After recently searching to buy some Belden Coax for a new amatuer radio antenna project, I feel compelled to warn others on some of my rather surprising results. Being that my father-in-law spent many a year making this quality cable, I have managed to become very familiar with the Belden line of cables for Amatuer Radio applications.
My initial search came back with several sellers claiming to be selling quality Belden Coax, so I contacted them with questions regarding their cable. Belden has always laser printed model and run numbers on their coax cable, and I simply asked these sellers for this Belden number, or to post a picture showing it, so I could research the technical specifics for my application. To my surprise, and the reason I am writing this guide, is quite simple. Not 1 of these sellers could provide this information(although most did respond with an answer). Most provided other manufacturer names and numbers that I have never heard of, yet were claiming to be selling quality Belden coax cable! I am not sure why eBay allows this practice, but if you are searching for a good quality Belden Coax Cable with good quality PL259 connectors, I encourage you to ask questions FIRST!! Any seller claiming to be selling Belden RG/8X cable with 3000 watt load capacity is a no brainer, and yes sellers are out there making this exact claim in their auctions.....In short, there is absolutely NO way Belden RG8X(or ANY mini-coax) cable will handle 3000 watts, not even close.....Belden RG8X cables of similar design to those being sold on ebay are rated at 370 watts MAX load under the best swr conditions up to 50MHZ. Furthermore, Belden does NOT offer 50 ohm MIL-SPEC coax with a clear jacket, this is also a sign of a bootleg cable.
If you would like to see a couple detailed pictures of actual Belden cable to show what I am writing about here, contact me thru my "ME" page and I will gladly send them to you.....I tried to add them here but ebay compresses them and the model and run numbers are not readable in this format. Remember, authentic Belden coax cable has LASER printed ID and run numbers, plus mil-spec numbers where applicable. Ask for a picture of the actual cable you are about to bid on and compare. Bootleg sellers will not do this, at least they wont for me, as I have asked several.
Ironically, ebay has chosen to show some of these exact coax auctions on the right of this page, take a look and see what ridiculous claims are being made and then decide for yourself.
In closing, coax cable is an extremely important part of any radio system, so make sure you are getting what is advertised BEFORE making that bid. Take the extra time and ask questions or request actual pictures of the cable for sale. Hopefully this guide will help those who are contemplating this type purchase. Good Luck!!
73 de k9toa
PLEASE NOTE: To appease those who may read another author's guide on this subject, yes, Belden DOES make an RG/8X cable that will handle up to 1500 watts at 30Mhz, but it is NOT of similar design that is being bootlegged on ebay, it is the "doubond" 7800 series and VERY expensive higher end cable sold primarily for commercial wireless applications.....It has duel layers of sheilding, outer braid surrounding an aluminum foil inner layer for 100% sheilding, solid core inner conductor......It is only available in black, not clear, not gray, or any other color.
My initial search came back with several sellers claiming to be selling quality Belden Coax, so I contacted them with questions regarding their cable. Belden has always laser printed model and run numbers on their coax cable, and I simply asked these sellers for this Belden number, or to post a picture showing it, so I could research the technical specifics for my application. To my surprise, and the reason I am writing this guide, is quite simple. Not 1 of these sellers could provide this information(although most did respond with an answer). Most provided other manufacturer names and numbers that I have never heard of, yet were claiming to be selling quality Belden coax cable! I am not sure why eBay allows this practice, but if you are searching for a good quality Belden Coax Cable with good quality PL259 connectors, I encourage you to ask questions FIRST!! Any seller claiming to be selling Belden RG/8X cable with 3000 watt load capacity is a no brainer, and yes sellers are out there making this exact claim in their auctions.....In short, there is absolutely NO way Belden RG8X(or ANY mini-coax) cable will handle 3000 watts, not even close.....Belden RG8X cables of similar design to those being sold on ebay are rated at 370 watts MAX load under the best swr conditions up to 50MHZ. Furthermore, Belden does NOT offer 50 ohm MIL-SPEC coax with a clear jacket, this is also a sign of a bootleg cable.
If you would like to see a couple detailed pictures of actual Belden cable to show what I am writing about here, contact me thru my "ME" page and I will gladly send them to you.....I tried to add them here but ebay compresses them and the model and run numbers are not readable in this format. Remember, authentic Belden coax cable has LASER printed ID and run numbers, plus mil-spec numbers where applicable. Ask for a picture of the actual cable you are about to bid on and compare. Bootleg sellers will not do this, at least they wont for me, as I have asked several.
Ironically, ebay has chosen to show some of these exact coax auctions on the right of this page, take a look and see what ridiculous claims are being made and then decide for yourself.
In closing, coax cable is an extremely important part of any radio system, so make sure you are getting what is advertised BEFORE making that bid. Take the extra time and ask questions or request actual pictures of the cable for sale. Hopefully this guide will help those who are contemplating this type purchase. Good Luck!!
73 de k9toa
PLEASE NOTE: To appease those who may read another author's guide on this subject, yes, Belden DOES make an RG/8X cable that will handle up to 1500 watts at 30Mhz, but it is NOT of similar design that is being bootlegged on ebay, it is the "doubond" 7800 series and VERY expensive higher end cable sold primarily for commercial wireless applications.....It has duel layers of sheilding, outer braid surrounding an aluminum foil inner layer for 100% sheilding, solid core inner conductor......It is only available in black, not clear, not gray, or any other color.