Coax Cable Manufacturers

[W9CW]

Due to family and job responsibilities, I've essentially been QRT for a decade or so, and am getting my shack back in order.  Since the '60s, I always used Belden coax, primarily their RG-8 (9913), RG-213 (8267) or RG-8X (9251) and others, but I've noticed that some of the major dealers no longer sell Belden coax, an exception to this is HRO.  Rather, some dealers sell coax manufactured by JSC and ADC Telecommunications, as well as other brands I've never heard of before.

What's the quality of primarily JSC and ADC coax, compared to Belden?  Any thoughts on this would be greatly appreciated.

[HAMFESTS]

This response may not answer your question, but it may help.

Most coax has mil-spec numbers on them which means they have to meet certain specs. If the coax you are buying doesn't have a mil spec number on the coax I'd be really shy about buying it, you may want to investigate further or ask more questions of the vendor selling it.

Generally speaking, the vendors I mention below sell quality coax and wouldn't ruin their reputation by selling the bad stuff.

I think you'll find some vendors selling Belden and other high quality coax with the numbers you've given. I've had great experiences with the RF Connection (http://www.therfc.com/), the Wireman (http://www.thewireman.com), and also heard great things about Davis RF (http://www.davisrf.com/amateur.php) and DX engineering (http://www.dxengineering.com)

There is also an ad at the top of this page as I type for ABR Industries (http://www.abrind.com) but I don't know anything about them.

I'd check the reviews of each in the reviews section and select the one that meets your needs the best. If you want to buy from a local Ham store, that is an option too. You may save on shipping.

The only time I bought bad coax when was I was in a jam and needed some and bought some from Radio Shack. It had a hard plastic jacket on the outside, and the outside jacket split, inside the house away from the bad weather! *ugh*

Good luck!
73

[W9CW]

Tnx.  I know Joel at The RF Connection, and he sells JSC and ADC Telecom coax.   And, I believe DX Engineering sells JSC coax.  I'm not sure what Press (The Wireman) sells, perhaps he has it made specially for him by a manufacturer.

I know there's quite a bit of Chinese manufactured coax showing up these days as well. 

[N4MPM]

I purchased some Jetstream coax a couple of years ago, several hundred feet.  It was defective, had sections throughout it that allowed the center conductor to arc through to the sheild at random spots.  Cutting out sections at different spots throughout the coil proved that the problem was fairly extensive. 

In disgust, I trashed the Jetstream, and purchased some Belden and never looked back. 

[N8DV]

I purchased a 50 foot length of ABR industries cable at Dayton. Very high quality as good if not better than Belden. I am so impressed with the quality I just ordered a 100 foot roll for my new Zero-Five 24 foot stealth vertical. If you order the cable, you won't be disappointed. You can check out the web site at www. abind.com   Hope this helps.

[W9CW]

Thanks.  Yes, I know of ABR Industries.  The owner previously owned Cable X-Perts, retired, and then decided to get back into the cable business.