U.FL to SMA pigtail cables - let's get them right.

As a leading supplier of antennas, we have built up a reputation for supplying quality RF coaxial cabling solutions to complement our antenna offering and in doing so now have a significant part of our customer base that only sources coaxial cables from us. By having automated cable preparation and termination functions in-house means we can often quickly and reliably supply RF coaxial cables to customers requirements.

One subject we have noticed that confuses our customers, is U.FL to SMA pigtail or adapter cables. Some customers tend to have difficulty to identify what is a SMA Plug, SMA-Jack, RP-SMA etc. The U.FL bit is OK so here are few pointers to the SMA at the other identified correctly!!

A standard U.FL to SMA cable for us is a U.FL to SMA-Female Jack Bulkhead or Panel mount on 1.13mm coaxial cable. It looks like this:

M2MAC-UF-10-SFP

In drawing form, the adapter cable above would look like this:

Cable measurements vary, but we calculate the cable length excluding the connectors to eliminate any doubt.

The U.FL pigtail can connect to SMA-Male Plug at the other of the cable- typically hex barrel, thread inside with a pin:

SMA-Male Plug

The U.FL pigtail can connect to a SMA-Female Jack (non-bulkhead) at the other of the cable- threaded barrel and no pin

SMA-Female Jack (non-bulkhead)

The U.FL pigtail can connect to a SMA-Female Jack Bulkhead at the other of the cable- threaded barrel, flange, nut, washer and no pin


The U.FL pigtail can connect to a RP-SMA Plug at the other of the cable- typically hex barrel, thread inside no pin

RP-SMA Plug

The U.FL pigtail can connect to RP-SMA Jack at the other of the cable- threaded outer barrel, pin - this version is a bulkhead with flange, nut and washer

RP-SMA Jack (bulkhead version)

I hope this helps out in identifying the right cable. Please contact us at EAD for your U.FL to SMA adapter cable requirements.

EAD/Specialist Antennas is hiring.....

Embedded Antenna Design Ltd incorporating Specialist Antennas is a leading vendor of antenna products, RF cables and accessories for wireless applications. With a quality product portfolio addressing frequencies from 100 MHz to 6 GHz across applications including 4G, GPS, GNSS, TETRA, VHF and UHF and vertical markets such as telematics, telemetry, security, access, defence and energy, we are experiencing unprecendented growth. To augment our current team and help lead our growth, we are looking to appoint a Sales Manager.

Primarily focused on the UK market, the Sales Manager will:

Pro-actively identify and win new business
Provide pre- and post-sales advice to the customers
Make sales visits to customers to build relationships
Use our in-house CRM software to record all activity
Develop new vertical markets to promote new products
Meet sales targets

We anticipate the Sales Manager will possess the following key skills:

Be a self-starter and work on own initiative
Have a strong understanding of RF principals
Possess excellent organisational skills
Have excellent communication skills - both verbally and writing
Possess the ability to work as part of a small team

The following skills would be advantageous:

Fluency in a second language
Prior experience with antennas, RF cabling or DAS systems
Technical or Sales experience of wireless networking

To apply for the position of Sales Manager, please send your CV to info@ead-ltd.com      

BWL400 low loss 50 Ohm coaxial cable specification overview

For longer low loss antenna cable runs, EAD/Specialist Antennas often turns to BWL400 cable manufactured by Italian cable specialist Beta Cavi. With a choice of connectors, BWL400 has excellent RF properties characterised by low loss per metre properties, is an interesting choice for applications up to 3 GHz and an excellent alternative to LMR400.

BWL400 cable

The attenutation figures are as follows:

BWL400 attenuation figures

We can custom build BWL400 cables to length with N-Male, N-Female, TNC-Male, TNC-Female, SMA-Male, SMA-Female, BNC-Male, BNC-Female, RP-TNC and RP-SMA connectors. For more information, please contact us. We also offer N-Male compression connectors for applications requiring high pull strength and robust N-Male plug terminations.

For those of you more technical minded, please see the technical specification below:

For more information please contact us at sales@ead-ltd.com.