RG 6 Coax - VHFUHF Forum at eHam.net

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eHam.net Forum : VHFUHF : RG 6 Coax

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RG 6 Coax	Reply
by NURRENBERN on October 29, 2006	Mail this to a friend!
If you use RG6 Coax cable whould it work for VHF ham bands. What is the diference between this and RG8 or 213 I know one is 50ohm and the other 75ohm but what does that amount to. I have about a 50ft run to my antenna, I have alot of RG6 left from building my house just wanting to know the diference or consiquinces from using it. Ryan

RE: RG 6 Coax	Reply
by K5LXP on October 30, 2006	Mail this to a friend!
RG-6 can be used effectively even above VHF, that's what it's designed for (in receive applications, anyway). Since pretty much all amateur equipment and antennas are 50 ohm nominal impedance, connecting 75 ohm line will cause a slight mismatch and subequent loss. However, this loss is readily overcome by the slightly better performance this coax has over some other similarly sized 50 ohm lines. For instance, even with the slight mismatch, RG-6 has less loss at 146MHz than RG-8X with no match loss. When I first got started in the hobby and trying to build stations from paper route money, I used a lot of surplus RG-59 for my antennas. It worked great, the only issue is sometimes you have to use crimp connectors for the types with aluminum shield. Mark K5LXP Albuquerque, NM

RE: RG 6 Coax	Reply
by WB2WIK on October 30, 2006	Mail this to a friend!
The real issue isn't the impedance, or even the loss of RG6 type CATV/satellite cable. It's good stuff. The real issue is how to connect to it, and that most of the "good stuff" has multiple shields and isn't very flexible. In fact, most of it isn't flexible at all compared with its amateur radio counterpart cables and for that reason alone, I wouldn't use it. The "how to connect to it" issue can be pretty daunting, too. RG6 cable for CATV and satellite use has a copperclad steel center conductor that is stiff and brittle, and is intended to be the center pin of the coaxial connector it's used with (type F). The shileds are often woven aluminum and aren't solderable. The only connectors that work well with RG6 type cables are the type F connectors used in the TV industry, and those aren't compatible with anything used in amateur radio. So, you end up using adapters or homebrewing some way to attach connectors to the stuff, which often leads to failures. WB2WIK/6

RE: RG 6 Coax	Reply
by K5LXP on October 30, 2006	Mail this to a friend!
Steve's right of course, but this is how I dealt with it. When I was a kid I got quite a bit of free RG-59 with aluminum shield. I would simply use crimp connectors to splice the shield to the antenna wire, and I used a ring lug at the station end, grounded to the chassis of the rig, with the center conductor soldered to a banana jack stuffed into the SO-239. For HF, this 'mismatch' was inconsequential. If you wanted to make a 'clean' connection, say for a VHF application you can buy F-BNC adapters pretty readily, then adapt BNC to whatever, if necessary. The stiff center conductor never really presented any issue for me. Mark K5LXP Albuquerque, NM

RE: RG 6 Coax	Reply
by K5LXP on October 31, 2006	Mail this to a friend!
I just had another thought, it pays to strip back the insulation and see if the shield will take solder. I have a chunk of RG-6 in my pile (Belden 9248) that has tinned copper shield, which looks like aluminum at first pass. In looking through my Belden catalog I see quite a few RG-6 and RG-59 cables with bare copper, tinned copper and double shield versions, all of which would be readily soldered. Mark K5LXP Albuquerque, NM

RE: RG 6 Coax	Reply
by AGENTSKELLY on November 1, 2006	Mail this to a friend!
I was at Home Depot the other day and went over the bulk cable and noticed there was 10' of RG6 cable that was the cut the wrong length on clearance so I bought it. I just put on those twist-on BNC connectors on the ends (yes I know...I figure I make use of them since I have a bunch laying around) and with my 2 meter handheld I have no problems with my signal.

RE: RG 6 Coax	Reply
by KB0YOJ on March 8, 2007	Mail this to a friend!
Has anyone ever used RG-11 I have about 200 feet of that stuff laying around looking to be put to use

RE: RG 6 Coax	Reply
by KB7WJL on November 10, 2007	Mail this to a friend!
To the ham asking about using RG-11, You can use the regular PL-259 fitting in it. But, make sure that it does not have any sticky stuff on the sheild. If it does just use some paint thinner to remove it. If it is underground it will have more sticky that overhead. Also the outer jacket will be stiffer than overhead.

RE: RG-11 coax	Reply
by KQ6Q on November 17, 2007	Mail this to a friend!
RG-11 is excellent - had some from the MARS program years ago, with a BW cobra-head dipole feed on it. Worked great for HF- very low loss.

RE: RG-11 coax	Reply
by K3ROJ on April 11, 2008	Mail this to a friend!
I was lucky to find 500 feet of RG11 at a yard sale 9 years ago. Had just moved into my new house and needed 5 runs of cable to my garden shed where eventually I would have various antennas for satellite, VF/UHF and HF antennas. It has the solid center conductor and not good to use with a rotor, so used shorter pieces of flexible 50 ohm cable to go around the rotors. The cable is directly buried and has worked well for 9 years now. The PL259's fit nicely and made sure the PL259's screwed down tightly over the braid after cleaning the braid with alcohol since it was impregnated with the sticky water proofing stuff. Oh, concerning RG6, I use it for portable operations with QRP when camping etc. RG6 is free for the asking when approaching a cable guy. There is also waterproof connectors but require an expensive crimper.

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