Feed line over 50ft

[JLUYT123]

Hi all,

My best location to mount my new Arrow OSJ-146/440. Initially I will use an SDR on it and later buy a more appropriate mobile receiver to serve as my base station to work satellites.

My question is, since my feed line will be just over 50ft... I think about 60 ft, what coax should I use and what other components should I bare in mind?

Sincerely,
J

[WB2WIK]

LMR400 would be a good choice.

[K8POS]

I agree LMR400.
While you can always put out more power to make up for the line loss, it is very hard to make up for the loss in receive signal.
Buy 100' worth.  Trust me you will want to get it higher in the future.
Bob

[K5LXP]

Trust me you will want to get it higher in the future.

And use a different antenna.

Mark K5LXP
Albuquerque, NM

[WX7G]

http://static.dxengineering.com/global/images/chartsguides/d/dxe-coax-specs.pdf

This link lists the loss for popular coaxial cables.

[K1WJ]

Use 9913 - as little as needed to get the job done. 73 K1WJ

[JLUYT123]

Thanks for everyone's input... I appreciate it. I ordered my lmr 400 and want to know about f connectors for  this coax.

Can I use normal rg6 connectors or are they special for lmr 400?

[K5LXP]

I ordered my lmr 400 and want to know about f connectors for  this coax. Can I use normal rg6 connectors or are they special for lmr 400?

F connectors are typically for RG-6 or RG-59, 75 ohm applications.  LMR400 is 1/2" 50 ohm line.  You could probably get a series of adapters to get from LMR400 to F but one would have to wonder just what you're going to use it for. 


Mark K5LXP
Albuquerque, NM

[WB6BYU]

LMR400 uses the same connectors as RG-8 or RG-213.

[AA4HA]

I would really suggest a change of antennas if you are going to work satellites. A turnstile antenna is a good starter (circularly polarized) and if you really are in the mood to experement with copper tubing and making neat loops you can build a quadrifilar helix antenna or buy a VHF/UHF helix pair of antennas for around $150.

With a better antenna you may be getting a significant boost in receiver performance and locking on as soon as the satellite clears the horizon.

[N4CR]

LMR400 is 1/2" 50 ohm line.

... that is .400 inches in diameter.

[JLUYT123]

Firstly this setup will be connected to an SDR (RTL chipset) that has a male PAL connector on it. So far I can only find F -> PAL adapters. This will be the first use I will use this cabling for. I think I will have my license by November/December, after which I will buy an HT and can at least still leverage the antenna when I am not out and about.

I know this is not the perfect antenna for SATs but I wanted a good general purpose antenna on the SDR. I did not reply to the antenna input since I prefer to keep the thread on-topic.

Thanks, now I know my LMR 400 will serve me well and that I can use RG6 connectors on LMR 400 -- that is great news for me.

Sincerely,

J

[K4RVN]

Just curious , how do you plan to use RG6 connectors on the LMR 400?
Have you found an adapter?

Frank

[WB6BYU]

You can put a PL-259 or type N connector on the LMR-400.  There are other types that
are available, but will be more expensive.  Adaptors from a PL-259 to a BNC are common,
and Radio Shack used to carry BNC to F adaptors.  That probably is the easiest way to
get to a type F at the minimum expense.  I've never seen a type F on LMR-400, since
they typically rely on the center conductor of the coax as the center of the connector,
and the wire in LMR-400 is much too thick for that purpose.

If you aren't skilled at putting on coax connectors there are a number of sources where
you can order the cable with connectors installed:  you can ask them what other types
they can put on for you.

If you have to have an F connector on the coax, then you could also use an adaptor
right at the antenna to RG-6 with F connectors on each end.  I have some RG-6
with BNC connectors that could be used with an adaptor on each end.

[K4RVN]

Yep,
I checked and they still carry them so with a pl259 and couple of adaptors it could still be done with radio shack off the shelf purchases. Thanks for the lesson.

Frank