Base ABR Industries RG213: i think I want my money back

[Recon]

Thanks for stopping by.
The main reason I bought to coax is because it was made in the USA.
I could have got "tram" or "coleman" but I didn't trust it.

I purchased it from gigaparts on Ebay.

What I would like is another 100' of rg213 that is not defective.
I could chop this roll up and discard it. I dont see any point in sending it back but if I do I hope they dont make me pay for it.

I just wonder how this coax made it out the door?

How did it make it out the door is a good question.
The first thing we do not know is, what is the Accept / Reject criteria? Quality Assurance and Engineering often bump heads. QA's stand is; "all we want is what is states in black and white, no more, no less. Some Engineering folks will focus on; Form, Fit and Function. The discussion / argument would be; A. does the braided wire have any separations that would interfere with the function, intent and purpose of the braid? B. Will the distorted braided cable jeopardize the function and purpose of the braid? C. Will the bulge in the outer casing interfere with the Form, Fit and Function? Probably not if the completed cable assembly was tested and accepted with the distorted braid and bulging outer casing. Now we have a aesthetic / cosmetic issue which the end product user (the customer) does not want. The QA question would be, what is the accept / reject criteria for external bulges? I am assuming ABR would pay to have the cable returned so as it can be evaluated and used as a training aid and provide you with a non-bulged coax to you free of charge. The ball is in their court and remember; "the dog wags the tail, the tail don't wag the dog".
Several years ago, the front passenger side power window on my new truck operated slower than the driver's side. window. The dealership's "technical advisor" told me, "it is going up and down smoothly without binding, therefore we will not address the problem". Wrong answer! They installed a new power window motor.

 

[nomadradio]

Hey Chuck! Thank you for checking in on this issue. I'd call that a three-point shot from mid-court.

Rather than worry about how a defect gets out the door, I would point out that product quality is an intensely statistical phenomenon. The more you make of a product, the higher the quality level tends to become. I'm gonna chalk up this issue as a startup burp. With any luck you'll sell lots and lots of product, and episodes like this will become totally a thing of the past.

73

 

[Recon]

Hey Chuck! Thank you for checking in on this issue. I'd call that a three-point shot from mid-court.

Rather than worry about how a defect gets out the door, I would point out that product quality is an intensely statistical phenomenon. The more you make of a product, the higher the quality level tends to become. I'm gonna chalk up this issue as a startup burp. With any luck you'll sell lots and lots of product, and episodes like this will become totally a thing of the past.

73

Yeah.....In agree.
Relating to QA / QC, how about this humorous and true side-bar subject.
I watched a video of a man who recently purchased a new XXX lawn tractor and he was describing the pros and cons of the lawn tractor which he accepted from the dealer and had taken it home. His first emphasis was to tell everyone to always buy from your local authorized dealer and do not buy from a "big box" store because he believes in supporting the local business and community as we all do. As he starts walking around the machine he aims the camera at the two front tires. Guess what? Two different tires with different thread patterns. So there you go, did the manufacturer or the local dealer install two different tires? As we say; "oh well.....s*** happens!

 

[Shadetree Mechanic]

Hello,

My name is Chuck and I am the technical partner at ABR Industries. You can return the cable for inspection and any further action. Please note that all products go through RF/electrical testing as well as visual inspection points in QC stages at my plants on the east coast and also here at the main office in Houston, TX. Nonetheless, all products come with a warranty to ensure only high quality, American made products are received.

If you or anyone else have any questions you can reach me and my team at 832-720-5816 or info@abrind.com.

Sincerely,
Chuck

Thank you for taking the effort to reply here. It is great to have an American company willing to stand behind their products. I look forward to purchasing your product for my next install.

 

[Recon]

Another manufacturer steps-up to the plate!
I sent an email and photo of the defective solder (blob) on a mosfet in the amp section of my three-month old RCI63FFD4 to RCI. Today is Sunday and I received the following reply.

Hello, I am sorry to hear that you are having issues with your new radio. You can send the radio to the following address for us to look at. If it is under factory warranty you need to include a copy of the sales receipt. You do not need a RA#.

Superior CB

4055 E. Guasti rd

Suite #101

Ontario, California 91761

909-390-5056

 

[Recon]

When the outer jacket is applied, the vinyl plastic is hot and soft. The braid should imprint its pattern on the inside surface of the jacket. Have a look at your favorite. Belden,Times or JSC coax. You'll see the same thing.

Bird-nesting is flat-out wrong. Some genuinely sloppy $h1t there.

Don't remember hearing of those people until now. I'll avoid them like monkey plague after seeing that.

73

I have no professional training and/or knowledge relating to any and all of the technical issues which you forum members discuss, but I sure as heck enjoy reading and learning. My question is, will the bird-nesting braided wire have a negative impact on the operation of the radio? Also, I've seen coax with a layer of foil and then a layer of braided wire. I've seen copper braid and silver (stainless) braided wire. What's that all about?

