RG-6 for HF?
 

I finally got a house out in the woods on five acres and I'm going to set up
a couple of pretty long wires and my Wellbrook ALA-1530. I've pretty much
decided on RG-6 for a couple of 150 ft. runs because the stuff's dirt cheap
and I can pick it up at the local Home Depot. Is the impedance mismatch here
going to be negligible, or should I just bite the bullet and go with RG-8 or
a similar 50 ohm coax?

-Brian

RG-6 for HF?
 

On Sun, 30 Dec 2007 22:45:38 -0500, "Brian"
wrote:

I finally got a house out in the woods on five acres and I'm going to set up
a couple of pretty long wires and my Wellbrook ALA-1530. I've pretty much
decided on RG-6 for a couple of 150 ft. runs because the stuff's dirt cheap
and I can pick it up at the local Home Depot. Is the impedance mismatch here
going to be negligible, or should I just bite the bullet and go with RG-8 or
a similar 50 ohm coax?

-Brian

Go with the RG-6, the loss at HF is negligable - in fact I believe
less than RG-58 and perhaps RG-8 as well. The 'mismatch' isn't an
issue at all & your receiver will likely never know it either. If
you are putting together the antenna yourself I suggest using a panel
mount 'F' connector at your feed point, use the coax as-is from the
box - though I cheat at the radio end and use an 'F' to UHF adapter.

RG-6 for HF?
 

Brian wrote:
I finally got a house out in the woods on five acres and I'm going to set up
a couple of pretty long wires and my Wellbrook ALA-1530. I've pretty much
decided on RG-6 for a couple of 150 ft. runs because the stuff's dirt cheap
and I can pick it up at the local Home Depot. Is the impedance mismatch here
going to be negligible, or should I just bite the bullet and go with RG-8 or
a similar 50 ohm coax?

-Brian


Belden 9258 is not cheap.

RG6 Coax Cable and Mounting a Wellbrook Loop Antenna [Was : RG-6 forHF]
 

On Dec 30, 7:45*pm, "Brian" wrote:
-
- I finally got a house out in the woods on five acres and
- I'm going to set up a couple of pretty long wires and my
- Wellbrook ALA-1530. I've pretty much decided on RG-6
- for a couple of 150 ft. runs because the stuff's dirt cheap
- and I can pick it up at the local Home Depot.
-
- Is the impedance mismatch here going to be negligible,
- or should I just bite the bullet and go with RG-8 or a
- similar 50 ohm coax?
-
- -Brian
-

Brian,

RG6 Coax Cable will work A-OK with only the smallest of
Impedance Mismatches over RG58 or RG8.

Consider the 'Quad-Shield' type of the RG6 Coax Cable.

# 1 - Search around your Backyard for an RF 'Quiet' Location
before Planting your Wellbrook Antenna. :o)

Mount the Wellbrook Loop Antenna where you can : the best
that you can for your Property and Location.

Place a Ground Rod at the base of the Wellbrook Loop Antenna.

Mount an F-Connector Pass-Through type Grounding Block
on the Ground Rod and Run a short Coax Cable down to this
Grounding Block; and then your main {long} Coax Cable from
the Grounding Block to you House.

If you can : Bury the Coax Cable from the Grounding Block
to the House.

You should have a good in-the-earth 8-Foot Ground Rod as
the basis for you Radio Shack's Ground that is Bonded
{Connected} to your House's AC Mains Electrical System
Ground.

TIP - For Active Shortwave Listener's Antennas like the
Wellbrook Loop Antenna and many others : A One-Piece
Antenna Mast made from a single piece of 21-Foot Long
Top-Rail works very well.
* One Piece of Metal Pipe-Tube with a Solid Electrical Path.
* Relatively Light and Easy to Handle by One Person.
* Three Feet in the Ground leaves 18-Feet in the Air.
* Base can be Telescoped into a Larger Diameter 3-Feet
piece of Metal Pipe-Tube which is placed in an 6~8 Inch
Hole and surrounded by Concret that is used as a Support
Anchor for the Top-Rail and Antenna.
* Allows for a Free Standing Antenna without the need for
any Guy Wires or Ropes
* Place the Ground Rod within 3~6 Inches of the Top-Rail and
connect a Short-Heavy Ground Wire-Strap-Web between them.
the Result is that you have a Solid One-Piece Ground Active
Antenna Support that places your Antenna 18-Feet Up-in-the-Air.


good luck with your wellbrook loop antenna ~ RHF

Using Two Inverted "L" Antennas as Diversity Antennas [Was : RG-6 forHF?]
 

