I got both and they look the same and I did a little googling but I want to hear from someone what they think about both kinds of coax.. if you put them side by side they look the same. If yo google RG8U you get more results for regular RG8 or RG8X???
DISCUSS PLEASE!!!!
Hi Jason,
RG-8 and RG8X are two different things. RG-8 is a thicker diameter, while RG8X is a little thicker than RG-58 (a typical mobile radio antenna cable), but not as thick as RG-8. LMR400 is a cable that's about the thickness of RG-8, but is constructed differently.
Cables all have different characteristics and are used for different purposes. For example 100 feet of cable at 156 MHz:
RG-8: 2.4 dB loss
RG-8X: 4.3 dB loss
LMR400: 1.5 dB loss
You can see how the different types of cable might kinda look the same, but because of how they are engineered and what materials they are made of, have entirely different characteristics. But, a shorter length of RG-8X on a lower frequency might be completely acceptable. Likewise, there is a point of diminishing returns for longer runs of LMR400 before larger diameter cable should be considered, especially at higher frequencies.
None of those cables should be used for duplex operations, like connecting between a repeater and a base antenna.