Radio Shack Tandy Coax any good?
John T. Young
Anyone have any opinions on the quality of Tandy RG8/U coax compared to
the other main brands such as Belden, etc.? Thanks de John, KI7JB
Wes Stewart
In article <Pine.PTX.3.92a.96051...@carson.u.washington.edu> "John T. Young" <jty...@u.washington.edu> writes:
>From: "John T. Young" <jty...@u.washington.edu>
>Subject: Radio Shack Tandy Coax any good?
>Date: Wed, 15 May 1996 07:54:43 -0700
>Anyone have any opinions on the quality of Tandy RG8/U coax compared to
>the other main brands such as Belden, etc.? Thanks de John, KI7JB
Junk. Although some of the other stuff is getting pretty skimpy too.
Wes -- N7WS
Edward Lawrence
Yes. The braid has a very open weave. It leaks a lot. This may be OK in
non-critical applications, but not in others. You (may) get whay you pay for.
David L. Thompson
"John T. Young" <jty...@u.washington.edu> wrote:
>Anyone have any opinions on the quality of Tandy RG8/U coax compared to
>the other main brands such as Belden, etc.? Thanks de John, KI7JB
According to my contacts at Tandy HQ in Dallas the RS coax since the
early 90's is 96% braid and close to Belden etc. I use their RG8 on
two antennas with good success. They also have a parts division Tandy
national Parts.
Dave K4JRB
WB3U
n7...@azstarnet.com (Wes Stewart) wrote:
>Junk. Although some of the other stuff is getting pretty skimpy too.
Taiwan was too good for these folks. Nearly all their products
are made in China now. Even the miniature lamp bulbs can't be
relied on to work.
73,
Jack WB3U
Rich Griffiths
I bought RG-58 and RG-59 from RS a couple of years ago that couldn't
have been more than 60% coverage.
I haven't checked the RG-8, but then "Fool me once, shame on you ...."
I won't make that mistake again.
I don't fault RS on everything, as some do. I think they do sell some
good stuff. But coax is not on the list.
Rich W2RG
Dave Zawodny
"John T. Young" <jty...@u.washington.edu> wrote:
>Anyone have any opinions on the quality of Tandy RG8/U coax compared to
>the other main brands such as Belden, etc.? Thanks de John, KI7JB
>
John,
For years, Rat Shack has been the world,s largest supplier of
Radiax :)
Seriously, just Take a piece and skin it. Then, tell me what you
think.
BTW Radiax is a Trademark of Andrew, and I seriously doubt that
ANYONE would ever confuse the two pruduct lines...
My apologies to Andrew for any perceived slurrrrrr.....
Z
the
robert bowman
>Even the miniature lamp bulbs can't be relied on to work.
i though it was just me. i've learned the hard way that if you buy
any cable from RS, the first thing to do is cut the molded connectors
off and solder your own on, before you drive yourself nuts looking
for the intermittent open circuit.
it is really sad, since i really think that with the lack of walk-in
electronic supply shops in many areas, RS could carry quality products
at a higher price and still have the same volume.
Gareth Crispell
ja...@pinetree.microserve.com (WB3U) wrote:
> n7...@azstarnet.com (Wes Stewart) wrote:
>
>>Junk. Although some of the other stuff is getting pretty skimpy too.
>
>Taiwan was too good for these folks. Nearly all their products
>relied on to work.
>
>73,
>Jack WB3U
--
How True! I mentioned the exact thing to a Rat Shacko employee last year
and he looked at me as though I had the IQ of a watermelon.
His words of wisdom were " have you never heard of international free
trade ?" :-]
..as for the mysteries of the
Universe...they knew them not...
And in the time of their visitation they shall shine, and run
to and fro like sparks among the stubble.
gareth e-mail stra...@ccsnet.com
Dan Prysby
n7...@azstarnet.com (Wes Stewart) wrote:
>In article <Pine.PTX.3.92a.96051...@carson.u.washington.edu> "John T. Young" <jty...@u.washington.edu> writes:
>>From: "John T. Young" <jty...@u.washington.edu>
>>Subject: Radio Shack Tandy Coax any good?
