Dual Compression Tool for Short and Long Style F Connectors (CTF-230)

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

Short F connectors and long F connectors compress to different lengths, and most crews settle it by carrying two tools. The Jonard Tools CTF-230 Dual Compression Tool carries both in one: a dual-head plunger with a green side for short style connectors such as the PPC EX6 and a blue side for long style connectors such as the PPC EX6XL, swapped by pulling the plunger, rotating it, and reinserting it, plus a rotatable head that sets the tool for RG6 or RG11 connectors. The design is fixed, with no adjustment to make once the head and the plunger are set, and the compatibility list runs well beyond PPC: Digicon, Belden, Cablecon, Corning Gilbert UltraEase, and ATX Networks connectors are named on the sheet, and most other brands of short and long F connectors fit. The tool is high carbon steel with a black oxide finish and plastic grips, at 6-3/4 in and just under a pound, made for the CATV installer who meets both connector styles and both cable sizes on the same route.

Features

• Dual head: green for short, blue for long. One plunger with a side for short style F connectors (PPC EX6) and a side for long style (PPC EX6XL).
• Pull, rotate, reinsert. Switching between short and long takes seconds and no tools.
• Rotatable head for RG6 or RG11. Set the head for the cable size and the tool supports the connector for it.
• Fixed design, no adjustments. Nothing to dial in between connectors once the head and plunger are set.
• Broad compatibility. PPC, Digicon, Belden, Cablecon, Corning Gilbert UltraEase, and ATX Networks connectors by part number, plus many other brands and styles of short and long F connectors.
• High carbon steel, black oxide. Durable body and finish for daily use.
• Plastic grips. Comfortable and ergonomic through a day of connectors.

Where It Fits

It suits cable TV and broadband installers who use PPC EX6 short connectors at the wall plate and EX6XL long connectors outside at the ground block, and don't want two compression tools in the pouch, MDU and commercial technicians terminating RG11 trunks and RG6 drops on the same job, contractors working for operators that specify PPC, Belden, or Corning Gilbert connectors by part number, satellite and security installers who meet both connector lengths depending on the fitting, anyone who's compressed a long connector in a short tool and found the gap later, and a truck that wants one tool for the whole F-connector range. For a lighter single-purpose tool on RG59 and RG6 short and long connectors, the CTF-180; for long and RG7/RG11 connectors with a patented rotatable 360° head, the CTF-360XL. For stripping before the connector, the TLC-028 and TLC-029 have preset coax cassettes; for cutting square first, the JIC-725 and JIC-750.

Good to Know

Match three things before each connector: the head position to the cable (RG6 or RG11), the plunger side to the connector style (green for short, blue for long), and the connector to the compatibility list, since a connector that isn't on it may still fit but may not compress to the right length. The connector's instructions set the strip dimensions, and the compression tool only finishes what 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. Check the finished connector for a fully driven sleeve with no gap, a straight center conductor standing proud of the face by the maker's dimension, and no turning or pulling on the cable; a connector that compressed with no resistance usually means the cable wasn't pushed in far enough. To change the plunger, pull it out, rotate it so the other color faces the connector, and reinsert it fully; a plunger seated halfway compresses short. The tool is for F connectors; BNC and RCA compression connectors take different tools, and it isn't a cutter or a stripper. Keep the head and plunger clear of jacket bits so the connector seats square, and a wipe of oil on the pivot and the head now and then keeps the black oxide tool from stiffening. The instructions PDF below shows the plunger change and the head positions.

Specifications

Documentation