 

[nomadradio]

The silver-colored wire is simply copper that is "tinned", or solder plated. This improves the solderability of the wire, and it will take longer to oxidize than exposed bare copper. The foil layer is usually to reduce losses, especially above 144 MHz. At 27 MHz the foil layer can't make a big difference. Does make soldering more trouble.

There's a good chance that if you put this coax in line with a dummy load/wattmeter, then compared to another piece the same length with no defects you would see little if any power loss. I have seen people splice coax and still get a decent result.

I don't have direct experience with cable that looked like that, so it's an educated guess. Probably looks worse than it is hooked up and operating. Biggest thing that would scare me about cable that looked that way is the defects I can't see. If the strands broke somewhere along the way it could affect the power-handling ability.

Could.

73

 

[Handy Andy]

If the strands broke somewhere along the way it could affect the power-handling ability.

Hence the "bird nest" reference.

Since the thread was being handled so well, I only wanted to pipe in that I have been seeing this often but in the lower quality cables.

There have been instances at the place I used to work for that when you "pulled" thru the new coax, you might not like what you get on the other end. The braid came off the sleeve - soldered to the ferrule - but left / broke off in the middle of the line as we pulled the new line thru.

Problem was... - this was the new line - so you already know a buried cable in the harness - busted sleeve and braid - inside a cab - with the Driver needing the rig to put under a hot load....

You can just imagine the fun we had...

 

[357]

Hence the "bird nest" reference.

Since the thread was being handled so well, I only wanted to pipe in that I have been seeing this often but in the lower quality cables.

There have been instances at the place I used to work for that when you "pulled" thru the new coax, you might not like what you get on the other end. The braid came off the sleeve - soldered to the ferrule - but left / broke off in the middle of the line as we pulled the new line thru.

Problem was... - this was the new line - so you already know a buried cable in the harness - busted sleeve and braid - inside a cab - with the Driver needing the rig to put under a hot load....

You can just imagine the fun we had...

Heres an example of bird nested. I bought these patch cords off ebay in 2010 premade.
At least the connectors were salvageable.

Also in tinned copper: I thought it was tinned with solder too, turns out its a tin-copper mix thats closer to bronze.
Kinda confusing as I think of wire like in a tank coil is more solder tinned than a coax braid

I talked to gigaparts and it sounds like I will be sending it back.
I measured the coax with my LCR and it was 3085pf which is pretty much at spec but with all the trouble I had with my Imax(s), I'm not leaving nothing to chance.

I do appreciate ABR stopping by and thats very respectful. God Bless

 

[Recon]

The silver-colored wire is simply copper that is "tinned", or solder plated. This improves the solderability of the wire, and it will take longer to oxidize than exposed bare copper. The foil layer is usually to reduce losses, especially above 144 MHz. At 27 MHz the foil layer can't make a big difference. Does make soldering more trouble.

There's a good chance that if you put this coax in line with a dummy load/wattmeter, then compared to another piece the same length with no defects you would see little if any power loss. I have seen people splice coax and still get a decent result.

I don't have direct experience with cable that looked like that, so it's an educated guess. Probably looks worse than it is hooked up and operating. Biggest thing that would scare me about cable that looked that way is the defects I can't see. If the strands broke somewhere along the way it could affect the power-handling ability.

Could.

73

Thank you for the explanation.

Heres an example of bird nested. I bought these patch cords off ebay in 2010 premade.
At least the connectors were salvageable.

Also in tinned copper: I thought it was tinned with solder too, turns out its a tin-copper mix thats closer to bronze.
Kinda confusing as I think of wire like in a tank coil is more solder tinned than a coax braid

I talked to gigaparts and it sounds like I will be sending it back.
I measured the coax with my LCR and it was 3085pf which is pretty much at spec but with all the trouble I had with my Imax(s), I'm not leaving nothing to chance.

I do appreciate ABR stopping by and thats very respectful. God Bless

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I think everyone is grateful that ABR stepped-up to the plate, especially when he identified his true name and position on an open forum.

 

[Recon]

ABR Industries 100ft RG213/U Pre-Cut Coax Length (Bare Ends) - Made in the USA!


Whats you opinion on this? Looks defective and I dont like it one bit.
The outer jacket is weak too, I can almost cut it open with my fingernail.
Its also birds-nested in parts.



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Just being curious. Has ABR resolved the issue with the bulging coax?

 

[undertaker]

Recon I give Superior CB a thumbs up they fixed my 2995dx cf ... Now they have my RCI x9 The will answer emails and the phone..

 

[Recon]

Recon I give Superior CB a thumbs up they fixed my 2995dx cf ... Now they have my RCI x9 The will answer emails and the phone..

More great news!
What happened to the RCI X9?

 

[AudioShockwav]

I have seen people splice coax and still get a decent result.

At one point I said that you will never get away with this kind of crude splice in a coax run, but after years of seeing " everything under the sun " I will now say you would be surprised what you can get away with.
I have seen a guy splice a long run of rg213 with wire nuts and tape and it worked.
And it did little to effect swr.
Live and learn.

73
Jeff

 

[undertaker]

More great news!
What happened to the RCI X9?

got it from Walcott and the ssb was never touched... way out of alignment..