Icom: IC-7100, making extension cable, anyone else?

[KQ4BX]

I have the shielded RJ45, and I have shielded Cat6 cable, the black one that can go outside. I don't think that matter much, but it has a tough thick outer covering and that can only be good.

Has anyone made one as long as 50 feet or longer with success?

Does anyone agree that the cable being Cat6 might be a good thing, and will anyone else agree that if I put ferrite around the cable on each end, that might be a good idea?

I peeled away the feritte that was around each end of a DVI cable, and it slips over the cat6 easily. I think it may keep RF from getting into the longer cable and messing with the controls.

Feedback is welcomed..

Joe

 

[k6cpo]

I made my own extension cable for my Yaesu FT-7900 out of flat cable because I didn't need a 25 ft cable to connect the faceplate to the radio. Before I did this I checked with Yaesu and they said not not to make the cable any longer than the Yaesu cable because it might not work if it was longer.

You might want to check with iCom before you try to make one 50 ft long...

 

[W2GLD]

For the ICOM IC-7100, I would recommend against making your own cable, UNLESS... You are going to use high quality SHIELDED cable and connectors... The ICOM ones are top quality; generally I make my own cables as well, but when it comes to HF and the potential for noise from outside sources, stay with what works; many have made their own cables and later purchased the ICOM cables due to noise issues and other problems. I personally have a mobile setup and use the ICOM factory cables with no troubles at all. On the other radio, a Yaesu FTM-400DR; I made my own with high quality shield wire and they work fine. Just my two cents. As for the length, 50ft is really pushing it without some sort of relay and power being supplied. For that, you might want a remote rig. Good luck on the project.

 

[KQ4BX]

All god advice, I should have mentioned that the Cat 6 is shielded, and I will use metal shielded RJ45's as well. I think that the ferrite is also needed. Icom includes a ferrite wrap core, but I have not done much with the radio yet, so i don't know what the suggested use for the core is.

In either case, I no longer need to make a cable that is that long, and the included cable is pretty long as it is.

I will update this if I have anymore experience with making my own cable.

 

[zirconx]

KQ4BX, how did your long cable work out? I'm using the remote head of my IC-7100 with about 50-75 feet of cat6. Receive works fine, but I get a clicking in my transmitted audio on 2M. I haven't tried HF yet.

 

[AK9R]

zirconx, your problem sounds similar to the problem late-model Kenwood mobiles have. The stock Kenwood mic cable has a separate shield around just the wire that carries the mic audio. The reason for the shield is that there's a clock signal on one of the other wires in the mic cable. That clock signal causes a pulse noise in the transmitted audio if the shield is not perfect. Many folks have tried to extend Kenwood mic cables with CAT5 and CAT6 cable. Sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn't.