Oh GOD you HAVE TO USE 1 5/8 at a minimum for ANY run over 3 feet or the losses in the cable will eat up all your signal like the cookie monster on a plate of chocolate chip.
I wish I could run 1 5/8 hardline, but that's waay outta my price range. So I don't use that.
Now for the real truth.
And this isn't some made up, I got my two by three and I am a RF genius ramblings...
Which you won't get from ham store catalogs...or most places on the internet.
I got a 1x3, been a ham for 45 years, have held an Extra Class license for 30 years, and back
that up with a BSEE with lots of years working with airborne radar, comms, and defense systems.
I'm telling you KB8VUL is 100% spot on. So much for credential waving.....LOL!
I don't consider myself an RF genius, but I do have a lot of "been there, done that" under my belt.
Personal experience.
I have a GMRS (actually 3) repeater running at 50 watts out. That goes into a hybrid transmit combiner that has 6 dB of loss due to the tight frequencies in it. So my 50 watts becomes 12.5 watts before I ever get to the coax. Now, while my coax IS 7/8 it's also 350 feet long to the antenna. SO there is another 3dB of loss. Now we are at 6.25 watts at the base of the antenna. It's got 6dBi of gain so my ERP is 25 watts. THe repeater can be heard 50 miles away.
The important fact here is that it's 350 feet to the antenna. That implies some really nice antenna height!
The #1 factor that determines the effectiveness of your station at VHF/UHF is antenna height. There simply is no substitute for that. Your transmitter output power governs how well you saturate that coverage area. After that, you can start considering feed line insertion loss. There is an old (but very true) saying, "At VHF/UHF, sufficient antenna height cures all sins." Yes folks, altitude is your very best friend at VHF/UHF. OMG - he's losing 3dB in his system!!! Yes he is, but with that kind of antenna height it's pretty much a "don't care" condition. Because the desired performance is there.
Now, this shouldn't be considered as a license to run 200 feet of RG-58 to your antenna either.
That is truly sage advice. One would be well served to adhere to that!
But the folks that get on here and tell you to run 7/8 for a HOME INSTALLATION should fess up about what they are using to feed their antenna's cuz I bet it ain't 7/8.
Exactly right. Which is why I use LMR-400. Acceptable performance at a price I can afford.
Can you get better coax? Sure you can. But just how deep are your pockets?
KB8VUL - keep preaching the truth, my friend!
73 de N8AUC
Eric