• You can now help support WorldwideDX when you shop on Amazon at no additional cost to you! Simply follow this Shop on Amazon link first and a portion of any purchase is sent to WorldwideDX to help with site costs.
  • Click here to find out how to win free radios from Retevis!

Best type of coax?

I'm not dropping a C-note on a $10 run of coax on any HF installation.
I will run RG6 before I spend for high dollar coax with similar attenuation at the low power I run. In fact, until this Wednesday, that's exactly what I've been running for months on my multiband wire. I moved it, shortened the run, and put it on RG8X.

Walmart.com 100' RG6 $9.97
Walmart.com 80' RG213 $105.90

>10× the price for 0.1 db difference @50 mhz.

I purposely chose Walmart to illustrate same source lower pricing. Before you go off on low quality Walmart remember the *.com is a drop shipping source just like Amazon.
 
Last edited:
I once ran a long run of rg58 laying on the ground to my antenna as a get me on the air at a new location with the only coax I had at the time,

From memory I measured 100w in for 38w at the antenna, not good so i cut a little off & ended up with 42w at the antenna,

I had no decent coax but I had mains cable so I moved my base amp to the bottom of the mast & turned the radio power up to get full output from the amplifier,

that gave me a little more than 98% of my power to the antenna,


The 58% loss on RX made no difference to what I could hear on 27mhz compared to coax with half the loss of rg213,

on UHF its a different story,
I could hear nothing but my own transmissions from a UHF handie when I put a commercial 4 stack uhf dipole at the end of that same long run of rg58.
 
What kind of problems were you having?
It was strange, but when I would key up I would not get any output. Changed a jumper and it was good, then it happened again. So I upgraded the coax and all is fine.
 
LMR-400 or "equivalent" for feed line and LMR-240 or "equivalent" for all jumpers if it's a base setup.

LMR-240 for mobile setup.

This is what I have done for my two base stations and my mobile set up. I specifically went this route for the additional shielding that 400 and 240 has. Shielding is everything.

In this case, routing is everything.
 
Yes, that too!


I apologize if it came off the wrong way.

Big truck installation means maybe a few feet “outside” from truck cab to west coast mirror arms. Highly-flexible (tight bends or wraps) with FME ends will be easiest assuming pre-made.

DIY, I’d look into what’s desired for an antenna feed-point choke. And a choke before the radio. (Noise treatment at each end of coax; three points on a cophase harness).

Ought to be a way to test the idea beforehand. A single line to one arm, then with & without toroids or other.
 
I apologize if it came off the wrong way.

Big truck installation means maybe a few feet “outside” from truck cab to west coast mirror arms. Highly-flexible (tight bends or wraps) with FME ends will be easiest assuming pre-made.

DIY, I’d look into what’s desired for an antenna feed-point choke. And a choke before the radio. (Noise treatment at each end of coax; three points on a cophase harness).

Ought to be a way to test the idea beforehand. A single line to one arm, then with & without toroids or other.


All good man! I didn't take it bad.
 
bob85,

"From memory I measured 100w in for 38w at the antenna, not good so i cut a little off & ended up with 42w at the antenna."

@ 38W, feedline loss due to attenuation = 4.202 dB..
@ 42W, feedline loss due to attenuation = 3.767 dB..
 
Last edited:
I've been happy with my 9913F for the base antenna, a MFJ Super Penetrator. I use the mini-8 for jumpers in the house. I have some RG400 on the way, so I may make some jumpers from that and see what if any difference it will make.
 

dxChat
Help Users
  • No one is chatting at the moment.
  • @ Mark Malcomb:
    Hello BJ. Been a long time since I've been on. You doing well? Mark Malcomb
  • @ Naysayer:
    I’m
  • @ kingmudduck:
    Hello to all I have a cobra 138xlr, Looking for the number display for it. try a 4233 and it did not work