>>Date: Wed, 15 May 1996 07:54:43 -0700
>
>>the other main brands such as Belden, etc.? Thanks de John, KI7JB
>
It would help if you could cite specific problems.
Is the impedance incorrect?
Is the loss xdB vs Belden at ydB?
What specifically made you rate it "junk"?
Dan Prysby
Wes Stewart
In article <4nsis5$1...@tilde.csc.ti.com> Dan Prysby <pr...@msg.ti.com> writes:
>From: Dan Prysby <pr...@msg.ti.com>
>Subject: Re: Radio Shack Tandy Coax any good?
>Date: 21 May 1996 14:10:13 GMT
>>>Anyone have any opinions on the quality of Tandy RG8/U coax compared to
>>>the other main brands such as Belden, etc.? Thanks de John, KI7JB
>>
>>Junk. Although some of the other stuff is getting pretty skimpy too.
>It would help if you could cite specific problems.
>Is the impedance incorrect?
>Is the loss xdB vs Belden at ydB?
>What specifically made you rate it "junk"?
Weigh it.
WB3U
Gareth Crispell <stra...@ccsnet.com> wrote:
>ja...@pinetree.microserve.com (WB3U) wrote:
>>Taiwan was too good for these folks. Nearly all their products
>>are made in China now. Even the miniature lamp bulbs can't be
>>relied on to work.
>How True! I mentioned the exact thing to a Rat Shacko employee
>last year and he looked at me as though I had the IQ of a watermelon.
>His words of wisdom were " have you never heard of international free
>trade ?" :-]
Free trade doesn't exist when the products aren't manufactured by
free people.
73,
Jack WB3U
Bill Nelson
Dan Prysby (pr...@msg.ti.com) wrote:
: It would help if you could cite specific problems.
: Is the impedance incorrect?
: Is the loss xdB vs Belden at ydB?
: What specifically made you rate it "junk"?
The lousy shield coverage, possibly as poor as 50%.
Bill
cc...@interport.net
I've actually used Radio Shack coax in place of RADIAX. Worked pretty
good. Ran it up an elevator shaft about 400' and didn't even need a
terminator. I did cut and pull back 1/4 wave of braid making a
sleve-dipole at the far end figuring it would make up for the loss in
the cable. Oh yeah, ~461 MHz operation.
Supposedly there's a joke:
RADIo shack coAX = RADIAX
Andrew N2CBU
Custom Communications Systems
Red5or7
Well, I'm no fan of Rat Shack, that's for sure. But, I must admit that I'm
using their RG-8 for my HF beam, a dual band (80/40 meter) inverted vee,
and an R5 vert. I've had no problems of any kind. Of course, they used
to sell some RG-8 a few years ago that I wouldn't have trusted to use as a
DOG LEASH! But, some time ago, they started improving their braid
coverage. Now, I think it's right up there with the other brands. Say,
didn't QST have an article about coax a few months/years ago and rate Rat
Shack RG-8 as an OK product? Anyhow, that's my thoughts on the matter. I
suppose the only way I could be sure that their RG-8 is OK would be to
test it against another brand using my 3 antennas. Hope this helps a
little bit. 73 to all & have a nice Memorial Day holiday!
Pete Soper
red...@aol.com (Red5or7) writes:
>DOG LEASH! But, some time ago, they started improving their braid
>coverage. Now, I think it's right up there with the other brands. Say,
By coincidence last night I made a stub filter out of a piece of junk box
RS RG8 that I bought around 2/95. The braid coverage looked fine to my eye.
It's their prices that drove me to mail order suppliers long ago.
Regards,
Pete
KS4XG
Steve Dobak
Wes Stewart wrote:
>
> In article <4nsis5$1...@tilde.csc.ti.com> Dan Prysby <pr...@msg.ti.com> writes:
> >From: Dan Prysby <pr...@msg.ti.com>
> >Subject: Re: Radio Shack Tandy Coax any good?
