[Elecraft] OT: ECore LMR400

[Edward R Cole]

I have not seen or used this brand, but there are several 
manufacturers of LMR-400 "style" cable.  I bought some on e-bay a 
couple years ago (think it was Comscope brand) and it checked at the 
same loss figures as Time's Microwave LMR-400.  I am using it in a 
non-critical system so consider it a reasonable risk.

But for my 1500w  eme systems I only use Time's LMR cables or Andrew 
Heliax, because they have the reputation backing their specs.  I run 
mostly LMR-600 and LDF7-50 1-5/8 inch diameter Heliax.  There is some 
LMR-400 on the antennas to keep weight down (eight 18-foot 
runs).  The LMR-400 only carries one-fourth of the power distributed 
to four antennas.

I have largely stopped buying any RG-8 or RG-213 (but have some in 
use on HF).  The shield coverage on the cheap mfrs of these is 
pitiful.  But you can trust Belden and Amphenol for their stuff.  If 
you run QRO it  will make much more importance to buy known 
quality.  If not then it might not.  On the other hand if you run QRP 
you want every dB of signal so going cheap is also not a good 
idea.  If you are outfitting a boat radio, cheap is "not"; you will 
be replacing cheap cable way more often.

So it remains a personal decision for you.

73, Ed - KL7UW
http://www.kl7uw.com
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