On Dec 30, 7:45*pm, "Brian" wrote:
-
- I finally got a house out in the woods on five acres and
- I'm going to set up a couple of pretty long wires
-
- and my Wellbrook ALA-1530. I've pretty much decided
- on RG-6 for a couple of 150 ft. runs because the stuff's
- dirt cheap and I can pick it up at the local Home Depot.
-
- Is the impedance mismatch here going to be negligible,
- or should I just bite the bullet and go with RG-8 or a
- similar 50 ohm coax?
-
- -Brian
-

Brian,

For the Longwire Antennas {Random Wire} consider the
Inverted "L" Antenna.

READ - For Basic Shortwave Radio Listening (SWL)
-Think- Inverted "L" Antenna
http://www.google.com/group/rec.radi...0a3255b9ad5367

READ -Why- The Far-End-Fed Shortwave Listener's (SWLs)
Inverted "L" Antenna
http://www.google.com/group/rec.radi...cfc6b9cb2447c0
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/Shortw.../message/11698

Re-READ - SWL Longwire + Low Noise Antenna Connection
+ Grounding Is Key To Good Reception -by- John Doty
http://www.google.com/group/rec.radi...bc6a2bf8acc12d

Two separate but identical Inverted "L" Antennas both with 15~30
Foot Vertical-Up-Legs and 75~120 Foot Horizontal-Out-Arms.

Located with the Antenna Feed-Points about 75~120 Feet apart
and use a separate Ground Rod for each Antenna.

Position the Horizontal-Out-Arm Wire Antenna Elements so that
they are Perpendicular 90 Degrees to each other : N2S and E2W

Think of the Two Inverted "L" Antennas as Diversity Antennas
Being Both : Opposites -but- Equal.


good luck with your longwire antennas ~ RHF {pomkia}

RG-6 for HF?
 

Brian wrote:

I finally got a house out in the woods on five acres and I'm going to set up
a couple of pretty long wires and my Wellbrook ALA-1530. I've pretty much
decided on RG-6 for a couple of 150 ft. runs because the stuff's dirt cheap
and I can pick it up at the local Home Depot.
snip

Be careful of coax purchases from Home Depot; strip the outer jacket and
inspect the braid before buying. Product that I have bought has lousy
shielding at low vhf (50 Mhz) and probably will be unsuitable at HF as
well. I don't remember the OEM.

Regards,

Michael

RG-6 for HF?
 

In article ,
"Brian" wrote:

I finally got a house out in the woods on five acres and I'm going to set up
a couple of pretty long wires and my Wellbrook ALA-1530. I've pretty much
decided on RG-6 for a couple of 150 ft. runs because the stuff's dirt cheap
and I can pick it up at the local Home Depot. Is the impedance mismatch here
going to be negligible, or should I just bite the bullet and go with RG-8 or
a similar 50 ohm coax?

I would not buy cable with the wrong impedance especially on the
Wellbrook because I don't know how well the amplifier at the head end
stands up to reflections. Some amplifiers become less stable into a load
other than what it was designed for. Why don't you fire off that
question to them.

On the wire antennas you will take a hit on performance depending on
frequency unless you use transformers on both ends.

--
Telamon
Ventura, California

Building a 75-to-50 Ohm [1.5:1] Matching Transformer for RG6 CoaxCable
 

On Dec 30, 9:37*pm, D Peter Maus wrote:
Brian wrote:
I finally got a house out in the woods on five acres and I'm going to set up
a couple of pretty long wires and my Wellbrook ALA-1530. I've pretty much
decided on RG-6 for a couple of 150 ft. runs because the stuff's dirt cheap
and I can pick it up at the local Home Depot. Is the impedance mismatch here
going to be negligible, or should I just bite the bullet and go with RG-8 or
a similar 50 ohm coax?

-Brian

- Alone, your receiver won't care. I doubt that the Wellbrook would,
- either.
-
- * *As a complex, however, you're going to have not one mismatch, but
- two. One at the output of the Wellbrook loop, and one at the input
of
- the antenna interface. This may result in standing waves on the
- transmission line which, in turn may result in irregularities in
- performance.
-
- * *With a reasonably well designed receiver, you'll likely not
notice
- any losses in practical listening. And unless you are working at the
- very limits of performance on signals very far down in the noise and
- doing A/B tests of one coax over another, you'll not detect the
- performance irregularities.
-

DPM,

Then it becomes a Practical Implementation and CBA type Problem.
CBA = Cost Benefit Analysis
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cost-benefit_analysis
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Implementation

Cost of RG58/RG8 Coax Cable -versus- Cost of RG6 Quad-Shield
Coax Cable with a 75-to-50 Ohm Matching Transformer at each
end.

