Has anyone tried Bolton400 coax?

[WRQC527]

I'm curious if anyone here has experience with Bolton400 coax. I'm looking to upgrade to 50 feet of an LMR400-type coax. I don't want to cheap out, and $1.20 a foot seems a little too good to be true, but this coax gets decent ratings. I know there's other brands out there, but for a budget like mine, and maybe some other folks out here, I want to keep the cost down.

https://www.amazon.com/Bolton400-Cable-Coaxial-Commercial-Installations/dp/B07YBJRBW7/ref=cm_cr_arp_d_product_top?ie=UTF8&th=1

[SteveShannon]

12 minutes ago, WRQC527 said:

I'm curious if anyone here has experience with Bolton400 coax. I'm looking to upgrade to 50 feet of an LMR400-type coax. I don't want to cheap out, and $1.20 a foot seems a little too good to be true, but this coax gets decent ratings. I know there's other brands out there, but for a budget like mine, and maybe some other folks out here, I want to keep the cost down.

https://www.amazon.com/Bolton400-Cable-Coaxial-Commercial-Installations/dp/B07YBJRBW7/ref=cm_cr_arp_d_product_top?ie=UTF8&th=1

I have not. 
Genuine LMR400 is only $1.62 per foot:

https://www.dxengineering.com/parts/tmv-lmr-400
 

400Max from DXEngineering is $1.45/ft.

[SteveShannon]

And the best price I find for a top quality made up cable with pl259 connectors is this M&P 50 foot cable. This is what I have:

https://www.gigaparts.com/ultraflex-10-pl-259s-50-ft.html

I didn’t check for ABR, but their cables are pretty good too. 

[WRQC527]

5 minutes ago, Sshannon said:

I have not. 
Genuine LMR400 is only $1.62 per foot:

https://www.dxengineering.com/parts/tmv-lmr-400
 

400Max from DXEngineering is $1.45/ft.

Thanks Steve, yes there's not a huge cost difference, and I probably won't roll the dice on the cheapest coax. Some budget coax is definitely budget for a reason. I make do with my RG-8X when I need to set up a temporary base antenna. Obviously not ideal.

[BoxCar]

Especially with the Bolton cable showing 8.9 for loss at 450 MHz.

[SteveShannon]

14 minutes ago, BoxCar said:

Especially with the Bolton cable showing 8.9 for loss at 450 MHz.

That’s at 100 meters. At 100 feet they list 2.71 dB. I’ve done that before. 

[WSCH851]

12 hours ago, Sshannon said:

And the best price I find for a top quality made up cable with pl259 connectors is this M&P 50 foot cable. This is what I have:

https://www.gigaparts.com/ultraflex-10-pl-259s-50-ft.html

I didn’t check for ABR, but their cables are pretty good too. 

Can I take this 50' cable and say attach another 18' (connector to connector) to get my desired length and not suffer a great DB loss instead of buying 100'?

If not, then 100' it would have to be.
Thanks,

[warthog74]

2 hours ago, WSCH851 said:

Can I take this 50' cable and say attach another 18' (connector to connector) to get my desired length and not suffer a great DB loss instead of buying 100'?

If not, then 100' it would have to be.
Thanks,

I'm no math wiz, but it's probably a wash. The connector with an extra 18 feet (totaling 68 feet) of coax will probably suffer the same loss that a solid 100 foot run would. Just make sure to seal that up good if the connector ends up outside.

[BoxCar]

Why not just order a 70 foot cable from Gigaparts?

[Socalgmrs]

You can order 70’ of cable and put your own ends on it?   

[SteveShannon]

9 hours ago, WSCH851 said:

Can I take this 50' cable and say attach another 18' (connector to connector) to get my desired length and not suffer a great DB loss instead of buying 100'?

If not, then 100' it would have to be.
Thanks,

It would be ideal if Gigaparts had a 70 foot piece of M&P as Boxcar suggested 

You can splice them as you asked, or you could:

1. order exactly the length of 400Max you need with ends installed on it from DXEngineering or
2. order the 100 foot cable and two extra Evolution connectors (M&P makes great connectors) and cut the cable to the exact length you need plus an extra jumper. Gigaparts has the best prices on Evolution connectors and they come in packages of two. 

