LMR400 and Belden 9913
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LMR400 and Belden 9913
I have read about the problems with LMR400 as repeater cables. Is Belden 9913 OK for repeater to antenna cable? VHF 100 feet length.
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Re: LMR400 and Belden 9913
It's essentially the same cable.
Me, myself, I, personally have never had a problem with the stuff. I haven't heard the crunchies caused by the braid rubbing the foil shield, but I can see how it would happen in the long term especially on an outdoor mounted line. It's a well documented problem with aged RG8, and one of the reasons RG8 and LMR are excluded from some sites as acceptable materials.
I have come in behind competitors that used long runs of the stuff as a low cost alternative to LDF. The reason the customer called me was because of range, noise, range, noise, range, and noise. And range. And they were tired of fighting the other guy. They hated the price, but once they got a real antenna with real hardline installed, a lot of their problems went away. Was it the $100 antenna they bought 10 years ago mounted close to the tower on a home made side arm, or the 250ft of LMR400 tie wrapped to the tower leg with no lightning protection and no grounding? Hard to say. Probably all of the above.
I've used LMR400 and 600 on a lot of jobs indoors. Seems to be working just fine. My problem with it are the mating issues with the connectors. Drives me nutty sometimes. I've seen some very strange on UHF site repeater problems caused by connectors. It worked for a year after we installed it, and now it's noisy, intermittent, and scratchy. I wiggle the connectors, and it gets worse. I put new connectors on, and the problems go away. A bunch of months later they are having problems again. Other customers work for years and years without any issues. Not a single complaint.
It's really just a matter of personal choice. if your budget says use LMR or 9913, then use it with the understanding the cable has some short comings. You always replace down the road when your pockets are fatter.
Me, myself, I, personally have never had a problem with the stuff. I haven't heard the crunchies caused by the braid rubbing the foil shield, but I can see how it would happen in the long term especially on an outdoor mounted line. It's a well documented problem with aged RG8, and one of the reasons RG8 and LMR are excluded from some sites as acceptable materials.
I have come in behind competitors that used long runs of the stuff as a low cost alternative to LDF. The reason the customer called me was because of range, noise, range, noise, range, and noise. And range. And they were tired of fighting the other guy. They hated the price, but once they got a real antenna with real hardline installed, a lot of their problems went away. Was it the $100 antenna they bought 10 years ago mounted close to the tower on a home made side arm, or the 250ft of LMR400 tie wrapped to the tower leg with no lightning protection and no grounding? Hard to say. Probably all of the above.
I've used LMR400 and 600 on a lot of jobs indoors. Seems to be working just fine. My problem with it are the mating issues with the connectors. Drives me nutty sometimes. I've seen some very strange on UHF site repeater problems caused by connectors. It worked for a year after we installed it, and now it's noisy, intermittent, and scratchy. I wiggle the connectors, and it gets worse. I put new connectors on, and the problems go away. A bunch of months later they are having problems again. Other customers work for years and years without any issues. Not a single complaint.
It's really just a matter of personal choice. if your budget says use LMR or 9913, then use it with the understanding the cable has some short comings. You always replace down the road when your pockets are fatter.
Re: LMR400 and Belden 9913
As Bill indicated, the likelihood of problems is low, but present. It's not one brand over another - it's a fault of coaxial cable in general. Compare the design of LMR400 to Heliax and you'll see the difference.
If your options are LMR or 9913, go LMR. 9913 has a propensity to work as well as a garden hose as it does coax.
If your options are LMR or 9913, go LMR. 9913 has a propensity to work as well as a garden hose as it does coax.
Re: LMR400 and Belden 9913
Had a customer with an 800MHz system and about a 75 foot run of LMR400 each for the TX and RX side. Certainly there were noticeable improvements when we installed 7/8" LDF, but the LMR400 certainly didn't cripple their system or render it useless.
Re: LMR400 and Belden 9913
i goofed around with lmr400 /bury flex type stuff for all my ham stuff. I actually liked the bury flex better then the ultraflex. The jacket on the lmr400 ultraflex was horrible. When i did my repeater I ran heliax 1/2, found locally for $1 foot. Will never use anything else for any ham stuff ( except mobile and rotor loops ). The jacket, shielding, dielectric, and conductor is superior in every way. Only downside is somewhat pricey connectors. just my 2 cents