I'm about to put up a V2000 6m/2m/70cm antenna. I've used 9913 in the past
for 2m, but it's awfully stiff and expensive. I'm thinking of going with RG8
or a variant of RG8. Are they all the same? I want to minimize loss of
course. Recommendations?

BTW, what does the RG number signify anyway? The size? The construction?

--
Bob Donahue
ND9B

i don't know what 'RG' itself stands for, but the numbers describe different
'types' of cables... not necessarily construction or size.

and no, all rg8's are definately not the same. what type of cable you want
to use depends on the impedance, length needed, frequencies to be used,
acceptable loss, and also flexibility, weather resistance, and power
handling capability for transmitting... and then of course the big factor,
cost.



"Bob D." wrote in message
m...
I'm about to put up a V2000 6m/2m/70cm antenna. I've used 9913 in the past
for 2m, but it's awfully stiff and expensive. I'm thinking of going with
RG8 or a variant of RG8. Are they all the same? I want to minimize loss of
course. Recommendations?

BTW, what does the RG number signify anyway? The size? The construction?

--
Bob Donahue
ND9B

On Sun, 3 Sep 2006 10:32:41 -0500, "Bob D."
wrote:

I'm about to put up a V2000 6m/2m/70cm antenna. I've used 9913 in the past
for 2m, but it's awfully stiff and expensive. I'm thinking of going with RG8
or a variant of RG8. Are they all the same? I want to minimize loss of
course. Recommendations?

BTW, what does the RG number signify anyway? The size? The construction?

Cables advertised as RG8 should have similar characteristics, though
the market contains sub standard products, and variants (eg foam
dielectric).

RG8 (or more commonly used RG213 which is similar in characteristics)
is quite lossy at 70cm, and you might not find its loss acceptable,
depending on the length of your run and your own requirements.

For example, the loss on 30m of Belden 8267 (RG213) at 440MHz with a
load end VSWR of 1.2 is 4.8dB, about two thirds of your transmitter
power is lost in the cable. 9913 is a little better at 2.7dB, LDF4-50A
at 1.4dB. Try your own scenario at http://www.vk1od.net/tl/tllc.php .

If you think RG8 is stiff and expensive, you don't seem to have much
experience of UHF. If you are more familiar with RG58C/U, it has a
loss in the above scenario of 12dB, 6% efficiency, but it works for
some.

Re what is RG anyway? Google for info on the RG scheme, try searhing
for "Radio Guide".

Owen
--

I just picked up 200 ft of rg8 at radio shack for 40 bucks. 10 bucks for 50
foot run. Anyways, there was a website I came across recently that showed
the swr rating of different size rg cables based on band. I searched for
rg8 and the site popped up. It was complete with charts, etc. Very nice.
It only takes a few minutes to find if you don't mind trudging through the
sites.

Greg
ki4bbl


"Bob D." wrote in message
m...
I'm about to put up a V2000 6m/2m/70cm antenna. I've used 9913 in the past
for 2m, but it's awfully stiff and expensive. I'm thinking of going with
RG8 or a variant of RG8. Are they all the same? I want to minimize loss of
course. Recommendations?

BTW, what does the RG number signify anyway? The size? The construction?

--
Bob Donahue
ND9B

On Sun, 3 Sep 2006 21:09:06 -0400, "G. Doughty"
wrote:

I just picked up 200 ft of rg8 at radio shack for 40 bucks. 10 bucks for 50
foot run. Anyways, there was a website I came across recently that showed
the swr rating of different size rg cables based on band. I searched for
rg8 and the site popped up. It was complete with charts, etc. Very nice.
It only takes a few minutes to find if you don't mind trudging through the
sites.

Greg
ki4bbl

You really don't know for sure unless you measure it. Not a big deal
if you've got a dummy load and a in-line watt meter.

RG-8 is a type not a specification.

