Did you know that you can get shielded CAT5 cable?
I'd try just regular audio wire such as Belden 8451 or the Grainger
equivalent. The twist isn't as tight as CAT5, but should be more than
adequate for LW and MW. It can be used with a normal crimp-on RJ-45 plug as
well. I have a roll of that
Rick,
I thought that is what you would say. hi. A metal box eh? I guess I
should look for one. I have used the plastic set ups since 1988 and I
still have heard a lot of great DX. I wonder going to all of this work
is going to really make any difference in what I hear? I know lab tests
and the
Of Patrick Martin
Sent: Saturday, August 18, 2007 7:39 PM
To: Mailing list for the International Radio Club ofAmerica
Subject: Re: [IRCA] More coax experiments
Rick,
Thanks again for the great advice. So most Quad RG6 is not made for
burying. That I did not want to hear! Hardline would work
Patrick Martin wrote:
I thought that is what you would say. hi. A metal box eh? I guess I
should look for one. I have used the plastic set ups since 1988 and I
still have heard a lot of great DX. I wonder going to all of this work
is going to really make any difference in what I hear? I know
Chuck Hutton wrote:
For short distances, go to Home Depot and get the (usually) gray plastic
conduit that is used to run outdoor wiring. Then bury your coax without
worrying about it being direct burial or not.
Just doing a quick Google on CATV hardline pricing...
It looks like .500 PE
Chuck,
I have some short pieces of orange conduit I have used, but of course
direct burial would be easier. I am going to build a metal box with the
coax fitting and all and then I will see how much leakage the coax
really has. As Rick pointed out, I have too much open wire. But again, I
wonder
Rick,
Changing the box is the easiest thing to do.. The coax is under the
house and 12 feet of it buried. I can easily build a new box and crimp a
new coax fitting on the end of the coax. The plastic boxes are just a
lot easier to get and use. No drilling of holes, etc. The last time I
tried to
Rick,
What you are suggesting with hardline is pretty involved, a lot more
than I would want to do, unless I had to. . At least at this point. That
would be a last resort to go through all of that. I still have no clue
if all of this will make any difference in the long run. It may not.
Building
Patrick Martin wrote:
I fiqure I am going to need the metal box anyway, so why not start
there. It will be interesting to note, if the s meter readings go down
by attaching the cap on the end of the coax anyway.
Yes, that will tell the tale. Until you get that (the coax) RF tight,
nothing
Patrick Martin wrote:
and then getting a
piece of Quad RG6 and running it out the door to the antenna is easy to
test. I can go right up the band frequency by frequency and check gw
reception and see if there is any difference. Then if there is and my
old coax is that leaky I can then decide
--- Patrick Martin [EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote:
Chuck,
I have some short pieces of orange conduit I have used, but of course
direct burial would be easier. I am going to build a metal box with
the
coax fitting and all and then I will see how much leakage the coax
really has. As Rick pointed
--- Patrick Martin [EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote:
Rick,
Changing the box is the easiest thing to do.. The coax is under the
house and 12 feet of it buried. I can easily build a new box and
crimp a
new coax fitting on the end of the coax. The plastic boxes are just a
lot easier to get and use.
Patrick,
Methinks you're going to wear your poor coax out from all
the testing.
I would simply advise disconnecting both ends of the coax
and, using a good multimeter, look at the resistance between
the center conductor and the shield. It ought to look to be
open, ideally. But I wouldn't get
Once that's done, if you needed more isolation, I'd replace the box with
a metal one. If the sleeve-type choke works well enough, use the plastic
box you have.
I have been continuing my tests with the CAT5 balanced line. The BNC
connector, 1.4:1 toroid transformer, and RJ45 were put in a
Craig Healy wrote:
One other thing I want to try is to roll out some chicken wire over the CAT5
to see if it shields the wire from pickup. The capacitance to ground, plus
the inherent loss may just help. Maybe just the 50' closest to the truck.
It will be very easy to do an A/B test. Set
Russ,
I will have to make some phone calls and see who had small metal boxes.
73,
Patrick
Patrick Martin
KAVT Reception Manager
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Opinions expressed in
Charlies,
I doubt my problem is with bad coax. It is cheapie stuff that is leaky I
have discovered. Replacing the matching transformer box with a metal one
has made a difference already.
