[TowerTalk] Bumps in coax

[Jim Brown]

On Fri, 27 Nov 2009 13:03:45 EST, K7LXC at aol.com wrote:

>        I'm not sure how those  bumps would appear in normal use. Assuming 
>they were there when it was new,  they're manufacturing splices. You'll 
find 
>them in some RG-8 coaxes but not in  RG-213 or other higher grade coax. 

There are lots of whores in the cable business. Most are nothing but brokers 
-- they are buying and selling stuff they know nothing about, and buy low 
sell high is the only consideration. Most of it is junk. There are no real 
specs for performance, construction quality, or uniformity, and even if 
there were, these turkeys wouldn't know how to test for them. They are 
moving boxes. 

When you find "bumps" in new coax, you're dealing with JUNK coax. There's a 
REASON it's cheaper. Stick with REAL cable companies like Belden, Times, 
Gepco, and Commscope, who actually manufacture their own cable. IF you buy 
anything with someone else's name on it, it's probably a company that 
doesn't mfr it, but buys it either from a mfr or one of those whores. There 
is good private-label cable around, but there's a lot more junk. A few years 
ago, I bought some excellent transmitting-grade RG6 with Pasternak's name on 
it. Comparing it's physical characteristics to the Belden catalog, I'd guess 
that it came from the Belden factory. I've not dealt with Davis RF or seen 
any of their products, so can't comment on them. I've done biz with The 
Wireman and feel that I got good stuff. I've bought connectors from RF 
Connection and gotten junk. When I called to complain, I was told, "hams are 
cheap." 

If you don't buy Belden, Times, Gepco, or Commscope, make sure you  buy it 
from a vendor you trust to 1) know the difference and 2) buy good stuff from 
quality mfrs. 

73,

Jim K9YC