Coaxial Cable Selection for Ham and CB Radio

For some reason many Hams leave the selection of their transmission line till the last minute and don’t plan it in as a critical part of their system design. A wide variety of coaxial cables are on the market, and without using the proper planning and care your mega antenna may provide mini functionality. Most all standard audio and video feeds, including broadband internet, use 75 ohm coax. Transmission line for Ham, CB or WiFi antenna cable use is 50 Ohm coaxial cable except in very specific cases. After considering the resistance of the cable you use, the next big decision is what amount of loss you can accept in broadcasting to your antenna. Typically the lower the loss, the greater the diameter of the cable, and also the cost.

There are a huge number of choices.  What you select doesn’t have to be expensive to work well but it MUST be high quality. Radio Frequency (RF) coaxial cable is widely used for a variety of professional, Ham and Wireless applications where RF power from a transmitter or to a receiver needs to be transferred from one point to another. RF coax cables act as the conduit for signals run between equipment as well as to the antenna. To ensure you get a good install with low VSWR and one that lasts there are a few items to take into consideration. One point of consideration is the vast difference between common RG type coax and the new standards like Times Microwave LMR-400.

First used for WWII, the RG set of coax cable specifications was taken from the old Radio Guide and used to define types of coaxial cable. The coaxial cable type designations established by the old RG MILSPEC have long been replaced in Military use with newer specifications for design and construction. In the Ham and Amateur Radio world RG still continues to be used mainly to define cable size and type due to the years it was an accepted standard. However it should be noted that the RG specifications are no longer maintained or validated by any organization so there is no guarantee to the exact specification for a particular type of coax cable.

Where once the old MILSPEC RG coaxial cable designation meant something. Today it has devolved into an accepted way to name coax cables to indicate their size and type. RG type cable purchased has no real standards defined, this applies to power capacity, transmission loss, and material quality and one brand can vary immensely from another. Standards for RG cable types can be totally defined by the maker in terms of transmission loss, rated VSWR, power handling and other requirements.  If you are looking for coaxial cable that will meet your system requirements and not cause problems, check out the LMR cables from Times Microwave  or another high quality producer making cable to modern ultra low loss standards.

Times Microwave LMR-400 and LMR-240 coaxial cable is made in the USA

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