mpddigital
Member
Often we see questions and comments about short jumpers and pigtails and what coax to get for different applications. The answer is IMHO use the best lowest loss coax you can considering flexibility and cable group and you should find that the cost is about the same for all!
You can get the best cable out there for about the same price as Crap. For good coax jumpers that are made for shorter runs the cost is Not in the coax. It's the connectors. While the coax may run from 25 cents to 2 bucks a foot the price per connector is a constant. Assuming you are dealing with decent quality Plated Brass connectors and not the bendable aluminum ones your price will pretty much be the same for any cable class.
Cable Classes? Connectors are made to fit multiple types of cable. Pin sizes may differ a little but Pins are cheap
ALL these cables use the same connectors - RG-58, RG-141; Belden 8219, 8240, 8259, 8262, 9201, 9203, 9310, 9311; CommScope WBC195; Times LMR195; Andrew CNT195, RG55, RG-142, RG-223, RG-400; Belden 8219, 9907, 83242, 84142, LMR-200
The quality, cost per foot, and Attenuation of these cables can vary greatly. For short jumpers, lots of folks think RG-58. But for less than 50-85 cents difference Per Cable in price you can get Belden 9907 (originally spec'd for LAN cables and excellent for RF) or LMR-195. Save loss where you can!
For "1/4 inch" coax - RG8X; Belden 9258; CommScope WBC240; Times LMR240; Andrew CNT240; Remee 1600, RG-401 run the same.
For "4/10 inch" coax Like connectors are shared by RG8; Belden 9913; CommScope WBC400; Laird TL93605; Times AA-5886, AA-6146, LMR400, T-COM400; Andrew CNT400, RG-214, RG- 213; Belden 8267, 9251, 9880, 89880; Times AA-4478; RG-8U, RG-393 and RG-165, All use the same size connectors. Add in non-impedance matched PL-259's to the mix and you can use another 5-10 cable types.
A short jumper from LMR-195 and the same length of RG-58 (which uses the same connectors) may be less than $1 difference in price! While the LMR has significantly less loss than the RG-58 the price per foot differential in short assemblies is not that much.
If you are looking at short pigtails the price is pretty much the same for Anything depending on whats in production. Some of the Custom producers can be called up and asked to pick out several 6-12 inch cables from the cutting room bins and where you don't need a specific measured length will happily make up RG-58, LMR-400, CNT-240, RG-213 or anything else with your choice of connectors for the same price per cable.
FLEXIBILITY??? It depends. Don't rule out jumpers of less flexible cable like 9913 or LMR400! Most folks use jumpers in fixed installations. Once you connect up your equipment you rarely move it So when you can take a 2 foot piece of LMR-400 and bend it 90 degrees in an inch with no attenuation making any shape you want why not use it? RG-213 and others make great U shaped pigtail connections. Just a thought that flexibility is a lot of the time overrated in our set-ups.
OK, I guess the bottom line is that for shorter runs consider saving those Db's by using the best coax you can. YES the loss in short runs is Minimal, that's true, but if you are working with frequencies over 300 MHz, using several jumpers or connecting to different equipment and the cost of RG-58, CNT-240 and LMR-400 is only a little different per cable why not?
You can get the best cable out there for about the same price as Crap. For good coax jumpers that are made for shorter runs the cost is Not in the coax. It's the connectors. While the coax may run from 25 cents to 2 bucks a foot the price per connector is a constant. Assuming you are dealing with decent quality Plated Brass connectors and not the bendable aluminum ones your price will pretty much be the same for any cable class.
Cable Classes? Connectors are made to fit multiple types of cable. Pin sizes may differ a little but Pins are cheap
ALL these cables use the same connectors - RG-58, RG-141; Belden 8219, 8240, 8259, 8262, 9201, 9203, 9310, 9311; CommScope WBC195; Times LMR195; Andrew CNT195, RG55, RG-142, RG-223, RG-400; Belden 8219, 9907, 83242, 84142, LMR-200
The quality, cost per foot, and Attenuation of these cables can vary greatly. For short jumpers, lots of folks think RG-58. But for less than 50-85 cents difference Per Cable in price you can get Belden 9907 (originally spec'd for LAN cables and excellent for RF) or LMR-195. Save loss where you can!
For "1/4 inch" coax - RG8X; Belden 9258; CommScope WBC240; Times LMR240; Andrew CNT240; Remee 1600, RG-401 run the same.
For "4/10 inch" coax Like connectors are shared by RG8; Belden 9913; CommScope WBC400; Laird TL93605; Times AA-5886, AA-6146, LMR400, T-COM400; Andrew CNT400, RG-214, RG- 213; Belden 8267, 9251, 9880, 89880; Times AA-4478; RG-8U, RG-393 and RG-165, All use the same size connectors. Add in non-impedance matched PL-259's to the mix and you can use another 5-10 cable types.
A short jumper from LMR-195 and the same length of RG-58 (which uses the same connectors) may be less than $1 difference in price! While the LMR has significantly less loss than the RG-58 the price per foot differential in short assemblies is not that much.
If you are looking at short pigtails the price is pretty much the same for Anything depending on whats in production. Some of the Custom producers can be called up and asked to pick out several 6-12 inch cables from the cutting room bins and where you don't need a specific measured length will happily make up RG-58, LMR-400, CNT-240, RG-213 or anything else with your choice of connectors for the same price per cable.
FLEXIBILITY??? It depends. Don't rule out jumpers of less flexible cable like 9913 or LMR400! Most folks use jumpers in fixed installations. Once you connect up your equipment you rarely move it So when you can take a 2 foot piece of LMR-400 and bend it 90 degrees in an inch with no attenuation making any shape you want why not use it? RG-213 and others make great U shaped pigtail connections. Just a thought that flexibility is a lot of the time overrated in our set-ups.
OK, I guess the bottom line is that for shorter runs consider saving those Db's by using the best coax you can. YES the loss in short runs is Minimal, that's true, but if you are working with frequencies over 300 MHz, using several jumpers or connecting to different equipment and the cost of RG-58, CNT-240 and LMR-400 is only a little different per cable why not?