Coax Question

[Captain Kilowatt]

Yes the RG-213 should do fine..

For the record though ( since you asked)

RG8..RG-213 and LMR-400 are Not the best out there..
of those 3 you spoke of...LMR-400 is the best..

The Fact that you are using it for 11 meters and likely require no more then 100 feet ( and do not Persay want to spend for the Truly Best) then i would say use no less then RG-213..But given that LMR-400 is cheep anyways..then i would go with the LMR-400 or the Beldon 9913 flex..

There are many coax caculators that can show you the loss you would sustain using whatever coax feedline you decide to use..

Many here Blast me for being too extreme and or willing to spend too much money..
Earlier on in the tread one stated LMR-400 does not bend easily ( so he suggested Bendon 9913 Flex)..

Well on HF ( Mostly on 11 meters ) i use True Hardline
Andrews Heliax LDF5-50a ( which is 7/8 inches thick )
This because i use a 140 ft to my Interceptor I-10K..So i encur very little loss and i can be fairly sure i will Not need to replace it for at least 10 years ( its warrantied life span )..

Also i am far less likely to have issues with neighbors due to RF leakage..

However it also seems to enable my radio to "Hear" better without having to put an antenna mounted PreAmp on..

For VHF and UHF i instead use Andrews Heliax LDF7-50a (1 & 5/8 inch coax feedline )..

So..

Be careful when you ask...
What the BEST coax is..

What i use is not even the Best..But is what typically cell phone carriers use for 900 to 1900 mhz (with LDF5-50a ) So i suppose it is good enough for me on HF..

Good luck on your new antenna set up..
The Better you set it up now..
The easier it will be to keep working good and the less issues that will pop up down the road..

Actually you are not using hardline, you are using heliax. Hardline is actually rigid copper pipe that is in no way flexible at all.Probably 98% of the people call heliax cable hardline so don't feel bad. real hardline looks like this.

I have installed both and believe me heliax is far easier.

 

[BOOTY MONSTER]

damn captian !!!

dont forget about having good quality properly attched 259's . not every place bothers to even solder the braid shield . some just use a dab of solder on the center and rely on friction/pressure for the shields connection .

 

[triple nickle]

You are right on that Booty. A few times i had to stop and buy a 18' coax at the truck stop and the pl259's we not solder right. Now i carry a brand new coax made the right way with me. In case of an emergency on the road.

 

[hookedon6]

...Well on HF ( Mostly on 11 meters ) i use True Hardline
Andrews Heliax LDF5-50a ( which is 7/8 inches thick )...

if you look at a coax calculator, you might be suprised to find out that at 27 Mhz, a 100 foot run of 450 ohm generic ladder line is "better" than ldf5,.....

and a LOT cheaper too

op:op:

 

[KingCobra_CDX882]

Yes...Heliax is Not True hardline..
I suppose like most everyone else...i call it hardline..lol
But true Hardline is indeed harder to walk with..
I started off with that comparison...given how it was mentioned how hard it is to bend LMR-400 ( lol )
How good does that hardline work ? ( i never used that )

Oh and regarding laderline..
Yes it is indeed cheeper and in many ways better then even my LDF5 -50a ( however it has issues as well....regardless i went the Heliax way)

 

[HiDef]

Actually you are not using hardline, you are using heliax. Hardline is actually rigid copper pipe that is in no way flexible at all.Probably 98% of the people call heliax cable hardline so don't feel bad. real hardline looks like this.

I have installed both and believe me heliax is far easier.

Bah. That's only the 3" stuff.

 

[Captain Kilowatt]

Bah. That's only the 3" stuff.

Very true but it is a good example of true hardline. You are probably used to the 6 inch stuff and bigger.In case anyone is curious this is what hardline looks like on the inside. It's nothing more than two concentric pieces of copper pipe really.

And these are the fittings.

 

[BOOTY MONSTER]

that stuff is humongous !!!!

 

[Captain Kilowatt]

that stuff is humongous !!!!

Not to mention expen$ive. The transmission line is not too badly priced but the fittings are just plain scary. I doubt you will find prices online as most of that stuff is sold to broadcast installations in quantity and the price depends on how much is ordered and how good a relationship the buyer has with the seller.Suffice it to say that a 3 inch connector can be several hundred dollars and it goes up from there.

 

[mackmobile43]

I am at this point running 100 feet of rg-8u coax the big thick stuff, and i have been reading that this lmr 400 coax is suppose to be the best coax on the market? and also people claim that the rg-213 is suppose to be the best so what does everyone think? i ask cause i am getting a new sirio vector 4000 from h&y and wanna run the best coax i can also who has the best price on the lmr-400?

Thanks,Dan

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