tcp2525

Thanks for the compliment! And all this time I thought I was old and decrapitated. I agree, I think Tandy ruined Radio Shack. It was a downward spiral for decades. I always liked the catalogs back then. There's a site that has PDFs of every year they printed. From what I remember during my CB days back in the 70s, Radio Shack's RG8 was only offered with foam core and the braided shield was horrible. For CB we didn't care. I don't think any of us today would buy their cable since we have so many great options.

As kids we hung around the local RS before the TRS80 computer was even thought of. Their parent company, Tandy, used to sell leather and leather crafting tools back then. Their coax sucked and I didn't even know what good coax was. We used it for CB because we didn't know any better. Actually Lafayette was a much better and highly respected company.

The words "Radio Shack" totally disqualifies this as a viable choice. At least you got a free battery if you joined the battery of the month club. But seriously,that cable was acceptable for CB use, that's it.

Hey, just trying to spread some love. I know some people here might not seem like they love each other, but think of it this way, it can be just as difficult picking the right coax. No shame in selecting the wrong coax, just admitting to yourself you made a poor choice is the first step towards inner peace.

Come on now. Please be civil as this is a family oriented forum.

Kind of irrelevant since most of us won't be using 100 meters of either in our mobile instalation anyway. Again, using the right coax for the job is key.

As stated above, RG400 MIL spec Teflon dielectric with silver plated copper conductors. Perfect for mobile installation and works great with the world famous and highly cherished NMO mount. In other words, pure perfection. And here ya go, an already made cable that's ready for installation and it even has the dreaded PL-259. https://www.ebay.com/itm/375935266177

You simply use the correct cable, and RG8x is simply not going to cut it on UHF. Only place RG8x should be used as a compromise cable at 30MHz and below, and that's a stretch. You lost so much power using the stuff it even fooled you into thinking you have an acceptable VSWR, kinda like a dummy load. Just trying to save you heartache and money.

Yep, he built a dummy load with that cable. Silly rabbit.

RG8x on UHF? Definitely not a optimal choice no matter where it's made. I use RG400 on all my NMO mobile installs. It's quality stuff even if it's made in an Asian country.

Damn!! I'm ready. The hell with PL-259s, its time to eat. Let's go all the way in our journey to clog our arteries and get some hot out of the fryer funnel cakes.

Nice job, but I'm not sure why you would mount the stuff to a mini-split. Not good in my opinion.

If you can get me a baker's dozen of these magnificent French Crullers you got a deal!!! There's absolutely no legitimate use for the SO-239 and PL-259.

Definitely, only if they are chocolate chip. Do I get two cookies if I get Amphenol to stop making PL-259s?

Here's a great example of using the proper connector for the the task at hand. One that is waterproof and can withstand the demands of being used on a motorcycle in all weather conditions. As you can see in the pic, no further waterproofing is needed other than heatshrink with hotglue protecting the LMR240 entering the N connector. I know, I should have used 1/2" Heliax for this extremely long run to minimize cable loss, but the bending radius was too large to get in those tight spots. Anyway, This has been on this motorcycle for close to 10-years and no water has entered the coax. Damn, sometimes I do a job so good I scare myself.

Just a suggestion, instead of wasting money and time buying substandard coax and finding out it's not making you happy, just buy some 1/2" Heliax and save money and time. UHF isn't forgiving when it comes to feedline.

Just a suggestion, instead of wasting money and time buying substandard coax and finding out it's not making you happy, just buy some 1/2" Heliax and save money and time. UHF isn't forgiving when it comes to feedline.

A man that knows his stuff! That radio is going to sing with the new Heliax! Congrats on the new radio.

Really? What else could we possibly talk about? I think it is a well thought out question that got an extremely thought out and well composed answer. I know it doesn't fit the normal theme of ganging up on newbies asking the same old questions that they could easy find by doing a search. After all, we're discussing GMRS and we've reached the limit of all things GMRS.

Yep, but you gotta feed it with Heliax for it to really wake up and perform. And if you want to get an extra 1.5db out of the 1486, you need to polish the brass elements with Brasso to a mirror finish prior to putting it in the radome.

Now you're talking! There's only one Heliax and you got some. Beats the hell out of using that cheap LMR stuff.

So, basically you did what was required of you to keep things fresh, you rotated stock. Just remember for freshness always put new stock at the back of the pack. Good man!!

Are you saving the file after editing it? You might try saving your edited files prior to uploading to the radio.

Hey brother we got the same mat!!

You did good and really had your brain cells cooking, Son. But I use company vehicles and don't have to worry about all those things you mention, it's on their dime. It's totally and utterly foolish and breaks every terrestrial and celestial boundary of human stupidity to NOT use the creative part of your brain.