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CB’s and RG 6 cable

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Roscoe1961

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My shack is in my basement. I mostly listen to scanners and have a few scanner antennas on an outside tower. With multiple 100’ RG 6 coax’s going from shack to tower, I was wondering if I can use RG 6 cable (if I change the ends) on my CB gear. Not exceeding 100’ and running a little power 250 watts.
 

prcguy

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Probably yes. Measure the SWR at the radio end and if its under say 2:1 it will be usable. I estimate you will have about 1dB loss per 100ft so add up your total length to get an idea of what will be left at the antenna. 250 watts at 27MHz is no big deal for RG-6 CATV type.
 

wowologist

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Depends more on the xcver's output and what finals its using and what mismatch they can take. a 7:1 mismatch coming back on 2$ Toshibas and your blown.
 

jonwienke

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I'm highly skeptical any flavor of RG6 will handle 250 watts without overheating, especially with the impedance mismatch at both ends of the line.
 

Roscoe1961

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Ok, the crowd is leaning towards RG 8 cable. Is all RG8 50ohm? I can put another run of cable in, I’m just lazy considering I have 4 runs of 6 in already. If it makes a difference I have an old Pro 640 e Uniden AM SSB . I heave a 12volt setup in the basement so I can take it from the car to the basement.
 

prcguy

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I have a power handling chart that includes CATV type RG-6 and it rates it at 1580 watts at 7MHz and about 750 watts at 30MHz for continuous 24/7 transmit in 104 deg F ambient air. For amateur type service you can increase that and RG-6 will easily handle over a kilowatt for brief transmissions at 27MHz.

I would not recommend RG-6 for a new install but in a pinch it will usually work in place of RG-8, LMR-400, etc to get on the air and no its not going to damage your radio, etc. The key to all this is check the VSWR like you would with any antenna install and if the match is under 2:1 or so its fine.





I'm highly skeptical any flavor of RG6 will handle 250 watts without overheating, especially with the impedance mismatch at both ends of the line.
 

JayMojave

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RG6 will work, have used it before. But the crimped RG6 connectors will need a adapter to convert the CB's SO-239 connector. RG6 shield all I have seen is made from Aluminum can NOT be soldered. Suggest you do not convert the radios connector. Good luck.

Jay in the Great Mojave Desert..... "Next Gas 150 Miles"
 

radact

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I've used RG6 on all my rigs from HF to 900 mhz for the last 15 years without any ill effects. I do replace the coax every 5 years cause it's outside and the Sun dries out the outer jacket. I just did the complete change out in Feb. Works for me and radios are still working fine.
 

jonwienke

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You'd have to double the mismatch loss, as it occurs at both ends of the cable.
 
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