Update: I have been receiving a few emails that some images are not loading, here is a direct link to the file to download this entire page. http://www.shishak.net/triax/triax.rar

Welcome,

First off, I am using grey on black because it is easy on the eyes, carry on.

Basically the process of making triax is very similar to that of a coaxial cable, but instead...obviously it has three conductors. You will need the connector(fe/male), the cable, crimpers, and a volt meter that can test contiunity.

First we need to have a clean cut on the end of the cable, it is not 100% nessicary, but I have OCD and the closer to perfect the better.

Now lets take a look at your parts. From left to right; Strain relief, flat small washer, first conductor crimp, first conductor washer medium, first conductor large washer, spacer between first and second conductor, second conductor tube crimp, rubber, third conductor crimp.

Next you will need to strip the outer jacket, it needs to be roughly 1 1/16th inch from the back. That is the recomindation that is supplied from kings, but I found that it was cleaner and had a much tighter fit in the end.

So now, go ahead and strip the outer jacket away leaving the first of the three condutors as intact as possible.

Now we need to place the first part of the connector together. Right to left; strain relief screwon, strain relief, small washer, rubber. IT IS ESSENTIAL THAT YOU FOLLOW THIS ORDER!

After you have the 4 parts on the cable you need to add the first conductor crimp then peel the first conductor back over it as seen below.

Next place the medium washer over the crimp and use some pliers, or if you have the guts...your teeth. It will want to pop up on the opposite side that you are applying pressure, so using 2 sets of good pliers is not a bad idea. BE SURE TO NOT DESTROY THE COPPER MAKING UP THE FIRST CONDUCTOR! After you have the pilers and have forced the medium washer over the first crimp it should look much like this. Also be sure that you still have the pieces of the cable from before already on the cable, once you make the cut in the next step you will have to start all over.

Get a nice pair of sharp wire snips and cut off the excess copper, should look like the image below the image below this text.

Next you need to place the large washer over the bottom crimp and the medium washer.

Now you need to strip the cable again, this time you will expose the second conductor. leave about 1/4 inch between the top of the large washer and where you strip the second jacket. Keep in mind to not damage the conductor. After you strip the jacket of the second conductor you will need to place the crimp over the conductor and move it to the bottom of the cable.

Again like the first conductor you will need to peel back the conductor. Then you can strip the jacket of the third and final conductor, keep in mind to not damage the conductor, yet again.

The next step is to place the small crimp over the third conductor.

Then crimp it twice, once at the very base of the crimp and once again slightly above where your first crimp ended to ensure that the crimp will hold.

Next you will need to place the second conductor over the first conductor, exactly the same way that you would for a coaxial cable.

Crimp the second crimp to the second conductor, once will suffice, but I choose to do it twice...well because I can.

Next you need to place the space of the first and second conductor on the cable, the widest of the plastic at the bottom of the cable.

Next place the largeest metal part of the connector on the top of the cable and tighten with your hands.

And finally you will need to get a 11/16th inch wrench and a 3/4th inch wrench to tighten everything down.

TIghten the middle to the top, the tighten the bottom to the middle with a second 3/4th inch wrench.

I got the opportunity to learn how to make this cable on a jobsite and decided to make this whole "how to" as an after thought so I used the camera on my phone for the pics and honestly, didnt do the greatest job as far as taking pictures, some steps were left out of the images and explained the best I could with text.

There is also a "bulk head" triax connector for mounting the cable on a stage pannel, it is essentially made the same way but there are a few more items to add to the back of the pannel. be sure to asymble the connector with the cable running through the hole for the connector to attach to.

If you need help assymbeling a triaxial cable you can get in contact with me at http://www.shishak.net/blog
If you need help immedatly with making triax you can send me a message on my wordpress blog and we can exchange information, I would love to help anyone and everyone I can out on this, they are very fun to make. If it gets down to the line for you I am willing to have a conversation over the phone.

Last updated 11/21/2008 by mike