Danny, K6MHE

"G. Doughty" wrote in message
news:T0LKg.9999$xk3.7812@dukeread07...
I just picked up 200 ft of rg8 at radio shack for 40 bucks. 10 bucks for
50 foot run. Anyways, there was a website I came across recently that
showed the swr rating of different size rg cables based on band. I
searched for rg8 and the site popped up. It was complete with charts, etc.
Very nice. It only takes a few minutes to find if you don't mind trudging
through the sites.

Greg
ki4bbl


I don't know what kind of cable Radio Shack is selling for that price, but
it must be very poor quality. Probably 5 times the loss of any quality rg-8
size cable at 2 meters and above. RG-8 size cable of any type should be
atleast $ .50 per foot and more like $ .75 per foot or more.

There should not be any tables for SWR for differant cables based on the
band.
Maybe you mean the loss in dB instead of SWR.

I don't know what kind of cable Radio Shack is selling for that price, but
it must be very poor quality. Probably 5 times the loss of any quality
rg-8 size cable at 2 meters and above. RG-8 size cable of any type should
be atleast $ .50 per foot and more like $ .75 per foot or more.

There should not be any tables for SWR for differant cables based on the
band.
Maybe you mean the loss in dB instead of SWR.


It was a close out special at $10 per 50 feet. I had to hit two stores
before I found any, a Ham who was working at the first RS store had bought
out all that his store had in stock. I bought a 100 feet at that price at
the second store. I also have a 50 foot section of some of their RG-8 stuff
I bought 20 years ago for SSB CB use (yes, I once was wooed by the dark
side). Can't tell any real difference on HF frequencies when using the old
RS RG-8 or some new RG-213 I got from Texas Towers.

Harold
KD5SAK

Loss is right. Sorry about that. RS is trying to get rid of everything
radio. These were on clearance. Normally sold for much more.


"Ralph Mowery" wrote in message
ink.net...

"G. Doughty" wrote in message
news:T0LKg.9999$xk3.7812@dukeread07...
I just picked up 200 ft of rg8 at radio shack for 40 bucks. 10 bucks for
50 foot run. Anyways, there was a website I came across recently that
showed the swr rating of different size rg cables based on band. I
searched for rg8 and the site popped up. It was complete with charts,
etc. Very nice. It only takes a few minutes to find if you don't mind
trudging through the sites.

Greg
ki4bbl


I don't know what kind of cable Radio Shack is selling for that price, but
it must be very poor quality. Probably 5 times the loss of any quality
rg-8 size cable at 2 meters and above. RG-8 size cable of any type should
be atleast $ .50 per foot and more like $ .75 per foot or more.

There should not be any tables for SWR for differant cables based on the
band.
Maybe you mean the loss in dB instead of SWR.

Ralph Mowery wrote:
SNIPPED

I don't know what kind of cable Radio Shack is selling for that price, but
it must be very poor quality. Probably 5 times the loss of any quality rg-8
size cable at 2 meters and above. RG-8 size cable of any type should be
atleast $ .50 per foot and more like $ .75 per foot or more.

There should not be any tables for SWR for differant cables based on the
band.
Maybe you mean the loss in dB instead of SWR.



One of the basic components of coax cable is the design of the outer shield. The
measure of that shield is optical coverage. Cable is available with optical
coverage that ranges from 80% to 95%.

The optical coverage contributes to the shielding effectiveness and losses
through the cable shield, leakage inductance.

A quick test of shield design is the remove about 1 inch of jacket and inspect
the shield . A tightly woven shield with a lay angle of close to 45 degrees will
have excellent optical coverage.

In the past, RS cable had optical coverage in the 75 to 80 percent range.

/s/ DD

G. Doughty wrote:
I just picked up 200 ft of rg8 at radio shack for 40 bucks. 10 bucks for 50
foot run. Anyways, there was a website I came across recently that showed
the swr rating of different size rg cables based on band. I searched for
rg8 and the site popped up. It was complete with charts, etc. Very nice.
It only takes a few minutes to find if you don't mind trudging through the
sites.

What's an SWR rating? The cable with the most loss will have the best
SWR when feeding a mismatched load.

Roy Lewallen, W7EL