best place to order lmr400

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reconrider8

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Im looking for the best place to buy some where around 70 feet of lmr400 with a pl259 adapter and bnc on the other? Ps i think its a pl259 on the end of sputnik
 

Blackink

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Im looking for the best place to buy some where around 70 feet of lmr400 with a pl259 adapter and bnc on the other? Ps i think its a pl259 on the end of sputnik

Here are a few links I've collected while browsing these RR Forums.
I can't contest to the quality of them but I don't just save any Web sites, I usually look them over and pay attention to what users are saying in these forums.
Look through these web sites, research is the best medicine....

Davis RF Co. - The Price Leader in Times LMR, Andrews Heliax and other cables
The RF Connection Home Page
Zen Cart!, The Art of E-commerce
RF Cable Assembly
Coax Connector Pictures
DPD Productions - BNC, N, SMA, TNC, UHF, Coax Patch Cables & Adapters for Commercial Radio & Scanner Hobbyist Applications
Coax Cable assemblies |RF 50 OHM| RFID Cables | Custom coax assemblies
JEFA Tech: Coax Cable with Connectors
 

mpddigital

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While she is re-building her web site right now the Amazon store is rockin. There are some specials right now for LMR-400 at about a buck a foot including connectors. About as good as it's going to get these days, especially as it is shipped by Amazon from their warehouses for free. Only the pre-made sets on Amazon are deeply discounted but Kim cam make you anything you want from LMR-195 on up to 400 in any length by the foot. She stocks about 28 different connector types.

If you don't see what you want call Kim at 888-624-0480 and tell her I sent you. She likes me :)

WARNING: This is a pet peeve of mine - most of the links above are not for Real Times Microwave LMR-400 but for cheap commie chinese knock-offs made by folks making 3 bucks an hour in plants subsidized by the low power costs and non-existent regulations. Lots of folks sell LMR400 coax that isn't. Times goes thru a ton of work to maintain the quality of their product and some of the others are pure crap. They may start out fine but degrade quickly. Many of the knock-offs weigh 20% less per foot yet say they are "equivalent" - Jackets are thinner, the dielectric has different properties, and copper alloys are less pure. Tin and Aluminum weighs lots less than copper! When you can buy Shireen or others in bulk for 50% less than US made cable it's not just because of where it's made... If you are curious as to my facts the details are available in many of the professional cabling and networking publications along with the resulting law suits. There are companies making decent stuff offshore but its a crap shoot. There are too many good manufacturers in North America and Europe doing it Right for me to buy crap. If you don't like Times try Commscope /Andrew, Coleman, Western Wire, Draka, Suhner, Consolidated, Teldar, or others that meet high standards.

Jefa, Shireen, etc are made in mainland china.

Off of soap box.

Bottom line is there are lots of places to buy good LMR-400 - Just make sure it is the real thing that you are looking for!
 

prcguy

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Ebay is your friend. I've seen new 75ft lengths of Times. Comscope and Andrew LMR400 with various connectors in the $40-$50 range. Here is a reasonable price on 100ft with no connectors:

LMR400 Times Microwave Coax 100 ft Cable No Connectors Best Price | eBay

Give it a week or two and new stuff pops up all the time priced very low.Just last week I got some 60ft lengths of LMR240 for $13.
prcguy
 

reconrider8

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o ok the only thing about that is is i dont have any lmr400 tools or such and really dont want to buy any of them because i dont work with it that much
 

reconrider8

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i want solid connection all the way if possible tho and solid connections like crimp or some other kinda professional connection so it dosnt come apart or such and still works like it should.. pretty much i want it done right the first time if im going to pay the money for it lol
 

prcguy

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If you solder a standard PL-259 connector on LMR400 you can climb up the coax and the connector will not come loose.
prcguy

i want solid connection all the way if possible tho and solid connections like crimp or some other kinda professional connection so it dosnt come apart or such and still works like it should.. pretty much i want it done right the first time if im going to pay the money for it lol
 

LtDoc

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Oklahoma
I've used two places to buy LMR-400 cable. Both are fairly close to me so they give me an excuse to go 'shopping' too. One place ends up about $1.20 / foot including shipping, the other if comparable and has more 'junk' to look at, you know? It's been at least a couple of months since I've bought any so won't guarantee the prices. Wouldn't hurt to ask'em though.
- 'Doc


Texas Towers, Garland(?) Texas.
Main Trading Company, Paris Texas.
 

