[TowerTalk] Remote Coax Switches (Summary)

[Dick Flanagan]

I recently asked the Reflector's opinion on remote coax switches.  I
haven't posted a summary before now because I needed to wait for some
information to arrive by snail mail.

The interesting thing was no one had anything really bad to say about any
of the switches.  The comments were full of suggestions and praise for this
switch or that, but no real negatives.  That told me my choices were going
to be based more on features and price than on quality.

The most popular switches were the Ameritron series: the four-port RCS-4
and the five-port RCS-8V.  Fully two-thirds of the commenters had positive
things to say about these switches.  The differences between these two
models is more than just four-vs.-five ports, however.

The RCS-4 does not require a separate control wire to bring power and
control signals to the switch.  These signals are sent up the coax, itself.
This ability was praised by several.  The RCS-8V is a more common design
requiring a separate control wire for power and control signals.

The RCS-4 lists for $135.  See http://www.ameritron.com/other/rcs4.html
The RCS-8V lists for $150.  See http://www.ameritron.com/other/rcs8v.html


Two folks recommended the Top Ten 6-port switch that has two interesting
features:  with 6-ports you can run a separate antenna on each contest
band, and the switch can be connected to a special decoder module that
attaches to your transceiver.  This combination allows your antennas to be
automatically switched as you change bands on your transceiver!

Two models are offered:  interior for inside the shack and exterior for
tower mounting.

The Top Ten Interior Six-Way Switch lists for $105.  See
http://www.qth.com/topten/sixway.htm

The Top Ten Tower Mounted Six-Way Switch lists for $130.  See
http://www.qth.com/topten/twrsixwy.htm

The decoder module adds $95 to the cost of each relay box or lists for $105
separately.  Special cables and options cost extra.  See
http://www.qth.com/topten/bdecoder.htm


One commenter suggested the Dunestar 8-port relay.  Dunestar's web site
wasn't ready yet, so I had to wait for some written literature to arrive.
The switch only requires six control wires to control the eight output
ports.

The Dunestar 808 lists for $300.  See http://www.qth.com/dunestar/


Last, but by no means least, one suggestion was received for a real
powerhouse switch!  This was designed for high-power operation and is the
only remote switch I found that used heavy-duty wafers for switching.  All
of the others use various combinations of relays.  Two mentioned advantages
to using a wafer switch are more positive connections and not leaving the
coax disconnected in the case of a power failure.

The only source for this Real Man's Switch I could find was the Antenna
Mart.  They have a nice picture of it on their web site, but no pricing
information.  I could have sent them $2 for a catalog, but I had a feeling
this particular switch would be out of my price bracket, anyway.  It is
available, by the way, in up to ELEVEN-port configurations!

See http://www.aaow.com/mgs/antenna.htm


So there ya go!  That's what I was able to find out and I am looking
forward to playing with my new RCS-8V.

In the meantime, my sincerest thanks go to all those who responded and
offered to share their knowledge and experience with me and the rest of the
list.

73, Dick

--
Dick Flanagan W6OLD CFII Minden, Nevada
Visit http://www.delphi.com/electronic/



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