[TowerTalk] Coax Life Expectancy

[Jim Brown]

On 2/14/2023 12:49 PM, Art Greenberg wrote:
> Note that "brand X" claims to be suitable for outdoor use.

Designing and specifying large systems for performance facilities, I 
learned that there's a lot of "brokered" cable being sold by companies 
that don't manufacture it, and don't know anything about their 
properties. To avoid getting junk, I had to list specific brands into 
specs for contractors to bid on.

One of the more revealing phone call was to one of these brokers that a 
bidder wanted to use. When I asked to speak to their chief engineer, I 
was connected to a young lady who, when I asked where she got her EE, 
she responded, "IBM."

What brand did you have trouble with? The jacket of LMR-400UF has long 
been known to not hold up well. Many years ago, I learned that the hard 
way when I bought some from a Chicago-area contester at a hamfest. I've 
never had trouble with Belden cables.

73, Jim K9YC