Both for re-wiring my station and for my project on the new Choke
Cookbook, I've purchased roughly 200 ft of RG400, all printed with the
label of Harbour Industries. It is relatively stiff, as are other Teflon
cables like RG303 and RG142. I terminate the cables with Amphenol 83-1SP
connectors and silver-plated reducers. The shield clearly is a double
braid, quite dense, and requires effort with a suitable pick to comb
out, but with a decent temperature-controlled soldering station, it's
quite easy to make excellent solder connections to the shield by folding
it back over the reducer and screwing the reducer into the connector
body. And I am careful not to nick strands of the center conductor,
using a good stripper to do the job.
FWIW, NA6O, an U of Ill EE and very sharp cookie, has been doing a lot
to improve N6RO's already quite excellent contesting station, and has
been using a lot of RG400 in it. He's bought some from China and has
been quite satisfied with it.
73, Jim K9YC
On 3/14/2019 5:48 AM, N4ZR wrote:
Oops. I did some more dissecting on the cable, and I'm wrong about the
shielding. That leaves only the absence of printing - this is advertised
as Harbour Industries RG-400 - and its stiffness. This stuff is quite
hard to bend in even an 8" coil. Can anyone who has used real RG-400
confirm whether it feels supple and flexible to the touch? I have one
jumper in my station that looks like the same stuff, but which is very
supple. I bought it at Dayton a few years aho, already connectorized. I
can believe a 1" minimum bend radius with it, but not with the stuff
from China.
73, Pete N4ZR
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On 3/13/2019 9:51 AM, N4ZR wrote:
I just bought 10 feet of RG-400U (supposedly Harbour Industries)
through E-bay for $13. Belatedly, I learned it was coming from
China. It's now here, but I don't think it is for real - it only has
one shield, and is somewhat stiff. At least the inner conductor isn't
magnetic.There's no printing on the cable.
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