reconrider8

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I found that girl that mpd was talking about on ebay and she looks legit so i think i may try her if she can get the right connectors on the right' of coax
 

Blackink

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WARNING: This is a pet peeve of mine - most of the links above are not for Real Times Microwave LMR-400 but for cheap commie chinese knock-offs made by folks making 3 bucks an hour in plants subsidized by the low power costs and non-existent regulations. Lots of folks sell LMR400 coax that isn't. Times goes thru a ton of work to maintain the quality of their product and some of the others are pure crap. They may start out fine but degrade quickly. Many of the knock-offs weigh 20% less per foot yet say they are "equivalent" - Jackets are thinner, the dielectric has different properties, and copper alloys are less pure. Tin and Aluminum weighs lots less than copper! When you can buy Shireen or others in bulk for 50% less than US made cable it's not just because of where it's made... If you are curious as to my facts the details are available in many of the professional cabling and networking publications along with the resulting law suits. There are companies making decent stuff offshore but its a crap shoot. There are too many good manufacturers in North America and Europe doing it Right for me to buy crap. If you don't like Times try Commscope /Andrew, Coleman, Western Wire, Draka, Suhner, Consolidated, Teldar, or others that meet high standards.

Jefa, Shireen, etc are made in mainland china.

Off of soap box.

Bottom line is there are lots of places to buy good LMR-400 - Just make sure it is the real thing that you are looking for!

Below is some text I copied from the jefatech.com web site.

What does "JEFA" mean?
J, E, F, and A are the initials of the son, daughter, wife, and husband who originally founded the company. JEFA Tech remains a family owned small business today.

From left to right are Josh (son), Emily (daughter), Faith (wife), and A.J. (husband)

A.J. and Faith have active roles managing, developing new products, and providing technical support at JEFA Tech. Emily and Josh have directly assisted the efforts at JEFA Tech in the past, and are now in the process of finishing college and pursuing their own careers.

JEFA Tech has become a well known and trusted customer oriented company and growing employer. What started as the classic "working out of the basement" home business in 2003 is now located in a several thousand square foot facility. It seems there is sometimes confusion and even concern about the origin of our company due to the name "JEFA" as it may sound a bit foreign to some. Our entire family was born and raised in the United States and has been for many generations. JEFA Tech is an American company with American roots. We are located in the state of Maryland.

Please be aware that some of our direct competitors, even though they are located in the United States, are actually foreign companies that have set up distribution centers and offices in the United States. We ask that you consider supporting our family business instead of a cheaper off-shore transplant company that is likely to give you little to no support after the sale.

Thank you for taking the time to read this. We look forward to doing business with you.


Now let me ask you this: Would you like it if someone wrote in a public forum like this one, what you wrote about this company Jefa and it's products? Lemme see here....oh yea, and I quote "cheap commie chinese knock-offs made by folks making 3 bucks an hour in plants subsidized by the low power costs and non-existent regulations. But wait...there's more: Jefa, Shireen, etc are made in mainland china.

About the only times I see you post in these forums are when you have an opportunity to degrade many of the Web sites people post in these forums about coaxial cable companies when all they're trying to do is help. You call it a "pet peeve"
Really?!? Get over it and post positive feedback.

From the research I've done on the web sites I posted earlier, they all make their product here in the USA, including your cable, and go through rigorous testing throughout their production phases.
All of these sites were collected from earlier posts on this RR Forum database and I did extensive reading to make sure what I did find as lower standard quality cable, like Radio Shack product, was excludud from anything I happened to save.

Now I understand you have your own business and you're temperamental about who does business with who and where, but as a business owner like yourself, don't you think posting messages like you did is uncalled for?

Now I'll tell you what I'll do; you provide an authentic link to me with verified information and proof that the above mentioned company, Jefatech.com is indeed producing their product in mainland china and are indeed cheap commie knockoffs, then I'll publicly respond with a formal apology.

But until that happens, you can bet I won't be promoting or purchasing product from MPD Digital.

I've wasted enough of my time as it is responding to this post.......'nuff said
When I consulted my lawyer about this response, he told me it would only make me feel better as people have a right to post publicly, responses that were posted like your response.
 

prcguy

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I've not dealt directly with JEFA Tech but friends who have tell me the prices, quality and service are very good. On the other hand, one of the commercial posters in this thread have LMR195 listed on RR at a price where I can buy it from a retail store, mark it up and still offer a cheaper price.

