GLC8103 WiFi pigtail for a Canadian OEM
A 15 cm RG174 pigtail with MCX male on one end and an inline PCB + inductor on the other. Three sampling rounds, then a repeat order of 5,000 units.
15 cm RG174 pigtail with a PCB and inductor on one end
The customer builds WiFi equipment that operates on 2.4 and 5 GHz. They needed a short pigtail that goes from an MCX connector on their radio to a small PCB plus inductor assembly inside their device. The cable was off the shelf. The combination of the cable, the connector, and the inline PCB is what they could not source as one unit.
First batch shipped May 2026. Repeat order of 5,000 units followed in July.
Standard pigtails did not survive the strain relief test
The customer’s QA spec required the RG174 cable to hold 15 lbf (6.8 kgf) for 10 seconds without separating from the PCB end. Off-the-shelf pigtails typically fail around 8–10 lbf at the cable-to-PCB joint, especially when the joint also carries an inline inductor.
There was a second issue. The PCB side needed to mate with an inductor that had been selected for a specific impedance on the 2.4–5 GHz band. A generic pigtail would either mis-terminate the inductor or pull the trace impedance out of spec during strain.
- RG174, 15 cm, MCX male on the radio end
- PCB + inductor assembly on the device end
- Pull strength: 15 lbf for 10 s, no separation
- Electrical match on 2.4–5 GHz with the customer’s inductor choice
Three sample rounds, each one tied to a specific failure
We reworked the strain relief at the PCB end and matched the trace to the customer’s inductor. The first sample failed the electrical target — return loss was off, not the dimensions. The second sample cleared the electrical target but missed the dimensions on the PCB pad layout. The third sample passed both.
The strain relief used a dual over-mould at the PCB joint so the cable takes the load before the trace does. The inductor is positioned to keep the loop area small on the 5 GHz side.
- Sample v1, March 13: electrical target missed, returned
- Sample v2, April: pad layout mismatch, returned
- Sample v3, May: both electrical and mechanical targets met
- First PO 2,500 units, May 28
- Repeat PO 5,000 units, July 14
What the customer got
Specifications
| Model | GLC8103 / GL8103-P5 |
|---|---|
| Cable | RG174, 15 cm |
| Connector A | MCX male |
| Connector B | PCB + inductor assembly (customer-specified) |
| Operating band | 2.4–5 GHz (WiFi) |
| Pull strength spec | 15 lbf (6.8 kgf) hold 10 s, no separation |
| Pull strength measured | 25 lbf+ (≈ 11.35 kgf) on destructive test |
| First batch | 2,500 units, May 28, 2026 |
| Repeat order | 5,000 units, July 14, 2026 |
Timeline
The pull target was 15 lbf. The sample we destructively tested broke past 25 lbf. That gave our QA team the margin they needed to release the build.— Program engineering, Canada OEM
