-
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.
best coax
- Thread starter towernewbie
- Start date
Good choice, in Europe you can get the Aircom Plus, even less loss, this i use on H.F. and 50 mHz, for 2 and higher the 1/2 inch Ecoflex 15.
Just like antennas are all compromises among a dozen or more factors, there is no "best" coax. It depends on what you're using it for, on what frequency, how long a run ... and so forth.
How about a 60' run from a 100 watt box, driven by a cobra 29 chrome, to an I-10 on tower. I have a 6 foot andrews lp44 cable with connectors on both ends. Can I use the andrews right before the antenna to save money on the other coax needed?
I have a 6 foot andrews lp44 cable with connectors on both ends.
Yes, I would to save money.
RG213 that should do you just fine at 27 MHZ. LMR400 is best but you really don't need it at that freq.
73
Yes, I would to save money.
RG213 that should do you just fine at 27 MHZ. LMR400 is best but you really don't need it at that freq.
73
RG-213 is ok coax
just like antennas
there are many different types out there with different levels of performance and bench marks..
the antenna is obviously important (higher the better ofcourse)
also many differences in antennas
being you chose the I-10K
i think you dislike compromising
as such i would recommend at least LMR-400
Myself
HF i have Andrews Heliax LDF 50a
VHF-UHF Andrews heliax LDF 70a
Antenna and feed line is far more importent then is a amp/linear and likely so more Importent then the radio as well
just like antennas
there are many different types out there with different levels of performance and bench marks..
the antenna is obviously important (higher the better ofcourse)
also many differences in antennas
being you chose the I-10K
i think you dislike compromising
as such i would recommend at least LMR-400
Myself
HF i have Andrews Heliax LDF 50a
VHF-UHF Andrews heliax LDF 70a
Antenna and feed line is far more importent then is a amp/linear and likely so more Importent then the radio as well
Would using that "6 foot andrews lp44 cable with connectors on both ends" really save you that much? What would that amount to, 5 dollars? Guess it would depend on what the 'other' cable is going to be, huh? At HF, and for the length you said, using anything 'more' than something like RG-213 is a total waste of time and money. But it's your time and money.
- 'Doc
- 'Doc
B
BOOTY MONSTER
Guest
id feel safe for base use with LMR-400F or Davis Bury-Flex or Belden 9913F using amphenol conectors soldered onto each end .
You connect an antenna System to your radio, not just the antenna.
This is the antenna, connectors, coax, and all gear you have inline like swr meter, coax switch etc.
That systemwill work like the worst inline component.
27 mHz is high enough to introduce loss even in RG 213 coax, when your swr is not 1:1 even more.
The reason i use Aircom Plus on H.F on my OCF antenna is that on most bands the swr isbelow 1:1.5 but on some reaches 1:2.5
There the extra introduced loss is now lowered by using extremely low loss coax for H.F
Getting 1200 watts from the P.A. to the antenna i want all power to be at the antenna rather then have 100 watt or more lost in the coax.
When you are determined to pay big bucks for an antenna and radio, don't skimp on coax and good connectors.
Next, the reception of low signals will improve as well, something an linear won't do, recieve amplifiers won't help if the recieve signal is lost in lossy coax....
At 100 feet RG 213 has 1.2 dB loss on 30 mHz
If you get the good quality cable that is...
Aircom Plus has 0.55 dB loss on 30 mHz doble screened as well.
Lowering losses by more as half.
Just for fun, Ecoflex 15 has 0.22 dB loss at 30 mHz per 100 feet.
Then i measured some PL 259 connector from different sources, and found some sold in 27 mHz cb shops to be of questionable quality, on 30 mHz having impedances ranging from 43 to 61 Ohms..... figure out what that means in losses.
But, you decide what to do with your setup.
This is the antenna, connectors, coax, and all gear you have inline like swr meter, coax switch etc.
That systemwill work like the worst inline component.