A little shopping will turn up really good prices on all this stuff and if you don't shop around you can't complain about the price you paid.
prcguy


Below is some text I copied from the jefatech.com web site.

What does "JEFA" mean?
J, E, F, and A are the initials of the son, daughter, wife, and husband who originally founded the company. JEFA Tech remains a family owned small business today.

From left to right are Josh (son), Emily (daughter), Faith (wife), and A.J. (husband)

A.J. and Faith have active roles managing, developing new products, and providing technical support at JEFA Tech. Emily and Josh have directly assisted the efforts at JEFA Tech in the past, and are now in the process of finishing college and pursuing their own careers.

JEFA Tech has become a well known and trusted customer oriented company and growing employer. What started as the classic "working out of the basement" home business in 2003 is now located in a several thousand square foot facility. It seems there is sometimes confusion and even concern about the origin of our company due to the name "JEFA" as it may sound a bit foreign to some. Our entire family was born and raised in the United States and has been for many generations. JEFA Tech is an American company with American roots. We are located in the state of Maryland.

Please be aware that some of our direct competitors, even though they are located in the United States, are actually foreign companies that have set up distribution centers and offices in the United States. We ask that you consider supporting our family business instead of a cheaper off-shore transplant company that is likely to give you little to no support after the sale.

Thank you for taking the time to read this. We look forward to doing business with you.


Now let me ask you this: Would you like it if someone wrote in a public forum like this one, what you wrote about this company Jefa and it's products? Lemme see here....oh yea, and I quote "cheap commie chinese knock-offs made by folks making 3 bucks an hour in plants subsidized by the low power costs and non-existent regulations. But wait...there's more: Jefa, Shireen, etc are made in mainland china.

About the only times I see you post in these forums are when you have an opportunity to degrade many of the Web sites people post in these forums about coaxial cable companies when all they're trying to do is help. You call it a "pet peeve"
Really?!? Get over it and post positive feedback.

From the research I've done on the web sites I posted earlier, they all make their product here in the USA, including your cable, and go through rigorous testing throughout their production phases.
All of these sites were collected from earlier posts on this RR Forum database and I did extensive reading to make sure what I did find as lower standard quality cable, like Radio Shack product, was excludud from anything I happened to save.

Now I understand you have your own business and you're temperamental about who does business with who and where, but as a business owner like yourself, don't you think posting messages like you did is uncalled for?

Now I'll tell you what I'll do; you provide an authentic link to me with verified information and proof that the above mentioned company, Jefatech.com is indeed producing their product in mainland china and are indeed cheap commie knockoffs, then I'll publicly respond with a formal apology.

But until that happens, you can bet I won't be promoting or purchasing product from MPD Digital.

I've wasted enough of my time as it is responding to this post.......'nuff said
When I consulted my lawyer about this response, he told me it would only make me feel better as people have a right to post publicly, responses that were posted like your response.
 

mpddigital

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Messages
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SW GA - 30 years South of Atlanta
Boy I think I hit a nerve... OK if you think I only come here to trash others coax you have obviously not read my previous posts. I'm sorry if you think I'm being to harsh in my criticism of commie coax. I'm sorry you got so riled up you had to pay an attorney for advice!

I have nothing against Jefa or anyone else making cable assemblies. They ASSEMBLE all their products here in the States. They are not a bad company, support their customers, and I'm sure the family is nice. What I said was that many companies used cheap commie coax saying it was essentially the same stuff as patented Times Microwave stuff made here.

Cheap = The cost of the bulk cable in 50k ft lots is 45-60% less per foot than name brand cable from the companies previously mentioned in my post. Sometimes it maybe might be a wonderful deal, but most times there is a reason.

Commie = It is a fact that the Government there is - and that it subsidizes it's industry and has little to no regulations on worker safety and pay.

Coax = well you know

Years ago Jefa and many other assemblers obtained cable from OEMs like Remee here in the US. There used to be many companies here making coax! Like others, including many large US corporations production was outsourced and is now made in China. I didn't say the cable assemblies weren't made in the US, I said the COAX was not made here.

