Topband: Andrew RG6 specs ?

[Jim Brown]

On 3/18/2014 11:10 AM, Mike Waters wrote:
> You could also use that stuff to feed your TX antenna. I do here. If it's
> like the Commscope CATV F-6 coax I have, it'll handle about 3 kW
> continuously on 160

Mike,

RG numbers for coax no longer mean much in terms of a specification. 
There are dozens of RG-6 cables in the Belden catalog, many very 
different from each other, each optimized for different uses. For all 
practical purposes, loss doesn't matter for an RX antenna, but shielding 
does. Many CATV coax cables have shielding that is optimized for 
VHF/UHF, but not so great at MF (160M). Many also have a copper clad 
center conductor, which is fine for VHF/UHF, but more loss than copper 
at MF, which makes it less wonderful for TX.

Take a look at the shield of any coax that you hope to use on MF and HF. 
If it's foil plus a thin braid, it will be lossy at MF/HF, and won't be 
a very good shield. If the SWR on the line is low, it may or may not 
handle much power. There ARE cables labeled RG6 with a solid copper 
center and one or even two dense copper braid shields. Belden makes at 
least two, and several years ago, I bought a surplus spool of a similar 
cable with Pasternak's name on it, at a good price.

73, Jim K9YC