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[TowerTalk] dustributors of coax and copper wire?

To: towertalk@contesting.com
Subject: [TowerTalk] dustributors of coax and copper wire?
From: ke2d@comcast.net
Reply-to: "Tower and HF antenna construction topics." <towertalk@contesting.com>
Date: Wed, 27 Jan 2010 22:37:55 +0000 (UTC)
List-post: <towertalk@contesting.com">mailto:towertalk@contesting.com>

Anyone have any recommendations for the best place to buy large quantities of 
coax and antenna wire from? 



I am in the midst of installing a new tower and need to start ordering 
materials.  I need 2000ft of LMR400 style cable, 200ft of LMR600, probably 
1000ft or so of dipole wire, and misc wire antenna related stuff (insulators, 
center feed baluns or insulators, rope, etc).  Also 200ft or so of HD rotor 
cable.  At these quantities I want to buy from a wholesaler, or a place which 
is going to provide decent pricing.    Shipping is also a concern, so if I can 
find a supplier within driving distance, all the better. Any suggestions? 



Has anyone used the newer Belden RF400 series cable?  Or the knockoff brands of 
LMR400 equivalent? There are two vendors on eBay selling 1000ft rolls of LMR400 
equivalent cable for $325/1000ft roll, which so far seems hard to beat. Even 
better, they are within driving distance to pick it up.  



Also, is anyone using standard LMR400 in a loop near their rotor?   I used 9913 
in my last installation, and it seemed to hold up ok after a number of years' 
rotations.  I later replaced it with 9913F7 while performing maintenance as 
a preventative measure more than anything else (easier to change while the 
tower is down).  Just wondering if it is worth the extra expense of buying the 
flex versions... 



One more question - Which type of wire does everyone recommend for wire 
antennas?  I plan to install a full  wave delta  loop for 75m, a full wave 
delta loop for 160m, a full length dipole for 75, and a maybe a few others (60m 
comes to mind).   Looking at some of the vendor sites, I see there is a number 
of types of wire available. Is one type preferred over the other?   I am on a 
hill where I experience higher than normal winds, so I don't want to skimp and 
wind up spending more time repairing antennas then using them. 



Thanks 

Eric 

K2WD 



  
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