Starting with the Concept of a 9:1 Matching Transformer for General
Broad-Band Shortwave Radio (High Frequency 3~30 MHz) Use and
Application with 30 Turns (9-Side) and 10 Turns (1-Side) and the Same
Ferrite Core Material :

We now need a Matching Transformer to take the Antenna and Radios
SO-239 Jack/Plugs {BNC Connector Optional} -to- the 75 Ohm Coax
Cable with an F-Connector {BNC Connector Optional} .

The 50 Ohm 10 Turns (1-Side) should be understood.

Getting to the 75 Ohm (X-Side) should be simple Math :
75 / 50 = 1.5
Square Root of 1.5 = 1.225
Therefore the 75 Ohm (X-Side) would have 12 Turns.

A 75 Ohm to 50 Ohm [1.5:1] Matching Transformer would have
12 Turns (1.5-Side) and 10 Turns (1-Side) and the Same Ferrite
Core Material -as- 9:1 Matching Transformer for General Broad
Band Shortwave Radio (High Frequency 3~30 MHz) Use and
Application.

Anyone Else Have Any Ideas : On a Building Your Own {DIY}
a 75 Ohm to 50 Ohm [1.5:1] Matching Transformer ?

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
- - - - - - -


The Next Question Becomes : At What Cost ?

* Are the 75 Ohm to 50 Ohm [1.5:1] Matching Transformers
commercial available ? - a Ready Made Item ? Price ?

* Are the 75 Ohm to 50 Ohm [1.5:1] Matching Transformers a
Low Cost "Built-it-Yourself" Item ? - DIY Price ?

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
- - - - - - -

DPM - I go back to your first statement : "Alone, your receiver
won't care. I doubt that the Wellbrook would, either."


IMHO - For the vast majority of Shortwave Radio Listeners (SWLs)
Practical Implementation Says : Just Do It ! - Use the RG6 Coax
Cable -and- enjoy listening to your radios - iane ~ RHF

RG6 Coax Cable and Mounting a Wellbrook Loop Antenna [Was : RG-6for HF]
 

RHF wrote:
On Dec 30, 7:45 pm, "Brian" wrote:
-
- I finally got a house out in the woods on five acres and
- I'm going to set up a couple of pretty long wires and my
- Wellbrook ALA-1530. I've pretty much decided on RG-6
- for a couple of 150 ft. runs because the stuff's dirt cheap
- and I can pick it up at the local Home Depot.
-
- Is the impedance mismatch here going to be negligible,
- or should I just bite the bullet and go with RG-8 or a
- similar 50 ohm coax?
-
- -Brian
-

Brian,

RG6 Coax Cable will work A-OK with only the smallest of
Impedance Mismatches over RG58 or RG8.

Consider the 'Quad-Shield' type of the RG6 Coax Cable.

# 1 - Search around your Backyard for an RF 'Quiet' Location
before Planting your Wellbrook Antenna. :o)

Mount the Wellbrook Loop Antenna where you can : the best
that you can for your Property and Location.

Place a Ground Rod at the base of the Wellbrook Loop Antenna.

Mount an F-Connector Pass-Through type Grounding Block
on the Ground Rod and Run a short Coax Cable down to this
Grounding Block; and then your main {long} Coax Cable from
the Grounding Block to you House.

If you can : Bury the Coax Cable from the Grounding Block
to the House.

You should have a good in-the-earth 8-Foot Ground Rod as
the basis for you Radio Shack's Ground that is Bonded
{Connected} to your House's AC Mains Electrical System
Ground.

TIP - For Active Shortwave Listener's Antennas like the
Wellbrook Loop Antenna and many others : A One-Piece
Antenna Mast made from a single piece of 21-Foot Long
Top-Rail works very well.
* One Piece of Metal Pipe-Tube with a Solid Electrical Path.
* Relatively Light and Easy to Handle by One Person.
* Three Feet in the Ground leaves 18-Feet in the Air.
* Base can be Telescoped into a Larger Diameter 3-Feet
piece of Metal Pipe-Tube which is placed in an 6~8 Inch
Hole and surrounded by Concret that is used as a Support
Anchor for the Top-Rail and Antenna.
* Allows for a Free Standing Antenna without the need for
any Guy Wires or Ropes
* Place the Ground Rod within 3~6 Inches of the Top-Rail and
connect a Short-Heavy Ground Wire-Strap-Web between them.
the Result is that you have a Solid One-Piece Ground Active
Antenna Support that places your Antenna 18-Feet Up-in-the-Air.


good luck with your wellbrook loop antenna ~ RHF
.

Around here the top rail comes in 10' sections. Ever try to get a 20'
pipe into a pickup bed?

Using Two Inverted "L" Antennas as Diversity Antennas [Was :RG-6 for HF?]
 

RHF wrote:

.
|
|
|
/ \
.......!.......

I have a lazy twisted L HF receive antenna.