in your opinion , what makes characteristic make a great flexible coax ?

[BOOTY MONSTER]

what features do you look for in quality coax ? do you go purely by the numbers/specs ? do you go by whats popular or gets recommended the most ? do you go by price ?

do you have a good enough understanding of the materials used to make it and how its constructed to base your decision on that ? if so how about giving a mini class room 101 on coax construction and materials used ?

 

[Captain Kilowatt]

If you want to use the coax to tie cargo down then go for the thinnest most flexible stuff you can find. if you want it for RF then use whatever YOU consider a decent trade-off between loss and cost. The VERY best lowest loss cable is not needed for HF and 11m. I like to see no more than about 1 dB or so loss. If I need a long run then I buy better cable. I actually use Andrew LDF4-50 heliax and the proper fittings BUT ONLY because it was free from when we decommissioned a couple towers. I would never buy it new.

 

[BammBamm]

Good ? Booty. I hadn't heard of LMR-400 when I got back into radio and asked for peoples thoughts about it along with reviews. I also had looked into 213 but it seemed everyone preferred the 400 over the 213 so I went with 400. My local shop had 213 and 400 for about the same price when I bought it so that helped to make my decision also. I've ran RG-58, mini 8 and the older rg-8 base coax in the past but now prefer and will continue with 400. I also don't run more than 750 watts in 11 meter and freeband.

 

[W5LZ]

Of the characteristics you cited, I think 'popularity' ranks lowest as far as I'm concerned. It depends on the use I plan to put it to, what frequency and to some extent, what power levels I plan on using. except for very specific and particular instances, I want 50 ohm cable. Almost any of the common coaxial cables will handle the power level I normally use. I like it to be fairly easy to handle, not as stiff as a board, and fairly easy to work with, connectors, etc. From there, it's a matter of what I can afford. I like for coax to be something like 95 - 97% shielded, not made with aluminum since I can't solder to it, and from a reputable company. RG-58 isn't objectionable usually, and I do have some runs of '9913 and LMR-400. I have no need for any 'hard-line' of any kind for personal use. It certainly does work well on the higher frequencies, but also certainly not necessary for HF. (Especially if I gotta pay for it!) I guess I've used more RG-8X than anything, it usually does fine for the applications I put it to. Does that mean I prefer it before any other type cable in all instances? Of course not. But for typical HF use, it works just dandy.
- 'Doc

 

[ThirstyBoots440]

I tend to lean more towards the Andrew FSJ1-50A for mobile install, kinda stealthy look in my opinion yet it handles all the power I need it to...

 

[RatsoW8]

I tend to lean more towards the Andrew FSJ1-50A for mobile install, kinda stealthy look in my opinion yet it handles all the power I need it to...

 

[BOOTY MONSTER]

you're a mud duck if you dont use heliax in your mobile !!

 

[ThirstyBoots440]

considering the size of it and the fact that it is flexible, FSJ1-50A is a great cable IMHO. Power ratings in the 3k watt range average, and the fact that it's not much larger in diameter than mini 8 coax. With loss just below 1, it didn't take long for me to change over to this stuff in a hurry. I'm glad I did, it's been great for me, and even though it ain't all that cheap, it keeps the better half happy since she can't stand all that large cable

 

[binrat]

I'm using LDF2-50 and 213 around here. The LDF2 was free with N connectors so why not. The 213 was "donated" by another ham who was relocating for work. He was also nice enough to leave me mutliple old cb's, power supplies, and a few antennas. For the mobile I've been using LMR 240 flex.

 

[psycho]

what features do you look for in quality coax ? do you go purely by the numbers/specs ? do you go by whats popular or gets recommended the most ? do you go by price ?

do you have a good enough understanding of the materials used to make it and how its constructed to base your decision on that ? if so how about giving a mini class room 101 on coax construction and materials used ?

I don't buy cheap shit! I'll buy and install coax good enough to handle an amp I know I can't afford. Belden and Times Microwave.