360° Compression Tool - RG59 and RG6 Connectors (CTF-180)

Ships direct from the manufacturer. Please allow up to 10 business days, though it often ships sooner.

A compression F connector seals when the sleeve is driven straight onto the body to a fixed length, and a tool that pushes from one side or stops short leaves a connector that passes today and lets water in by spring. The Jonard Tools CTF-180 is a 360° compression tool for F connectors on RG59 and RG6 coax: the head supports the connector all the way around, so the sleeve goes on square, and it compresses to the two lengths the industry uses, 17.9 mm for short connectors and 20.8 mm for long ones, with nothing to set. It's designed around PCT connectors and works with most other brands of short and long F connectors. The tool is high carbon steel with a black oxide finish, spring loaded so it opens after every connector, with plastic cushion grips and a handle lock that keeps it closed in the pouch, at 0.64 lb and 5 in.

Features

• 360° connector support. The head holds the F connector all the way around for a square, even compression; designed to accommodate PCT connectors.
• Short and long F connectors. Compressed lengths of 17.9 mm (short) and 20.8 mm (long), for most F connectors on RG59 and RG6 coax.
• PCT and other brands. Compatible with PCT and other makers' short and long style F connectors.
• High carbon steel, black oxide. Durable, with a spring-loaded design that opens the tool after each compression.
• Plastic cushion grips. Rugged and comfortable through a day of drops.
• Handle lock. Integrated lock keeps the tool closed for storage.

Where It Fits

It suits cable TV and satellite installers fitting compression F connectors at the drop, the ground block, and every wall plate in the house, security camera installers terminating RG59 and RG6 to analog and HD-over-coax cameras and recorders, MDU and commercial technicians who make up hundreds of RG6 jumpers, AV and home theater installers running coax to tuners and distribution amps, anyone using PCT connectors who wants the tool they were designed around, and a pouch that needs one compression tool for both short and long connectors without a cassette or an adjustment. For stripping the coax before the connector, the TLC-028 and TLC-029 have preset cassettes for RG59 and RG6; for cutting it square first, the JIC-725.

Good to Know

The connector's instructions set the strip dimensions, and the compression tool only finishes the job the strip started: prep the cable to the connector maker's lengths, fold the braid back over the jacket, push the connector on until the dielectric is flush with the inside of the connector face, then set it in the tool and squeeze until the handles stop. Short and long F connectors compress to different lengths, 17.9 and 20.8 mm, and the tool is made for both; use the position the connector fits, and a connector that doesn't seat in the head is a size or a style this tool isn't for. Check the finished connector: the sleeve should be fully driven with no gap, the center conductor should stand proud of the face by about the width of a dime and be straight, and the connector shouldn't turn or pull on the cable. A connector that compresses with no resistance usually means the cable wasn't pushed in far enough. The tool is for F connectors on RG59 and RG6; it isn't for RG11 or for BNC and RCA compression connectors, which take different tools, and it isn't a cutter or a stripper. Let the spring open the handles, lock them before the tool goes in a pouch, and keep the head clear of jacket bits so the connector seats square. A wipe of oil on the pivot now and then keeps the black oxide tool from stiffening.

Specifications

Documentation