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Should I worry about attenuation for the
HF bands enough to use the RG-8 over the RG-58?? Without some experimentation, it would be hard to say definitively, but I'd say not to worry about it much. If you can get the RG8 cheaply enough, great, but it's stiffer and more difficult to maneuver around walls and fences, etc. If that's not an issue for you, use the bigger stuff, but for a Sat800 and a listening only situation, you probably wouldn't notice the difference. Are those Alpha Delta Transitraps as good as advertised, or should I stick with a regular gas discharge variety?? USe what you can afford, but ensure a good connection to a ground rod. The Transitrap units do work very well, but no arrestor will do good against a direct strike (a handful of personal experiences notwithstanding). The gas-discharge types are therefore no less advantageous in my opinion than the Transitrap. Detach your lead-in from your radio when anything threatens, and the difference between the two types will be negligible. I'm planning on running a random wire until I can figure out a more permanent location for a trap antenna that I'll build Since you're using a Sat800 in a RX only circumstance, you might wish to consider, if space is no longer a real problem, to avoid trap antennas and stick with whatever length of wire you can get outside and as high in the air as possible. Traps can be lossy and if cheap can introduce noise into the system, whereas a decently erected randomwire will reduce noise if the coax is grounded (referring to another question, you should ground your coax for noise purposes at the very least. Plastic case or not, it helps reduce noise. You're using a nice radio there, and it's about as good as most other radios in its price range (and better than some) but it's not crucial where antenna experimentation is concerned. I'd say avoid traps, ground the coax shield at the receiver AND antenna ends, and enjoy a more noise-free set up. MY opinion only, of course. Tinker a lot, it's a hell of a lot of fun! Linus |
#2
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"GrtPmpkin32" wrote in message ... Should I worry about attenuation for the HF bands enough to use the RG-8 over the RG-58?? Without some experimentation, it would be hard to say definitively, but I'd say not to worry about it much. If you can get the RG8 cheaply enough, great, but it's stiffer and more difficult to maneuver around walls and fences, etc. If that's not an issue for you, use the bigger stuff, but for a Sat800 and a listening only situation, you probably wouldn't notice the difference. Yeah, and considering the listening frequencies and the length involved, I was thinking that any loss would be negligible. I know that the cable length is the same as that for the RG-6 that's run for my DirecTV, and by judging the signal strength coming into the receiver, the distance isn't hurting that signal much either. Are those Alpha Delta Transitraps as good as advertised, or should I stick with a regular gas discharge variety?? USe what you can afford, but ensure a good connection to a ground rod. The Transitrap units do work very well, but no arrestor will do good against a direct strike (a handful of personal experiences notwithstanding). The gas-discharge types are therefore no less advantageous in my opinion than the Transitrap. Detach your lead-in from your radio when anything threatens, and the difference between the two types will be negligible. Okay, thanks for the info. Detach or use a knife switch?? The knife switch is easier, but I'm skeptical as to whether the few inches difference in space is enough to avoid any issues. We had a tree in our next door neighbor's front yard (oh, about 40 or so feet away) get hit by lightning back on the July 4th weekend back in 2003, and the resulting surge took out the surge protector that our stereo, satellite and television were attached to. Luckily, it took out only the surge protector, but boy was that an entertaining experience. It had been a while since I'd seen light bulbs shine like that, and then it was because it was hooked up to a variable power supply that someone cranked way up. I'm planning on running a random wire until I can figure out a more permanent location for a trap antenna that I'll build Since you're using a Sat800 in a RX only circumstance, you might wish to consider, if space is no longer a real problem, to avoid trap antennas and stick with whatever length of wire you can get outside and as high in the air as possible. Traps can be lossy and if cheap can introduce noise into the system, whereas a decently erected randomwire will reduce noise if the coax is grounded (referring to another question, you should ground your coax for noise purposes at the very least. Plastic case or not, it helps reduce noise. If you're going to build a trap yourself, don't skimp on the cores and wire?? For the moment, I was planning on running the random wire around the outside of two sides of the roofed section of the deck (no metal there; all wood construction). I figure that it would hold me for a while, until I knew exactly where to put a more permanent antenna, since I'm still figuring out the landscaping for our yard. You're using a nice radio there, and it's about as good as most other radios in its price range (and better than some) but it's not crucial where antenna experimentation is concerned. I'd say avoid traps, ground the coax shield at the receiver AND antenna ends, and enjoy a more noise-free set up. MY opinion only, of course. Tinker a lot, it's a hell of a lot of fun! Linus Yeah, that radio is a keeper. I was one of the lucky ones who bought it back in 2000 in that the only problem I had with it was the power supply, which Lextronics replaced for free. The sound quality was good enough and it had good enough circuitry to make my old R-70 redundant. Maybe if I get into DX-ing, I might want to get another receiver, but right now I'm happy with it and the DX-440 I have lying around. --Mike L. |
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