coax question

[mr_fx]

dont worry about it, it's 2m FM... FM... FM... FM get that antenna as high is it will go... in the upper HF (12m, 10m), VHF, line of sight FAR out weighs the losses on the coax...

NOW if you are doing a VHF SSB setup... well thats a little different... then you really need both

when I was running a 8 foot colinear 2m/440 vertical at 30ft I could barely get out 25 miles on 2m FM simplex... however getting up to 45ft make a huge difference, I could hit repeaters over 60 miles out with 5 watts full quieting and works FM simplex about that same distance on 50 watts... even though I had increased coax loss from running 75 feet of mini 8 coax

if you want some cheap low loss coax get yourself some Cable TV HARD LINE!!!

 

[Captain Kilowatt]

dont worry about it, it's 2m FM... FM... FM... FM ........

Please turn your echo button to the OFF position.

 

[Beetle]

I was thinking amateur radio supplies. Shipping will.be a killer but it will.still be cheaper.than the belden rg8 available here which costs me around $7-$8 per meter.

Just an observation about LMR-400 - the center conductor is solid aluminum with a coating of copper. This might explain why the RG8 is so much more expensive. Its center conductor is all copper. Stranded (and therefore much easier to work with than a large solid conductor).

 

[milkman21218]

I find that better the coax the lower the loss on 2m/70cm. And it can really matter. Upgrade to something like RG-8u or better.

 

[Singularity35]

Just an observation about LMR-400 - the center conductor is solid aluminum with a coating of copper. This might explain why the RG8 is so much more expensive. Its center conductor is all copper. Stranded (and therefore much easier to work with than a large solid conductor).

Thanks, that's good to know.

 

[W5LZ]

This is just for grins...

LMR-400 is good coax for VHF/UHF stuff. It has nice characteristics that are suitable for that frequency range. For lower frequencies there's no particular benefit, those characteristics do not carry over for other frequencies. Sure, there may be some benefit at HF, but you're talking about fractions of a dB, which just don't amount to anything. (About like using 6 gauge wire from a wall-wart, won't hurt anything but sort of a wasted effort.)
I used to use RG-8X for everything, even some RG-58. I could tell a difference when I changed to LMR-400 but it was -very- slight. That was for runs of about 100 feet. For shorter runs I seriously doubt if it would have been noticeable. That's for VHF/UHF. For HF, and I tried it just to see, there was no differences at all. That was 'measuring' by ear, I don't have the equipment to be very 'scientific' about it.
I have no idea what the cost of shipping to the Philippines would be, but it's got to be higher than it is here in the states. If that cost isn't at least reasonable, then I would have to say it just isn't worth it. (That's something that you'll have to decide.)
Have fun.
- 'Doc

(OR... get a lot of it and sell it to your friends?)

 

[Singularity35]

Thanks Doc, that's also another thing to keep in mind.

My thoughts were that if I could get LMR400 for cheaper than I can get RG8 here, even with shipping, I'd probably go for it.

I just did the math, sourcing Belden RG8 locally would cost me around $280 for 100 feet(without connectors). I'm looking at a 100 foot length of RG8 with PL259 connectors at Amateur Radio Supplies for $77. I figure even with $100 shipping(I think it's actually $47 flat rate to here), I'm still ahead. Same store sells a 100 foot LMR400 assembly at $112. If there's not a lot of difference between RG8 and LMR400 for my application, I could save the $30 and put it towards shipping.

My experience has been that buying overseas(whenever possible) is always more cost effective when it comes to overseas manufactured goods.

 

[222DBFL]

Go for the lmr400, it will last for years and will handle most power that you would want to put to it. JMO. It might not make a difference as far as rx/tx performance, but it will last longer in the elements. JMO.

 

[Singularity35]

Go for the lmr400, it will last for years and will handle most power that you would want to put to it. JMO. It might not make a difference as far as rx/tx performance, but it will last longer in the elements. JMO.

Thanks! Good to know.

 

[Singularity35]

LMR400 ordered.

6-8 weeks via sea freight though. :sad:

 

[222DBFL]

Good deal, worth the wait.

 

[Singularity35]

Thanks. Enough time for me to gather the rest of the necessary materials too. Coax is by far the major expense.

 

[222DBFL]

And is most certainly an important piece in a good antenna system.

 

[Singularity35]

Agreed.