That’s what Mad Phil taught me, back in the day, and it’s still true:

From the top:
- 15 W dummy load with N female
- N male to BNC female
- BNC male to UHF female
- UHF male to UHF male
- UHF female on homebrew antenna mount
Obviously, I don’t have enough adapters: I need one with N male to UHF male.
I actually spent money to get from the reverse-polarity SMA connector on the Wouxun radios directly to UHF female, matching the cable to the antenna mount in one step.
Sometimes an unsteady ziggurat of adapters isn’t appropriate.