In the provision of wiring systems carrying voice, electronic data, and/or electrical power between separate buildings, communication or data equipment and networks, or work stations within a building, it is frequently needed to splice or branch coaxial electric cables. Splicing is usually done by tapping into a coaxial cable along its length at a convenient point for branching. This can become tedious, complicated, and time consuming where the tap connectors are complicated and/or bulky and require special tools and skills for installation.
Several methods are currently used to tap a coaxial cable. One method is to cut the coaxial cable, terminate each end with a connector, and connect each connector to a tee connector. This method often gives a bulky and labor intensive connection. In a second method, the jacket, shield, and insulation are stripped from a short section of coaxial cable. The exposed center conductor is soldered to the exposed center conductor of a second coaxial cable, the shields connected by jumper wire, and the splice covered with insulation. This method is usually labor intensive, and the mechanical integrity of the coaxial cable is reduced since the braided shield, a primary strength member, has been cut.
A third method utilizes coaxial solder sleeves to tie in a third coaxial cable after the coaxial cable has been cut in two. Poor electrical characteristics and poor mechanical strength usually characterize the product of this method.
One may also cut and strip a coaxial cable and solder each center conductor to a pin on a small printed circuit (PC) board. The braids are soldered to pads on the board and onto a metal cover. The inside of the cover is incapsulated in insulation. The two pins protruding from the rear side of the PC board may connect to a branch coaxial cable. This product has good electrical properties, but only fair mechanical properties, and is usually a bit bulky.
A frequently used method is a saddle clamp device attached to a coaxial cable from which pointed contacts pierce the cable to contact the shield and the center conductor. Unreliable contact is often a problem with this method.