[R-390] RF Coaxial Cables

[n4buq at knology.net]

A few months ago, I started looking for some suitable cable to replace the 
output coax from my PTO as well as the other RF connections to the IF deck 
and crystal deck.  These have gotten rather worn in my radios and worry me 
every time I start fooling with them.  They may be electrically okay for 
now, but with the jacket being broken in a few places, it makes the cable 
kind of weak in those areas and I'm constantly worried about the inner 
jacket failing at those same weak points.

I finally found something that looks to be a perfect fit.  Some have 
suggested using RG178, but its OD is typically 0.072" or smaller and, as 
such, the clamp in the PTO won't grab on the jacket of the coax.  I made it 
work with a little shrink tubing, but wasn't really satisfied with it.  
Besides, RG178 is a bit small looking to be a replacement for the original 
cable.

Some have suggested RG174 but with an OD of 0.100" or greater, it won't fit 
in the various connectors.

The original cable's OD is about 0.084" and the coax I have is about 0.083" 
so it should work just fine.  It is PTFE (Teflon(r)) inside and out with 
silver-plated braid and inner conductor so it should be a very nice 
replacement cable.

I stumbled across this on eBay and the fellow is selling another lot of it 
so if you're interested I can point you to the auction.  I don't know how 
much of it he has in stock, but I've emailed him to see.

Also, if anyone's interested, I may sell some of mine.  I had to buy 25' 
and don't plan using all of it, but I don't know if/how much I'll have left.

I'm just happy to finally have a good cable and hope I can get all of them 
replaced.  The ones in my Motorola are quite ratty.

Regards,

Barry - N4BUQ