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WHO MAKES THE BEST COAX SWITCH ??

DX Engineering finally got my Colombia addy added to my profile, but when I checked the prices to ship here ($140 - $200), I passed. Bought them and had them shipped to my agent in Miami. Take a little longer to get here. In the meantime,I will just have to disconnect/connect cables by hand.

J.J. 399
 
DX Engineering finally got my Colombia addy added to my profile, but when I checked the prices to ship here ($140 - $200), I passed. Bought them and had them shipped to my agent in Miami. Take a little longer to get here. In the meantime,I will just have to disconnect/connect cables by hand.

J.J. 399
What switch did you go with after all?
 
Hey Guys -

I need to buy two coax switches. I want to switch between two radios and two amplifiers. So, one switch should handle 100W PEP, and the other legal limit (2KW). I have three switches (a Workman, and 2 no-names). The Workman looks cheesy inside, and the other two feel real flimsy (I can't open them. Riveted shut.) I am going to start doing FM. So I'm hooking up my quad6 PRO along with my 139XLR, and I'm gonna pair up my TX600 with my Hot Plate Comp Amp. Tired of disconnecting coax cables everytime I change my setup. I want reliable switches that are bullet-proof.

Suggestions ??

- J.J. 399
Jim, I'm sorry if this comes off as an axxhat comment but the only and the best coax switch is a patch panel.
I'll just send the link and let you cogitate from there.


I've killed the front end of several radios due to ID10T placement and derangement
of coax switches. The only place I've used coax switches since that lesson is one radio and multiple antennas.

Patch panels are near fool proof. Too bad they're not ID10T proof . (meaning me)
 
What switch did you go with after all?
I went with the Alpha Delta 2 switches from DX Engineering. Reasonable price, free ship, and one of the few places that had them in stock. I didn't opt for direct shipping to Colombia ($$$). So it will take longer to get here, but better late than never. LOL
- J.J. 399
 
Good choice with the Alpha -Delta!

Because living where you do, You may want to order some replacement ARC plugs to have on hand in case a high static charge pops one.

1741103215671.jpeg

Just the layout design of the Alpha -Delta switches having all coax connectors on the top makes it a great choice aside from the build quality.

This lets you set it on your desk top (or elsewhere) and route the coax cables straight to it without having the typical Y shape configuration of nearly all the other switches. I never liked having coax cables coming to a switch from 2 different directions.

You'll notice the switch quality on the Alpha-Delta is smoother and lighter feeling compared to the typical heavier and clunkier metal ones. I've never had an Alpha-Delta switch fail but I had a few metal ones do.

A patch panel is good choice for multiple radios and other RF components if you do a lot of manual repatching if you want all coax cables routed to one place.
However, you can set up multiple switches to do the same without repatching cables.

Use one Alpha-Delta switch (up to 4 inputs) for all the radios and send the output to an RF amplifier, SWR meter, tuner, etc in that order, then route that as an input to another switch box for all your antennas connected as outputs.

MFJ made a desktop switch box which did the same to let you easily select any 6 RF input devices to any 6 antennas in just one box. It also had a common line so all connected RF devices can acess RF accessories such as a tuner or SWR meter. Good luck finding one of these.
 
I got one of those MFJ switch boxes, has been great so far. Although the tiny relays inside make me wonder if they will handle a kw. It does fine with 700w peaks. It cost way too much for what it is, but was the only thing like it.

Edit: Almost forgot, I had to fix it before I could use it. So there's that...

IMG_20191229_163127889.jpg
 
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I have been using my Alpha Delta 4 position switch for about 15 years on HF/6 meters with a Kilowatt Plus going thru it with ZERO issues. I would buy another one if I ever needed it.
 
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I have had or used Delta, MFJ, Daiwa and Diamond and thought the Diamond was well built and had the best isolation for a coax switch.
 
If you have to even mention the word isolation,
You're doing it wrong
It's that simple.
I'll split hairs with, no radio case, containment, container, is a perfect Faraday cage.
However placing even a fraction of a wavelength of my prime RF generator in the proximity of a bit of conductor leading to my Kenwood TS830's is devastating.
A BNC patch panel eliminates the possibility completely.

Okay, it's your junk, tear it up happily.
 
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