27 mHz is high enough to introduce loss even in RG 213 coax, when your swr is not 1:1 even more.
The reason i use Aircom Plus on H.F on my OCF antenna is that on most bands the swr isbelow 1:1.5 but on some reaches 1:2.5
There the extra introduced loss is now lowered by using extremely low loss coax for H.F
Getting 1200 watts from the P.A. to the antenna i want all power to be at the antenna rather then have 100 watt or more lost in the coax.
When you are determined to pay big bucks for an antenna and radio, don't skimp on coax and good connectors.
Next, the reception of low signals will improve as well, something an linear won't do, recieve amplifiers won't help if the recieve signal is lost in lossy coax....
At 100 feet RG 213 has 1.2 dB loss on 30 mHz
If you get the good quality cable that is...
Aircom Plus has 0.55 dB loss on 30 mHz doble screened as well.
Lowering losses by more as half.
Just for fun, Ecoflex 15 has 0.22 dB loss at 30 mHz per 100 feet.
Then i measured some PL 259 connector from different sources, and found some sold in 27 mHz cb shops to be of questionable quality, on 30 mHz having impedances ranging from 43 to 61 Ohms..... figure out what that means in losses.
But, you decide what to do with your setup.
Thanks for the replies, the deal is that the best cable I can get here in Tucson Arizona is rg-213 at $1.50 a foot. The guy custom makes the lengths. The 6' Lp-44 was connected to the commercial business antenna and there was no other cable on the tower. This lp-44 is solid copper flex tubing with a black plastic cover. Its not your average cable. I just thought maybe this heavy duty cable had something to do with counteracting bleeding, and if so I would save a few bucks.
Justme,
And when you compare the differences in what you can hear between those 0.55dB or 0.22dB and the 1.2dB loss of RG-213, the differences are unnoticeable. The average human's ear will never hear the difference, and neither will an 'S' meter, not at HF. (VHF and UHF are different stories, as the stated losses at those frequencies will prove out.) When you compare the costs of those 0.55 and 0.22 dB loss cables, you can really see a difference that is noticeable to the average user (at least to ~this~ one).
You are correct that anything put 'in-line' can/will affect the amount of losses in a feed line. The important aspect of that is how much will it affect things. Generally, until the total losses amount to something on the order of 2 to 5dB, that difference is not a noticeable thingy at all (at HF). And then it will depend on 'why' those 'things' are in-line to start with, which can make a sort of big difference.
The simple fact is that there will always be losses. There is no such thing as 100% efficiency. The 'trick' is to minimize them to a point where they don't make any ~practical~ difference, which does include cost.
- 'Doc
And when you compare the differences in what you can hear between those 0.55dB or 0.22dB and the 1.2dB loss of RG-213, the differences are unnoticeable. The average human's ear will never hear the difference, and neither will an 'S' meter, not at HF. (VHF and UHF are different stories, as the stated losses at those frequencies will prove out.) When you compare the costs of those 0.55 and 0.22 dB loss cables, you can really see a difference that is noticeable to the average user (at least to ~this~ one).
You are correct that anything put 'in-line' can/will affect the amount of losses in a feed line. The important aspect of that is how much will it affect things. Generally, until the total losses amount to something on the order of 2 to 5dB, that difference is not a noticeable thingy at all (at HF). And then it will depend on 'why' those 'things' are in-line to start with, which can make a sort of big difference.
The simple fact is that there will always be losses. There is no such thing as 100% efficiency. The 'trick' is to minimize them to a point where they don't make any ~practical~ difference, which does include cost.
- 'Doc
Thanks for the replies, the deal is that the best cable I can get here in Tucson Arizona is rg-213 at $1.50 a foot. The guy custom makes the lengths. The 6' Lp-44 was connected to the commercial business antenna and there was no other cable on the tower. This lp-44 is solid copper flex tubing with a black plastic cover. Its not your average cable. I just thought maybe this heavy duty cable had something to do with counteracting bleeding, and if so I would save a few bucks.
