Go for it, Dink - it is a great coax - no reason not to use it.
Points to be aware of:
1. OD is 0.030 less than reg 8, so it will not be supported very well by
the PL259, which bites nicely into the jacket of 213, etc. Solution just
for nice fit is shrink tube of the inner melt coating type in the first
inch or so. On a crank up or whatever, support the coax w/kellem grips.
2. There are 2 layers of "duofoil/duobond" in this coax - one bonded to
the teflon foam dielectric and the other just laying between the two
tinned copper 90% braids. When you prepare the coax for soldering the PL
in place through the holes to the braid, remove the foil between the 2
braids so that both braids get bonded with solder. The foil is laminate
of AL/mylar/AL - and thus both a capacitor and solder barrier between the
two shields, so the voltage could possibly vary between the two shields.
Don't think it would be a problem other than possible noise, but it is
easy to avoid as described above.
Don't forget to hermetically seal the connector junctions!!
The loss characteristics are indeed better, but only 0.3 db better at 50
MHz, not hardly noticeable at HF, but as you say, the price is right, and
power rating and longevity are great!
Have fun!
Press Jones, N8UG, The Wireman, Inc., Landrum, SC, 29356
Sales (800)727-WIRE(9473) or orders@thewireman.com
Tech help (864)895-4195 or n8ug@thewireman.com
http://www.thewireman.com and the WIRELINE bargain page
Our 22nd year!
On Sat, 08 May 1999 09:57:51 -0700 Michael Dinkelman <mwdink@eskimo.com>
writes:
>
>Here, at Boeing surplus, we occasionally come across a reel
>of Belden 89880 50 Ohm Coax (its Ethernet cable). It's
>triple shielded and the specs say lower loss than RG213.
>Looks like it'll take a PL256 with little problem.
>
>Anybody else ever used this stuff for main coax runs? It's
>kinda stiff to work with (plus that bright orange is hard
>to hide) but the cost is hard to beat. Anything I am missing
>here?
>
>73
>dink
>
>Michael Dinkelman, N7WA
>mwdink@eskimo.com
>Kent, WA
>
>
>--
>FAQ on WWW: http://www.contesting.com/towertalkfaq.html
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>
>
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FAQ on WWW: http://www.contesting.com/towertalkfaq.html
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