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Newbie Base Station Setup - Cont.

will85w4

will85w4

Active Member
Apr 12, 2010
152
6
26
Coachella Valley, So Cal
Ok, I have some Coax questions...

Here's my setup. I need to know what type of coax would be best for my application.

President Washington 40ch AM/SSB (finally got it!)
Solarcon IMAX 2000 (still waiting to purchase...)
50' of coax needed + jumper for SWR testing. (need help on what kind)

What type of coax would be best for this setup?

I know there are a lot of variables involved.

RG58X? RG213?

Thanks, any help and suggestions greatly appreciated.
 

if 50 feet is all youre gonna be running and youre not gonna be using a amp or a amp bigger than a 4 pill or 500 watts using good quality 8x is plenty fine . nothing wrong with using the big stuff if youve got the extra bucks to spare of just want the warm fuzzy feeling . not all coax is equal though . stay away from any coax with the connectors with the plastic molding . and make sure the pl259's are soldered on both the center conductor and the braid to the 259s shell . i use 50 feet of the 8x that sparky sells and havnt had any issues with it .

50' Belden RG-8X Coax Cable 97% shield w/ Amphenol PL-259's

if i wasnt on a tight budget i would use the big stuff though , for the warm and fuzzy feeling ;)
 
It sounds like yours is a fairly typical set up and just about anything would work just fine. I would tend toward a name brand rather than an 'off' brand. For the length of run that you anticipate, I just would not worry a lot about losses, they won't amount to anything significant at all. Fractional dB losses are meaningless. And contrary to popular belief, losses of less than about 5-6 dB are not 'hearable'.
Jumpers are more a matter of convenience than anything else if you aren't planning to run high power. I think RG-58 isn't exactly the best choice mainly because of the solid center conductor and it not holding up under a lot of flexing. The last coax I bought was RG-8X. It's about as good as any at 50 feet, and will handle as much power as I've ever used (1500 watts give or take some). If you do the matching right, any coax will handle more than you think it will.
The only coax I would definitely not recommend is the very small stuff, RG-174 etc. That stuff isn't meant for runs longer than a few inches. I'd also not recommend Radio Shack coax any more. At one time, their stuff wasn't bad, but it is now (they don't get it from the same sources now).
Want to spend 3 or 4 times the price for the 'big name' stuff? Be my guest. I figure that's a little silly though, there's just not that much 'improvement' over the other good quality coax brands. For long runs, or VHF/UHF, sure! But not for 50 feet at HF.
- 'Doc
 
W5LZ said:
It sounds like yours is a fairly typical set up and just about anything would work just fine. I would tend toward a name brand rather than an 'off' brand. For the length of run that you anticipate, I just would not worry a lot about losses, they won't amount to anything significant at all. Fractional dB losses are meaningless. And contrary to popular belief, losses of less than about 5-6 dB are not 'hearable'.
Jumpers are more a matter of convenience than anything else if you aren't planning to run high power. I think RG-58 isn't exactly the best choice mainly because of the solid center conductor and it not holding up under a lot of flexing. The last coax I bought was RG-8X. It's about as good as any at 50 feet, and will handle as much power as I've ever used (1500 watts give or take some). If you do the matching right, any coax will handle more than you think it will.
The only coax I would definitely not recommend is the very small stuff, RG-174 etc. That stuff isn't meant for runs longer than a few inches. I'd also not recommend Radio Shack coax any more. At one time, their stuff wasn't bad, but it is now (they don't get it from the same sources now).
Want to spend 3 or 4 times the price for the 'big name' stuff? Be my guest. I figure that's a little silly though, there's just not that much 'improvement' over the other good quality coax brands. For long runs, or VHF/UHF, sure! But not for 50 feet at HF.
- 'Doc
Click to expand...

50' Belden RG-8X Coax Cable 97% shield w/ Amphenol PL-259's

So this stuff wouldn't be bad then that's what I'm reading?

This is what I was originally looking at...

Copper Electronics, Inc.
 
I think they both would work equally well for what you want to do. I know which one I'd pick, and while I pride myself in being cheap, that's not the reason I'd select the one I'd get.
The color of the stuff makes for very little difference, but I wonder why the RG-8X is grey?
- 'Doc

(I think 'hot pink' would be much nicer.)
 
For what you are doing, the belden rg 8x is fine. Get that antenna, and get er done
Enjoy that radio, lots of dx been running on 38 LSB......
I been having a blast in the truck on SSB for days
Listen for CDX 339


( or on AM, Three hundred and Thirty nine, Shockwav, working this 1/4 wave antenna, with no watts, and I am reading the mail :love:

73
Jeff
 
i recall reading something about not using coax with the clear jacket outdoors because the sun does something to the braid or promotes the growth of mold or something like that .

IF......if im recalling correctly , is there any truth to that ????
 
Sun light, or UV, doesn't do much of anything to copper all by it's self. I certainly won't say that 'mold' can't develop inside coax, but only if there's moisture in there, which bad all by it's self. Sun light or UV can do things to synthetic stuff, such as the dielectric insulation under that copper braid. I've no idea if that happens though. That clear outer covering can be protection from weather, etc, but I think I'll stick with the 'other' typical type outer insulation, which typically has additional characteristics that also come in handy at times (such as burying the stuff).
'Looks' don't mean a terribly lot to me if it works good. I do have standards though! Sarah P. will always be higher on my 'list' than Nancy P. ever will be. For several reasons, but we're only talking about 'looks' here.
- 'Doc
 
will85w4 said:
I feel kinda stupid asking this, but I can't tell if the RG213 is 50 ohm or not? Any way to tell by the link?
Click to expand...

Yes - it is 50 ohms. Most CB/Ham coax is. They do make 75 ohm coax; but that is used only for dual antennas on diesel trucks though. RG-213 is V.decent coax - right choice - IMO. The outer shield/covering is made to handle the elements/weather. You are on the right thing...
 
Robb said:
Yes - it is 50 ohms. Most CB/Ham coax is. They do make 75 ohm coax; but that is used only for dual antennas on diesel trucks though. RG-213 is V.decent coax - right choice - IMO. The outer shield/covering is made to handle the elements/weather. You are on the right thing...
Click to expand...

Thank you Robb. This is the same opinion I am getting from my dad. He says to go with the 213 for the same reasons. I would rather go with this than the cheaper and do it right the first time around and not regret it in the long run.

Thanks again,

-will85w4 - "DesertRatRadio1127"
 

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