Topband: Skin Effect of RG-6U

[Jim Brown]

On 1/31/2011 3:02 PM, Dennis W0JX wrote:
> I have found that the quality, and therefore the loss, of RG-6 cable varies quite a bit. On the average, I measure about 14 ohms of resistance in 500 feet if shorted at the far end. Recently, I put up a dual flag RX antenna and felt that the sensitivity was far down from normal. It turned out that my  resistance was about 20 ohms for 500 feet. I discovered some oxidized connections in a splice and also some water contaminated aluminum shielding. If you are going to use long runs of RG-6, I recommend Quad with the larger center conductor, very careful sealing of any splices to prevent moisture, and if available, flooded cable to seal any pinholes.

Great advice.  Also, stick to major mfrs like Belden and Commscope.

>   
> I have found that the low-price Home Depot stuff has a PVC jacket which is easily cut and exposes the braid to moisture. The aluminum shield then starts oxidizing.

See http://audiosystemsgroup.com/Coax-Stubs.pdf

73, Jim K9YC