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VHF cable type?
Brian and Gary...good stuff. Now understanding the loss of power, it
would make sense to get an amp (Idon't think it would be legal) or have a second line run to the spreader on the mizzen.That would drop the run down to 30' and a corresponding increase in power. Thanks for you help Bruce "Gary Schafer" wrote in message ... This is the same Larry that says that he has a 150 watt VHF amplifier to switch in the antenna line if he can't be heard. Yet he recommends using lossy rg58 cable. Old surplus stuff at that! When cable ages it does not always do so gracefully. The dielectric breaks down and the losses can be considerably higher than new cable. For the amount of work involved and the minimal cost of 100 feet of RG8 type cable, use the best NEW cable. RG8 with polyethylene insulation is the way to go unless you have a size restraint. And forget the aluminum wrap shield stuff. You are asking for trouble in the marine environment with aluminum. You do not need "high shielding" for a VHF radio. Foam insulation is not a good idea on a boat though. The center does migrate at bends. It is also very difficult to install connectors on foam cable. The heat from the soldering iron melts the insulation quickly and lets the center wire move to the side. Sometimes even shorting it. Regards Gary On Sat, 17 Jan 2004 18:53:08 GMT, Brian Whatcott wrote: I recommend checking with suppliers' specifications for cable construction materials: solid or stranded? solid or foam insulation? %coverage of shield? Tape wrap? Non-acid outer sheath? before blindly implementing Larry's recommendation below on choosing cables. Yes: let's call it a reality check. Brian W On Sat, 17 Jan 2004 05:54:58 GMT, (Larry W4CSC) wrote: ... 55' mainmast has a Shakespeare 1/2 wave VHF antenna on top with about 75' of RG-58A/U military surplus cable/// If I had to start from scratch, and couldn't buy a 500' roll of surplus RG-58A/U for $10 at my local thrift shop... I recommend using VERY flexible, and reliable, Polyethelene-cored, finely stranded center conductor RG-58A/U (not RG-58/U which has a solid center conductor) for your purpose. All those fancy loss charts mean nothing when the fancy foam cables are pulled through a sharp turn, somewhere. Hell, you can wind RG-58A/U in a hangman's noose and it'll still work great! REALITY CHECK!! |
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