[TenTec] cabling question re TT 253 tuner

[Rick Denney]

Sferic at aol.com writes...

> I just used some ordinary RG-58 and soldered on the RCA plugs. Probably not
> high quality but it works and is cheap. You get to choose your length that way,
> too. I recall the manual says not to use audio cables, but I don't know why.
> That would really be easy.
>  

I have used good-quality (whatever that means) shielded composite
video cables (yellow plugs) between my Omni V and my Centaur. But I
also wonder what the big deal is. Are the transients in the switching
fast enough to create RF? I would think any reasonably shielded cable
would prevent any problem with that. I haven't looked at the
schematics to see what they do to smooth those transients, but
baseband composite video has frequencies into the 6 MHz range, which
seems to me pretty fast compared to what's likely with discrete
switching. I certainly don't seem to have any problems with generating
key clicks or the like.

I suppose the other issue might be RF in the shack getting into the
signaling circuits, but I'd rather sort that out by minimizing RF in
the shack.

And I would much rather use a pre-made cable with a molded plug--there
are other more fun things to solder in my shack, and the molded plugs
seem to be more durable for me with better strain relief, though
that's probably a reflection of the cheapness of the loose RCA plugs
I've been able to find.

Rick, KR9D