stranded center vs. solid center coax ???

[Captain Kilowatt]

Solid for performance-stranded for convenience. Less attenuation with solid.

Actually attenuation has more to do with the size of the conductor and the dielectric material than it has to do with solid versus stranded. Just because the centre is stranded does not mean it will have less attenuation, in fact a stranded wire will carry more current than a solid wire of the same gauge due to a greater surface area.

 

[office888]

I would suggest a Minimum of LMR400 on anything beyond 50 ft..
that 9914 is good..

I go a bit further in that for hf i use LDF5-50A
hardline is indeed better (but quite costly and hard to use)

Hardline is beyond overkill unless you're running some serious kW.

Unless of course you're on VHF/UHF modes.

Stranded is better for anywhere the coaxial cable is going to be constantly flexing or sharp bends are needed. Solid is cheaper, and is fine for a shack.

 

[KingCobra_CDX882]

Quote:
Originally Posted by office888

Hardline is beyond overkill unless you're running some serious kW.

Unless of course you're on VHF/UHF modes.

Stranded is better for anywhere the coaxial cable is going to be constantly flexing or sharp bends are needed. Solid is cheaper, and is fine for a shack.

Not really..
Yes it is needed for serious power or for long runs..
However even in shorter runs ( like 50 ft) it helps..

Now whether you are willing to pay the money and or deal with the hard install of it is another story

 

[W5LZ]

"Now whether you are willing to pay the money and or deal with the hard install of it is another story"

I'll certainly agree with that, but the rest is sort of relative. It's all a matter of the length of the run and the frequency of use. The characteristics at HF are very different than the characteristics at VHF/UHF. What would be beneficial at one won't even be noticeable at the other. If you can use hard-line without a trip to the bank, or making your wallet 'terminally ill', knock your self out! I think I can safely 'pass' on it and never tell the difference.
- 'Doc

 

[KingCobra_CDX882]

on HF i use Andrews Helix LDF5-50a
on VHF & UHF LDF7-50a
(next yr updating my VHF/UHF to LDF12-50
however i recently set up some 1.2 gig gear)

 

[Steve H]

ive been told many yrs ago dont skimp on antenna or coax
that theory has been true for me so far for past 16-17 yrs
sowith that said
lmr400= any groundplane/omni
lmr400 flex= beams/directional
know i know its cb band and only 60 ft. but i like to get
every advantage i can get ,even if its gonna be just a minor one
but i can relax knowing im doing the best i can with what i got.
no wondering well what if i went with slightly better coax cause i already did

I'll have to agree with hotrod on this train of thought. My brother-in-law once SLAMMED a garage door down on an rg-8 coax I had. No damage was done...but can you imagine if it would have been rg-58 coax? The garage door would have cut it in half, or at least kinked it beyond repair. This garage door was solid, and HEAVY.

 

[hotrod]

yup absolutely. take a 20.00 radio hook it up to a 100.00 dollar antenna
and some high quality coax nd you,ll do gereat.ive seen people buy
200-300 dollar radios then use a cheap antenna with cheap coax then wonder why
they dont get out very well and ive seen radios run hotter with cheap
coax also ..and it was new. ill stick with what i KNOW works