> >Date: 21 May 1996 14:10:13 GMT
>
> >>>Anyone have any opinions on the quality of Tandy RG8/U coax compared to
> >>>the other main brands such as Belden, etc.? Thanks de John, KI7JB
> >>
> >>Junk. Although some of the other stuff is getting pretty skimpy too.
>
> >Is the impedance incorrect?
> >Is the loss xdB vs Belden at ydB?
> >What specifically made you rate it "junk"?
>
The earlier radio shack coax of 4 or 5 years ago was pure unmitigated garbage, The
cable that I have seen of recent ventage seems to be much better although I dont have
any personal experance, It looks much better made. A experance I had was in putting up
a inverted Vee after relocating, I run to radio shack and got 100 feet of coax, put it
up and the sucker just did not work. I took it down checked the antenna and nothing was
wrong, I applied power with the antenna suspended about 5 feet high and it worked as it
should, I chocked it up to something I had missed but fixed while tearing everything
apart and put it back up in the air and guess what, The sucker again didnt work.
Out of discust I pulled the antenna down again and checked everything and couldnt find a
blessed thing wrong put on the power found it worked, put it back up and guess what,
the antenna again crashed and burned, what had been a 1 to 1 swr at 5 feet was again
off the scale totally. After reciting incantations in several different tounges I made a
call to a electronics store down the road several towns over that had belden cable to
see what time they closed as it was saturday and getting somewhat late, being a hour
project throwing up a temp antenna was now at 7 hours and counting, grabbed a shower and
went flying down the road saying things that arent fit to repeat, I just made it
got 100 feet of belden and run out of daylight. Next morning the antenna again came down
I done a dike job to the cable and put up the belden checked the swr and it was perfect,
So I put it back up in the air and guess what it worked perfect. I then stripped a
piece of cable, the radio shack product, and looked to see what I could see, here is
what I found, With no weight on the cable it wooked as it should, however with weight
on the line, as in pulling it up in the air and having it suspended in the air the
brade streched and was pinching against the dielectric and was throwing the Z out of the
ballpark completly. I wound up using the cable as a grounding cable, shorting the center
conductor and shield together and beleive me the shield was so lousy that I doubt it had
50% shielding and I found all kinds of discontinuties in it. The cable was RG/8U, and
I had no problems in parting with the money, they had no problems taking it, But I would
have had better luck if when I got home I had shoved all 100 feet up my ass and had did
something else instead. I hope radio shack has gotting their act together when it comes
to cable and the more recent stuff as I said looks muck better but dont hold your breath
and take any bets waiting for me to use and more, even if it was given to me.
-----Steve wb3amg-----:=}
Rob Whitacre
In article <4nualn$h...@crash.microserve.net>, ja...@pinetree.microserve.com
says...
They've got questions, we've got answers!
Brian Webb
If you're operating at VHF or UHF, the quality of the connectors
and cable makes a big difference. At HF it probably still
matters, but less so.
Why spend big bucks on ham radio gear and the skimp on the
connectors and coax? Radio Shack connectors and cable have
both been condemned by hams who have compared RS's products
with their counterparts from other manufacturers using test
equipment.
I'd use Belden 9913 or fat RG-8 and commcerical-grade amphenol
connectors (first choice for me are silver/teflon mil-spec con-
nectors).
73s
Brian KD6NRP (Admitted perfectionist)
Monte Olsen
I agree. I made the mistake of buying some Radio Shack coax and it was
the worst.
Don't waste your money on this stuff. It can't stand up to the demands
you'll place on it and that includes the connectors. Be good to
yourself and your station and get something better.
Monte Olsen
N7FFO
Paul Davis
I read the previous posts about the dual band j-pole with interest.
However, I am looking for somthing to mount on a bicycle. The
300ohm twin lead sounds like it would do the trick. Would I need a
diplexer or somthing to use two antennas? BTW the bands in question are
2m and 70cm.
