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Re: Topband: COAX CABLE

To: Bill and Liz McHugh <magoo@isp.ca>
Subject: Re: Topband: COAX CABLE
From: Guy Olinger K2AV <olinger@bellsouth.net>
Date: Fri, 13 May 2011 17:51:43 -0400
List-post: <topband@contesting.com">mailto:topband@contesting.com>
One reason to use RG6 for burying, is that it is a lot easier to bury
across lawns, etc.  You can push it into a notch (as opposed to a
trench) and just step on it.  It's out of sight, and undetectable
after the next rain and lawn mowing.

73, Guy.

On Thu, May 12, 2011 at 12:57 PM, Bill and Liz McHugh <magoo@isp.ca> wrote:
> I'm surprised that many posters are using RG-6 for really long runs of cable 
> to RX antennas.  I discovered about 4 years ago that the cable TV companies 
> no longer use hardline-everything in the cities has apparently gone fibre 
> optic.  In many cases, the companies have reels and reels of both direct 
> burial flooded hardline and unjacketed Aluminflex or similar for overhead 
> runs.  As there is no market for all this cable in my area, the only option 
> is recycling, and because it is not pure copper or pure aluminum the cable is 
> considered "dirty wire" and fetches something like $.20 per lb.
>
> I obtained a reel of each-1600 ft of flooded and 2200 ft of the other type. 
>  At some 375 lbs per spool, the total cost was a bit more than buying 1000 ft 
> of good RG-6 and some connectors, and the loss is infinitely better.  In 
> addition, critters don't try to chew on it and if something happens to break 
> the line a splice is easy to make.
>
> Connectors?  What connectors?  I mate the hardline with a short chunk of RG-6 
> by soldering the centre conductors and using a SS cable clamp to attach the 
> shields.  An upside-down plastic bottle is the weatherproofing (thank VE1ZZ 
> for these ideas).  At 1.8 mhz there is no mismatch measureable nor is the 
> loss on my three 600 ft runs of any consequence.
>
> Bill VE3CSK/VE3NH
> _______________________________________________
> UR RST IS ... ... ..9 QSB QSB - hw? BK
>
_______________________________________________
UR RST IS ... ... ..9 QSB QSB - hw? BK

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