If you decide to splice two made up cables together with a barrel connector, but sure you use a good quality barrel connector. I recommend Amphenol. That will minimize any losses. 
 

As @WRXP381 mentioned you could just order bulk cable and install your own ends. There’s nothing wrong with that.  

[WRWE456]

I use DX Engineering 400 Max. Good stuff. They will make whatever length you want. https://www.dxengineering.com/cableconfigurator/cabletype

They also have assembled cables in 75 foot length's with either UHF or type N connectors.

Type N is better for UHF frequencies. https://www.dxengineering.com/search/department/cable-and-connectors/part-type/coaxial-cable-assemblies?N=brand%3Adx-engineering%2Bcoaxial-cable-type%3A400max%2Bcoaxial-cable-length%3A75-ft

[WSCH851]

58 minutes ago, WRWE456 said:

I use DX Engineering 400 Max. Good stuff. They will make whatever length you want. https://www.dxengineering.com/cableconfigurator/cabletype

They also have assembled cables in 75 foot length's with either UHF or type N connectors.

Type N is better for UHF frequencies. https://www.dxengineering.com/search/department/cable-and-connectors/part-type/coaxial-cable-assemblies?N=brand%3Adx-engineering%2Bcoaxial-cable-type%3A400max%2Bcoaxial-cable-length%3A75-ft

 

1 hour ago, Sshannon said:

It would be ideal if Gigaparts had a 70 foot piece of M&P as Boxcar suggested 

You can splice them as you asked, or you could:

1. order exactly the length of 400Max you need with ends installed on it from DXEngineering or
2. order the 100 foot cable and two extra Evolution connectors (M&P makes great connectors) and cut the cable to the exact length you need plus an extra jumper. Gigaparts has the best prices on Evolution connectors and they come in packages of two. 

If you decide to splice two made up cables together with a barrel connector, but sure you use a good quality barrel connector. I recommend Amphenol. That will minimize any losses. 
 

As @WRXP381 mentioned you could just order bulk cable and install your own ends. There’s nothing wrong with that.  

Thank you all very much!

[WRYZ926]

You can order a 75 foot coax cable ready to go from DX Engineering. It is DX engineering brand 400MAX. It is available with PL259 or N Type connectors. The cable with PL259 connectors is $137 and the cable with N Type connectors is $140.

DX Engineering 400MAX cables.

[nokones]

I wouldn't buy any cable from Amazon. Buy it from a reputable communications supply outlet such as DX Engineering or Show Me Cables, etc.

[WSAM454]

On 4/22/2024 at 11:45 AM, Sshannon said:

And the best price I find for a top quality made up cable with pl259 connectors is this M&P 50 foot cable. This is what I have:

https://www.gigaparts.com/ultraflex-10-pl-259s-50-ft.html

I didn’t check for ABR, but their cables are pretty good too. 

M&P is about the only "upgrade" from LMR400, unless you go to hardline! 

This site will custom make the M&P in the length you specify, with or without connectors:

 

https://www.buytwowayradios.com/messi-paoloni-mp-uf10-mr.html

 

 

[WSAM454]

 Message withdrawn, I can't delete completely.

[SteveShannon]

2 minutes ago, WSAM454 said:

M&P is about the only "upgrade" from LMR400, unless you go to hardline! 

For that diameter I agree.

If you’re willing to spend some money and go to a larger diameter, there’s also LMR600, LMR900, and LMR1200. I watched some videos on installing connectors on the larger cables the other day. The tools cost more than my radios!
Of course M&P has similar diameters and performance cables. 

[SteveShannon]

12 minutes ago, WSAM454 said:

M&P is about the only "upgrade" from LMR400, unless you go to hardline! 

This site will custom make the M&P in the length you specify, with or without connectors:

 

https://www.buytwowayradios.com/messi-paoloni-mp-uf10-mr.html

 

 

One thing about btwr, the price of M&P connectors is considerably higher than Gigaparts, but they often have them in stock when Gigaparts is out.