--
Paul Davis
pa...@mindspring.com
http://www.mindspring.com/~paul1/
Kelly Gray
Paul Davis (pa...@mindspring.com) wrote:
: I read the previous posts about the dual band j-pole with interest.
I too am looking for an antenna to mount on my bicycle, although I'd be
satisfied with a single band 2m version.
The problem with the twinlead J-Pole is that it is VERY sensitive to changes
in the material near the lower part of the J. Even placing it up against
a wooden surface is enough to seriously detune the antenna!
It has been suggested that I could just stick a standard mag-mount on my rear
carrier, but that's where I ususally carry my cargo (backpack full of books
etc) so I have no room there.
so far, the best idea I can come up with is to bury a coax dipole inside
a fibreglass whip. Anyone know where I might be able to obtain a 6ft hollow
whip? I'd even be willing to tolerate the high losses and use RG-174 cable
for the antenna itself if I could find a whip to fit it in.
73 de ve3vgp
Kelly Gray
Jens Goerke
Kelly Gray (gr...@news.humberc.on.ca) wrote:
[...]
> so far, the best idea I can come up with is to bury a coax dipole inside
> a fibreglass whip. Anyone know where I might be able to obtain a 6ft hollow
> whip? I'd even be willing to tolerate the high losses and use RG-174 cable
> for the antenna itself if I could find a whip to fit it in.
Try a kite shop. They have fibreglass and carbon fibre rods in several
different diameters. The carbon fibre rods are conductive, so you might
even try those for an antenna. Hey, that gives me an idea:
carbon glass carbon
___ ___
======== ===== ========
--- ---
brass brass
2 carbon fibre rods, connected to a short glass fibre rod with
brass sockets could be used to build a dipole for low-power use.
The brass fittings should be glued to the carbon fibre rods with
conductive glue to provide solderable connections to the rods.
Not too cheap, but very light-weight and sturdy.
I think I will try it next weekend and post the results.
Hope that helps,
Jens, DB9LL
--
Do _YOU_ know where your towel is?
Allan Butler
In article <4oqpfg$d...@dns.humberc.on.ca>, gr...@news.humberc.on.ca says...
>so far, the best idea I can come up with is to bury a coax dipole inside
>a fibreglass whip. Anyone know where I might be able to obtain a 6ft hollow
>whip? I'd even be willing to tolerate the high losses and use RG-174 cable
>for the antenna itself if I could find a whip to fit it in.
Kelly:
Go to a sporting goods store and look for what is called a "Crappie
Stick" in this part of the world. It is a pole that telescopes inside
itself and the only metal on it is a small loop at the end to tie a fishing
line to. These can be found quite long. As long as 12 feet long I believe.
The trick to getting the loop out of the end is to heat the end with
a small torch flame and pull the loop out with pliers. It is glued into the
stick with some heat sensitive adhesive.
Good luck and I hope this helps you out.
--
Allan Butler KA0IES
ajbu...@ia.net
http://www.rf.org/farmers/ka0ies.html
Glenn Mead
In article <DsDn...@jgfl1.allcon.com>, gri...@jgfl1.allcon.com (Jens Goerke) wrote:
>Kelly Gray (gr...@news.humberc.on.ca) wrote:
>[...]
>> a fibreglass whip. Anyone know where I might be able to obtain a 6ft hollow
>> whip? I'd even be willing to tolerate the high losses and use RG-174 cable
>> for the antenna itself if I could find a whip to fit it in.
>
I needed to build a coax dipole for my boat. Your local boat supply should
have a vhf-fm marine antenna for 29.95. It is about 8' long and comes with a
mounting bracket that allows the antenna to be mounted at any angle, and
folded down. The vhf-fm marine band is a bit higher than the amateur band, but
the antenna might work a lot better than a rubber duck. Because I use mine
with a mobile radio, I pull the coax jpole that is inside the antenna out and
replace it with one built for the amateur band.
The antenna is made by Shakespear. It is the 'economy' model.
If you have any plans for a coax j-pole I sure would would appreciate a copy.
I build mine by trial and error, mostly error.
Good luck