Like many folks, their cable is stored in their warehouse and assembled in the USA. As to giving a website verifying the location production facility that is difficult as they do not say where it is made, (Call them and ask, they are honest folks) Just that it is made to their specifications. I know they do quality work putting it together, but in not having an idea where the actual coax is produced, I don't know the quality of the most important aspect, the cable itself. I know for a fact that the other brands I mentioned (some we sell, most we don't) made in the US, Canada, Israel, the Netherlands, Switzerland, and Germany, meet or exceed all US Military standards. Their manufacturing facilities are open, regulated, and inspected. You know where they are. With most chinese coax this just ain't so. The history of chinese manufacturing processes and quality control issues is available for anyone to see. Major US companies that have products made offshore employ teams of quality control engineers to assure the products made there meet standards. Most small businesses don't have that luxury. Even Beldon with all the care they take, had to recall large lots of coax they outsourced because it slipped by.

As I said before, it is interesting that you got so upset by my stance on chinese cable and took it as trashing other companies. I believe the vast majority of my posts are helpful to folks. If anyone wants to buy any product it is their right, more power to them. What I get extreme heartburn with is someone saying their cable is LMR or another recognizable quality brand and then shipping a chinese knock-off. I have NO Issues with any company who prices products cheaply and tells customers the facts. Also, please note I said "Most of the links above" I SHOULD have said 'Some of the links above", since the majority do sell US or other brands that are well recognized. My apologies. Since one of the links actually goes to our site (which is pretty crappy right now being rebuilt) I don't think I was out of line.
 
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mpddigital

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Sorry, this accusation was bugging me so I did some digging:

Every item imported into the States leaves a paper trail. Documents such as Bills of Lading for shipping containers required by US Customs are public records.

The following depicts a container load of cable coming from China to Jefa Tech. There are many additional records up thru 2012 but they cost $20 to search.

Jefa Tech [Baltimore, Maryland] Import Record - Update 2013-02-01 - 0000 Commerce Ave., Unit 0 Hollywood Md 00000 Us - Cable - Ealing Market Data Engineering Co. Ltd. - www.iEaling.com

Of course the fact that the container of cable was shipped from China is not definitive proof of origin. But it's pretty good evidence. Please understand, Jefa has a good reputation and I'm not bashing them, just responding your challenge.
 

davedaver1

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Your problem is your vast generalization and it's pretty clear you favor one particular company. Validating your favorite retailer is great, but trashing everyone else without personal knowledge isn't.
 

prcguy

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The problem I see is mpddigital appears to be a retailer and when is it ok to trash other retailers on a forum like this? Mpddigital refers to "she" when he gives the phone number to his pet coax warehouse but if you look up the phone number on Google it goes to mpddigital.us web site. Hmmm. Then there is the ad in RR classified where he is selling new Times cable via a commercial site.

I would think a retailer posting info about other retailers should first disclose they are a retailer instead of a user so their comments can be taken in the proper context. Its kinda like someone working for Uniden publicly trashing GRE scanners, etc. You would assume any comments about a product other than theirs would not be favorable.
prcguy
 

Blackink

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I'm sorry I even brought this up.....but

Sorry, this accusation was bugging me so I did some digging:

Every item imported into the States leaves a paper trail. Documents such as Bills of Lading for shipping containers required by US Customs are public records.

The following depicts a container load of cable coming from China to Jefa Tech. There are many additional records up thru 2012 but they cost $20 to search.

Jefa Tech [Baltimore, Maryland] Import Record - Update 2013-02-01 - 0000 Commerce Ave., Unit 0 Hollywood Md 00000 Us - Cable - Ealing Market Data Engineering Co. Ltd. - www.iEaling.com

Of course the fact that the container of cable was shipped from China is not definitive proof of origin. But it's pretty good evidence. Please understand, Jefa has a good reputation and I'm not bashing them, just responding your challenge.

This will be my last post concerning this situation. The thread is getting off topic.
I don't like it when people come in here bashing other companies, supposedly providing proof of their accusations, and then say that, and I quote-"the container of cable was shipped from China is not definitive proof of origin. But it's pretty good evidence".

Here's some nuggets of information I found directly from Times Microwave's Web site About Us;
With production facilities in the US and China we......
This partial sentence is from the first paragraph in the above provided link.

There's more.....look here, A copy of the Bill of Lading.

So......enough about some cheap china commie knockoff crap OK?? Looks like your Times Microwave coaxial cable might be eligible for that title also.

And why do you provide links at the bottom of your posts in these forums that are useless?
Another example of how "on top" of things you are?

Sincerely....With no apology :)
 

loumaag

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Listen Up

Folks, look, this is nothing to get angry over. The OP needed information and I think a lot more than what he was looking for has been offered. Let it lie now. If you have more pertinent information for the OP then have at it, no more sniping at each other. Thanks.
 
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