Quality
RG-316 – Good Quality/Economy
0.195 Inch OD
RG-58 – High Quality
RG-58 – Good Quality/Economy
LMR-195 – High Quality
RG-8X – High Quality
RG-8X – Good Quality/Economy
LMR-240 – High Quality
0.405 Inch OD Coax
RG-8 – High Quality
RG-213 – High Quality
RG-213 – Good Quality/Economy
LMR-400 – High Quality
KMR-400 – Good Quality/Economy (similar to LMR-400)
This section is a work in progress. You are seeing page updates as I make them in case you stumble across the page before it is indexed by search engines.
Pre-built Coaxial Cables
RG-58 PL-259 Patch
RG-8X PL-259 Patch
RG-8 PL-259 Patch