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Coax cable

Cody Dixson

Active Member
May 3, 2020
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In my attempts to make dx contact on my dx98vhp I've come more than short only able to hear I'm getting out about 50 miles while still hearing guys well over 300 miles away .... this left me thinking its got to be the antenna! Well one Wilson trucker 5000 and still no dice.. I then started the topic on loop antennas for mobile applications got a lot of great feed back but still is all this gonna help me get out better? After searching the internet I came across a video by dx comader on coaxial loss i believe Jim W6LG talks about it as well



My main question for anyone here is what type if coax do you use? Whats the best type to use? And where can I find it at bulk price?

Thanks! 73. 1127 tmb
 

I use dxengineering branded cable, and am very happy with it.

But I’ll add...I feel losses in a mobile at 27mhz should be very minimal, provided the coax can handle your power rating.

I notice a huge difference DXing with a full 1/4 wave antenna. Barely detectable - and sometimes not at all - when testing local.
 
@2NC995 I believe that's the problem I'm having. When I first set this radio up it was a quick set up to get it working and in the truck. I believe I've got some really cheap road pro rg58 from the truck stop. I will be moving this radio to the house and attaching a it to the 102 on a 40ft pole so I figured about 80 feet of coax give or take. After running the numbers through the loss calculator I'm getting a 1.5db loss and the power loss of 70w give or take
 
@2NC995 I believe that's the problem I'm having. When I first set this radio up it was a quick set up to get it working and in the truck. I believe I've got some really cheap road pro rg58 from the truck stop. I will be moving this radio to the house and attaching a it to the 102 on a 40ft pole so I figured about 80 feet of coax give or take. After running the numbers through the loss calculator I'm getting a 1.5db loss and the power loss of 70w give or take

I would run dxengineering RG-8x in that application.

As for the mobile...it can be very tough DXing from a mobile. That’s all I do. Sometimes, it comes like gravy. Other times no one will hear you.

FWIW, I’ve worked several thousands of miles time and time again with a magnet mount Wilson 5000 and a barefoot radio. On other days I can’t even talk to my neighbor.
 
In my attempts to make dx contact on my dx98vhp I've come more than short only able to hear I'm getting out about 50 miles while still hearing guys well over 300 miles away .... this left me thinking its got to be the antenna! Well one Wilson trucker 5000 and still no dice.. I then started the topic on loop antennas for mobile applications got a lot of great feed back but still is all this gonna help me get out better? After searching the internet I came across a video by dx comader on coaxial loss i believe Jim W6LG talks about it as well



My main question for anyone here is what type if coax do you use? Whats the best type to use? And where can I find it at bulk price?

Thanks! 73. 1127 tmb


NOPE. An antenna will perform the same on RX as it does on TX. On 11m it is hard to find a brand name cable that is not at least half decent. Not sure what you call DX but saying you are getting out 50 miles and hearing 300 miles has me confused. Getting out 50 miles is good but DEFINITELY not DX.Hearing 300 miles and not being able to get back to them is VERY common. 300 miles is hardly DX either and sounds more like sporadic E propagation which can be quite fickle. Losses on 11m are very low unless you are using some extreme low value cable. From the very BEST to crap cable the difference is not even half an S-unit in signal strength so don't worry too much about losses. Use a good quality RG-8 type cable and the difference might-be 2 dB over a piece of crappy RG-58. Barely noticeable.
 
@kopcicle I'm always up to learn more I know we've been talking about the loop antennas I just assumed a quarter wave antenna with the dx98vhp I've got would be better than the trucker 5000
 
In my attempts to make dx contact on my dx98vhp I've come more than short only able to hear I'm getting out about 50 miles while still hearing guys well over 300 miles away .... this left me thinking its got to be the antenna! Well one Wilson trucker 5000 and still no dice.. I then started the topic on loop antennas for mobile applications got a lot of great feed back but still is all this gonna help me get out better? After searching the internet I came across a video by dx comader on coaxial loss i believe Jim W6LG talks about it as well



My main question for anyone here is what type if coax do you use? Whats the best type to use? And where can I find it at bulk price?

Thanks! 73. 1127 tmb

Cody skip is all about conditions and mother nature is in charge of that. When the skip is rolling you should be able to hear half way across the country or better. When you try to call back to a guy 5 states away it's really about conditions and how many other dozen people are yelling to him at the same time.

If your running a mirror mount antenna on a big truck you will be directional, that's just the way it is. All you can do is make sure your antenna has a good ground plane and low SWR. Simply changing coax is not all of a sudden going to get you 300 miles unless you have antenna/coax issues right now.
 
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I’ve bought “more expensive” (than necessary) coax for big truck use. A 30’ piece last year that now sits in storage (am in a different truck).

While it was probably better at shielding the signal from noise sources in the truck (ran from cab thru interior to sleeper rear and out under side box to go back up wall to the antenna mount), next time I’ll stick with RG8X.

Plenty of good suppliers. I’ve used DX ENGINEERING for several coax buys (mainly jumpers) and am pleased enough to recommend them.

See other threads on coax to get links to other suppliers.

.
 
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Well, I’m a Times Microwave fan myself but I also have the DX Engineering brand as well as some Belden.

For mobile installs I use LMR240UF. Where possible, I use the solid core instead of stranded, why...uh cause I like to. On my base antenna, I have LMR600 solid but we’re talking over 100ft from the radio to the feed point.

If you’re talking long enough to reach from the radio to the antenna in a mobile, I agree with CK, it doesn’t really matter which you pick. If you’re running an amp and have issues with bleeding across the stereo or turning on dash lights, then I’ll suggest trying double shielded coax AND doing some additional grounding.
 
I appreciate all the responses you guys have given. I guess in mobile applications there isn't a excellent way to get down like a base station can. Without excessively increasing power over legal limits. So rg8x it is this is the same cable my father uses and he's been trucking for 30+ years hahah always trying to stay one step in front of the old man!
 
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For mobile installs I use LMR240UF. Where possible, I use the solid core instead of stranded, why...uh cause I like to. On my base antenna, I have LMR600 solid but we’re talking over 100ft from the radio to the feed point.

You remined me another point about mobiles that was on the tip of my tongue...bigger coax cables tend to have a little more physical durability in mobile applications.
 

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