I'm not even sure what I have.  I know I've got some Belden cable; I'm just not sure what product number.

Yes, it seems silly, but I can't often place orders for ham gear, so I generally wait until I need to get a few things, then order all at once.  That said, it occurs to me that I can get a PL-259 at Radio Shack if need be, and not have to pay for shipping.

Part of it, too, is the fact that I would have expected (incorrectly, perhaps) Cushcraft to include the stub with my replacement parts order.  I could still call them and find out if they can send me one, but I don't hold out hope.

Hmm...  Well, if it has to be RG-213/U, then I'll have to contact Cushcraft again; I don't have any of that lying around.  If it can be RG-8/U, I suppose I can use some of the leftover cable I have, but I'd hate to have to use up a PL-259 just for that.

Given my options, I'm leaning toward just calling Cushcraft again.  Too bad I'll have to wait another month to get results.

So it's got to be RG-8/U and not RG-58 or -59?

I received some replacement parts for a Cushcraft Ringo AR6 antenna from the company, but they did not include the coaxial tuning stub.  (To be fair, I didn't directly indicate I needed it, but then again I thought that my statement of "I only have the radiator tubes" would suffice!)

From the manual, it looks like it's simply a very short length of coax with a PL-259-type connector on the end.

So, before I call Cushcraft up again, and have to wait several weeks (again!) to get this piece, can someone tell me whether I can just attach a regular piece of coax to the end, cut to the right length and all?  If so, can I use RG-58 or RG-59 coax?  That way, I can sacrifice a patch cable that I have no need of, rather than using a valuable (to me) PL-259 connector and some other coax.

Thanks for any insight.

Oh, I agree...it's simply a question of having the money in-hand before the ground freezes too much to actually bury the stuff.  Lie I said, though: my guess is that I actually need less than I think, so it might be much more doable.

Of course, all of this means I have to solder on some connectors, which is a job all unto itself!  Thankfully a buddy of mine has gotten good at it.  We did two cables a week or two ago, and with my DXE-UT-8213 coax stripper from DX Engineering, we made fairly quick work of it.  Turns out, I'm better at using the stripping tool, and my buddy's better at soldering.  Worked out quite well.

Incidentally, I highly recommend the DXE-UT-8213.  It took a bit of getting used to (it's important to apply constant and consistent pressure), and it's a bit pricey, but gives excellent results once you've mastered it.

The Bury-Flex definitely looks appealing, but at 89c a foot, we're talking serious money (maybe not a ton, but still--serious cash).

Perhaps I'll go out back and get a definite measurement on the run to know exactly what I'm working with.  It might only be 60' or so, and that would make the whole prospect easier to swallow.

I'm not planning to use PVC, but instead a fence top rail, most likely.  My AR6 can only take a maximum 1.25" mast, though, so I have to find out what the swedged diameter is on the rail (Home Depot's site doesn't say).

As for why I'm only going ten feet...well, that's due to XYL concerns.

That's too bad.  Maybe I will, in fact, make that 6m dipole like I'd planned (similar to what K7AGE does in his YouTube video).

Stupid question...

I plan to buy a 1" or 1.25" diameter, 10' length pipe for an antenna mast, to support a Cushcraft A148-10S yagi (2 meters) and a Cushcraft AR6 vertical (6 meters).  Ideally I'd have both antennas on the mast at the same time, to avoid having to lower the thing each time I want to switch out antennas.

Thus, is it possible to have the AR6 at the top of the mast, with the A148-10S mounted a bit lower, but still very near the top (perhaps with the tips of the elements reaching the bottom of the AR6)?  While I might occasionally use the A148-10S in horizontal mode, I expect that 99% of the time the elements will be vertical.

Any problems here?  I'd hate to have to swap them out each time I want to mess around with a different antenna.

For that matter, is it acceptable to have the coax for the AR6 pass within millimeters of the elements on the A148-10S?  I suppose I could construct some sort of standoff to push the coax a bit further from the mast if need be, but that might irritate the wife (since the mast is going near our side deck).

If these are simple questions that can be answered elsewhere, feel free to point me at the relevant info instead.  I'm just here to learn.

Thanks.

--Carl
AC8HF

So it looks like opinions are mixed. 

I don't yet know what sort of frost/freezing issues we're going to have this winter--we only moved in this past April (our first house!).  Even after seeing several people here mention conduit for running the line, I'm still thinking that direct bury RG-213 may be the way to go.  I just keep thinking about the ends of the conduit, where they'd be above ground...without crazy things in place, this is a sure-fire way of getting critters and water in to the conduit.  Sure, drainage holes might help, but we're also backed up to a pond, and the water table is a bit high (less than three feet down, near the pond).

I'm almost tempted to put the cable in a PVC pipe above ground!

At present I have a long length of RG-8/U going out to my Hustler 4BTV antenna.  Up to this point, it's been sitting on the ground and has been serving me fine.  But with winter approaching, I know I need to do something about that cable.

Initially I decided on going the PVC route--getting some 1" or 1.5" pipes and associated connectors, and do it that way.  But the more I've thought about it, the less I like that idea, primarily because the cable I have doesn't bend very well (I highly doubt I'd succeed in putting it into a traditional 90 degree elbow).  Plus, there's the issue of digging a big enough trench for the PVC and all that, and having to route things based solely on how one can buy PVC fittings.

Of course, there are negatives associated with direct bury: in my case, the cost is the primary factor.  While I could afford getting the 60-80 feet I need (I need to measure to find out exactly what I need), the issue for me is that I already have the RG-8/U.

I also read in the latest QST magazine a column wherein the author talked about not liking the PVC route, since (in his opinion) water always gets in anyway...so that's got me a bit worried too.

So for those who have gone one route or the other: what worked for you and what didn't?  Would you change your mind?  And for those who went with the direct-bury cable, where's a good source to buy it at a reasonable price?

--Carl
AC8HF

The coax I'm using isn't brand-new, but it's not old either.  It's pretty good stout stuff--RG-8/U.

I'll have to bring the dipole down to attach coax to it again, and then I'll know for sure.  I haven't really had the time to play much with the dipole of late.

On another note--I had the Hustler 4BTV in use on Saturday night, around 9-10pm EDT.  The band seemed a bit dead, but that's not terribly unusual for me (or anyone, I suspect).  I was able to hear a few Texans and a Floridian, and a Russian chap on PSK31, but not a ton else.  Then, suddenly, right at the end of my radio session, the S-meter dropped to nothing.  The background noise changed a fair bit too--I'm not really sure how to describe it, and sadly I didn't record it.  I dialed through the band, and could still hear a few QSOs, but not as many (albeit maybe that's just my imagination).

I didn't get a chance to play with the rig yesterday, but I'm wondering if something got screwed up.  The only other thing I can think of is that my wife went to bed right about the same time, so perhaps a toggling of some switch in the house (dishwasher, clothes dryer, light, who knows) did something odd.

Very, very strange...

After plenty of thought, I've decided to go with a short length of RG-8/U passed through the wall, with PL-259 connectors on either end.  This will end up being cheaper than two 12" bulkhead connectors (as I already have the coax), even when factoring in the couplers to join two PL-259s together.

This also allows me, once I move on to the next stage, to run each of the lines into a DX Engineering utility enclosure (or similar), which will also hold the lightning suppressors and so on.

The main issue will be soldering the PL-259 connectors on to the cables (I'm horrible at soldering!), but I'm sure I'll figure that out just fine.

Thanks everyone for your advice!