Don,
I make all of my cables as I need them, since it's not likely than I could find
exactly what I need for a particular installation from a commercial source.
For example, who normally stocks a double-shielded jumper 19.5 inches long,
with a male mini-UHF plug on one end and a female N rear-mount bulkhead
connector on the other end? (This happens to be used in a GR-1225 repeater.)
I buy genuine mil-spec RG-400/U and RG-214/U cable in bulk, and keep plenty of
connectors on hand. I mentioned the one-meter-long test cables simply because
they are the ideal length and configuration for connecting a network analyzer
to station components for testing.
My pet peeve is a radio installation with a bunch of adapters or barrel
connectors, which often cause unnecessary losses and leakage. The only
exception is when I absolutely, positively need a right-angle N adapter in
order to dress a cable properly. For those occasions, I use only RF
Industries' RFN-1012-1 silver/gold/Teflon elbows. I'm partial to RFI products,
but I also use Amphenol and Delta connectors of the same quality level. The
key is to avoid dissimilar metals and lossy dielectric materials in either the
connectors or the cable. That means a bare minimum of nickel- or tin-plated
parts, and no aluminum shields. And no phenolic, polyethylene, or Delrin
dielectrics. All of my connectors are crimped, using the proper tools, for
absolutely consistent performance.
Is this overkill? Perhaps. But, just one extra trip to a site to fix a
substandard cable installation is far more costly than the extra money a
first-class cable job adds. The money isn't the only point; a proper cable
installation works well and is something to be proud of!
73, Eric Lemmon WB6FLY
KA9QJG wrote:
> Eric , You Stated
>
> My preference is a matched pair of coaxial cables, 1 meter long, made
> with RG-400/U (not RG-142/U!) double-shielded cable.
>
> Is this Coax something You made up , or Did You have them made if So where
> did You get them ? You can post the info or E-mail Me direct.
>
> Thanks Happy Repeater Building
>
> Don KA9QJG
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