I recently watched an online debate/put-down session on someone who claimed to be able to make cheap coax just as efficient and low-loss as super-expensive stuff just by doing things like running it in copper tube, wrapping in metal mesh, etc.
This seems a bit naive/uninformed, but it does make me ponder questions like:
*Is* it possible to decrease losses in existing cable via external means?
What is actually going on internally that makes one cable less lossy than another? Is is just thickness of conductors? Geometry tricks? Shielding?
Is it possible to build something equivalent to or better than "good" coax to get your signal where it's going in controlled circumstances, like a fixed installation on a roof? Does the answer to this question include the "ladder line" I keep seeing hams post about? Do DIY ideas I've seen like extra-insulated 'cheap' coax, home-made braided wire, or a pipe with insulated grounding cable inside hold water?
I have some antenna resources, but they don't go into much detail on this topic beyond 'here's what you do'. Is there an in-depth but still relatively accessible primer on the science of signal propagation in cables, etc?
So yeah, just a million questions. I sound really demandy. I'd like fifteen thousands words on my desk by Monday!
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Blaise
To clarify the click-baity question a bit:
I recently watched an online debate/put-down session on someone who claimed to be able to make cheap coax just as efficient and low-loss as super-expensive stuff just by doing things like running it in copper tube, wrapping in metal mesh, etc.
This seems a bit naive/uninformed, but it does make me ponder questions like:
So yeah, just a million questions. I sound really demandy. I'd like fifteen thousands words on my desk by Monday!
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