73,
Patrick
Patrick Martin
KAVT Reception Manager
___
IRCA
the choke balun isn't necessary.
Chuck
-Original Message-
From: [EMAIL PROTECTED] [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]
On Behalf Of Patrick Martin
Sent: Friday, August 17, 2007 9:27 PM
To: irca@hard-core-dx.com; [EMAIL PROTECTED]
Subject: [IRCA] More coax experiments
I went back out tonight after tuning
Chuck,
I just installed a new 10 foot copper pipe for the receiver ground a few
days back. So that should be enough. I probably will have to mail for
Quad Shield RG6 as I doubt any of it is available on the coast.
For the record, the local cable company (Charter) has leaky cable. For
cable we
:38 AM
To: Mailing list for the International Radio Club ofAmerica
Subject: Re: [IRCA] More coax experiments
Chuck,
I just installed a new 10 foot copper pipe for the receiver ground a few
days back. So that should be enough. I probably will have to mail for
Quad Shield RG6 as I doubt any
Patrick Martin wrote:
I would think if the center connector of good coax had quad shield,
you should hardly get any signal with the braid grounded.
Keep in mind that there are really three conductive surfaces on any
piece of single-shield coaxial cable.
One is the outer surface of the
Rick,
Thanks again for the great advice. So most Quad RG6 is not made for
burying. That I did not want to hear! Hardline would work, but very
expensive and stiff as a board to use. Not fun. It has been years since
I delt with any hardline.
I wonder if they make Quad RG6 you can bury? I know some
Rick,
I'll bet most of the coax that DXers are using is the same grade that I
am using. I wonder what the difference would be if we all switched to
Quad RG6? Would we notice that much of a difference? I am wondering
changing to the Quad RG6, what the Eastern beverage will react like? As
I
Sent: Saturday, August 18, 2007 7:38 PM
Subject: Re: [IRCA] More coax experiments
Rick,
Thanks again for the great advice. So most Quad RG6 is not made for
burying. That I did not want to hear! Hardline would work, but very
expensive and stiff as a board to use. Not fun. It has been years since
Patrick Martin wrote:
I'll bet most of the coax that DXers are using is the same grade that I
am using. I wonder what the difference would be if we all switched to
Quad RG6?
The answer to that would depend on how much coax-based signal ingress
there is on a given installation. If there is
Patrick Martin wrote:
So most Quad RG6 is not made for
burying.
You could always bury it in a protective tube. I've seen garden hose
used. But that's just as big a hassle to install as hardline. Your worry
will be jacket failure and water ingress.
Hardline would work, but very
expensive
Rick,
There might be a difference, but it might be so small not to notice it.
When I get some Quad RG6, I can do an A/B test. I guess I should put a
regular coax fitting on the plastic boxes. It would be easier as the
short wires the banana plugs are on I am sure have pick up.
73,
Patrick
Rick,
I could always use regular Quad RG6 under the house, but the 12 feet
buried, I could switch to hardline putting a female fitting on the end
under the house. But of course any extra connection there is a chance of
a stray signal.
73,
Patrick
Patrick Martin
KAVT Reception Manager
Rick,
I have some plastic tubing I have run coax through, so that is an
option.
Patrick
Patrick Martin
KAVT Reception Manager
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IRCA@hard-core-dx.com
http://montreal.kotalampi.com/mailman/listinfo/irca
Opinions expressed in
Steve,
I wonder if that is Quad RG6 they have?
Direct bury would be a lot better I would think that there must be some
Quad RG6 that you can bury. There must be others that need it buried at
times, even if most of it is used for Head end use.
73,
Patrick
Patrick Martin
KAVT Reception Manager
Patrick Martin wrote:
There might be a difference, but it might be so small not to notice it.
When I get some Quad RG6, I can do an A/B test. I guess I should put a
regular coax fitting on the plastic boxes. It would be easier as the
short wires the banana plugs are on I am sure have pick up.
I went back out tonight after tuning in KFI 640 and I could hear
something u/KFI off the Eastern beverage. I tried the test again with
grounding the far end of the coax at the matching transformer. KFI got
weaker and the station(s) behind KFI were more there. I am beginning to
really feel that the
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