LMR TIMES 400 OR LMR 240?

[222DBFL]

I have seen lte being run off lmr240 cables to the hard line coax which is 1 5/8". I have also seen over 150ft runs of lmr400 on microwave dishes for the 800mhz band. Andrew, times microwave, Eupen, Belden, Judd wire and a few more make good lmr240 and lmr400, and also there is a more flexible lmr400, type lmr400u or lmr400uf. Which stands for ultra flex, way more flexible than the regular stuff. But the lmr240 should work just fine IMO. I use it on my mobile mag mount and it works well.

 

[Bundy]

I would say...how much for the lmr400??

 

[fourstringburn]

I'm currently using 120' of LMR 400. I'm happy with it except for one thing. my station is on wheels so I can move it between two rooms. The fact that it's not a flexible cable makes it impossible to move between rooms without having to unscrew the pl259 ever time I move it. if I don't unscrew it the 400 becomes twisted and I've alerted had to replace the pl259 because the constant twisting eventually ruined the solder connection. I was also using it (400) as jumpers. Thay were also giving me problems due to their ridget characteristics. I purchased LMR 240 to replace the jumpers. It's flexibility is much better. I would like to change the main 400 120' out to the 120' of the 240. I noticed no charge in the performance between the 240 and 400 jumpers, both perform excellent and there was no differance but I'm concerned that 120' of the 240 may affect my performance compaired to the 400. It's used for 11 meters and about 500 watts. I perfer the 240 but won't change out the 400 if there's a chance it will not perform as the 400. My antenna (a99) isn't as high up as it should be (12' off the ground) and cant afford to lessen any recive or transmitt due to swr or power lose that the thiner 240 may cause (if that indeed is the case) What you say?

Are you looking for a more flexible cable?

You should be using LMR 400UF or LMR 240UF which stands for ultra flex. Make sure it is Times Microwave brand and not the many knock offs out there. This is stranded center conductor cable and very flexible. The 240UF is the most flexible and would be best in your case since you move your radio around.

You can buy this at RF parts if you can't find it locally. http://www.rfparts.com/coax/coax-times/lmr240uf.html

Yes there is some differences if you read the spec's on cable sizes from RG8 and RG8x on loss and power handling (LMR240 1.5 kw, LMR400 3.3 KW) but it is really trivial unless you are really long lengths well in excess of 100 feet. In your case, I doubt you or anyone would notice any difference.

You would greatly improve radio performance if you were to raise your antenna at least 1 wavelength (36 ft.) or at the least 1/2 wave length. The lack of proper height is causing ground impedance and is degrading your antenna performance.

SWR won't change by switching from a 50 ohm RG8 coax to a 50 ohm RG8x coax if both cables and connectors are in good shape and properly installed. You don't tune antennas by changing coax lengths or sizes. There are exceptions of course on more elaborate antennas setups that use different impedance coax for stub matching and such but that's another topic. If you do add or change coax and notice a considerable SWR change, then that means there is a underlying problem in your antenna system.

 

[Stellasstillarat]

Excellent information. Thanks. Unfortunately my antenna is as high up as it can possibly go. Concidering there are antenna restrictions where I live, my a99 is performing well At proximently 15' off the ground. I enjoy talking up to 40 miles and talk skip worldwide. my swr is an exseptable 1:2.1. The draw back are my recive capabilities aren't as good as I would like. I run around 400 watts and there are people who hear me but since thay are stock I have a problem hearing them. It's something I hsve to live with and appreciate what I have. Thanks again for the excellent advice.="Bundy, post: 502953, member: 9025"]I would say...how much for the lmr400?? [/QUOTE]
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