Getting A Hole In One With Cheap Coax And A Look At 400MAX Coax By YouTube Ham Radio Elmer Jim W6LG

Jim shows the damage thet was done as a result of using that gray RG8X coax. He compare that coax to DXEngineering's 400MAX.

[@jamescady723]

Perfect, just what I needed to see. I'm re-doing my antennas and was considering spending much more on coax this time to go with new, better antennas. Thanks, Jim.

[@DonDegidio]

Hi Jim, Nice video on diagnosing the RG8X and comparing it to the DXE 400Max. Three weeks ago was operating FT8 on 20m and all of a sudden no output on the Bird meter when I was connected to my 40 yr old yagi. Switched to my inverted U antenna and no output. Went to 40m and there was output again, which had me perplexed. Pulled out my Youkits FG-01 analyzer and started looking for the problem. Turned out I still had a short run of 40 yr old Wireman CQ Flexi from the crawl space to the antenna switch. Changed it out and all is working now, even a little better. Did some autopsy of the old cable and found no problems. Not even water intrusion. Guess coax does age. Thought I had replaced it all about five years ago. You and the family stay safe. 73 WJ3U

[@DK5ONV]

Thx for keeping us iup to date about things and products, Jim! You doing a real great job. Happy wedensday into Rocklin CA. 73's de Your Friend Uncle Guenter from the German Frontier

[@ham-radio]

Hi Uncle, Nice to hear from you again. I do have many relatives in DL. Mine, as I have discussed, moved from DL to UA on the Volga River. Then about 200 years later move to W via New York and landed in Kansas and later Oklahoma. They were hard working farmers and they struggled in the US. Take care Uncle and 73, Jim

[@DK5ONV]

@@ham-radio G-morning Jim, thx for your story. Sounds really interesting. I just wachted the frustrating news about the river fires in Greenville / CA. That really sucks and I am kinda shattered about what is happening there. Hope Rocklin is a safer area where you live at. Take care & happy thursday. 73's de Your Friend Uncle Guenter

[@JaredRoderick]

Thanks Jim! Keep up the good work! I haven’t taken the tests yet, but watch all your videos! Great info you provide!!!!

[@timmack2415]

Who runs high power through RG8X? Many are only rated for 300 watts at 10 meters. I've never used 8X in my 31 years as a ham.

[@ham-radio]

The coax that I had tested had a much high rating by the OEM. NO matter what the rating they gave it, that connector is zero watts. The fact that they sell coax with connectors that are so poor installed tells me that they don't care. 73, Jim

[@timmack2415]

@@ham-radio I agree with you 100% ! I ordered several dozen T.M. LMR-400 prefab cables and jumpers from a "reliable" online supplier for a job I was doing. I wound up with a similar problem to yours, but not as severe. I ordered the cables to save time and I wound up cutting off all the connectors myself and installing new ones. 😠 I've never seen 8X that was rated for that much power. Belden and, I believe, Times Microwave also only rate their 8X for 375 watts max at 30 MHz. I'm sorry that you had to go through this! That workmanship is unacceptable and, sadly we often suffer the consequences. Best luck and 73, AA2HA

[@ham-radio]

@@timmack2415 If you want to, let me know who that was via private email. Honestly, it is so hard to understand why a company would produce such garbage. 73, Jim

[@JayN4GO]

Tnx Jim. Nothing but lmr 400 here except when I’m in the field. Amazing no rfi issues with 400 either. 73 brother es talk soon

[@ham-radio]

I have some of that and it is extreme well made to very tight specifications and is a example to other OEM's of how a cable should be made. Much of what I have gotten to test Jay is garbage (YT restricts the use of certain words otherwise I would be even more graphic). 73, Jim

[@flycrew]

Jim, Great video as usual. I've been catching up on the last 30 or so. Nice use of a Coleman globe. I can't believe the power went right through it! Impressive You have to be the #1 reason I just got my ticket. Straight to Amatuer Extra, AJ6TF I had a UHF/VHF 50w in my car some years back and always remembered your famous calling CQ video. I though it was so cool and interesting that you could talk to someone on the other side of the world through radio. I recently saw that video again, signed up for a test date 15 days out and started studying for Tech, then decided why not go general for HF privileges and then why not Extra for better DXing privileges. Keep it up. You are influencing the next generation of Ham operators while giving crucial lessons to those that are already skilled at the art. How I see it, I am a beginner technician with an extra license and lots to learn. Austin, 23yr, 73, AJ6TF

[@ham-radio]

Now you can have even more fun. We are all learning no matter what license or experience. There's a lot to learn and have fun. Where in CA are you Austin? 73,Jim

[@flycrew]

@@ham-radio @Jim W6LG I am in Garden Grove, which is in Orange County.(Now on QRZ) For sure, lots to learn. There are plenty of repeaters on surrounding peaks and nets to go with them. So that appears to be my logical starting point.

[@k5rmj]

Good Coax, Great performance. Thanks Jim

[@patrickbuick5459]

Interesting. After much pestering, I finally terminated my RG213 (burned a finger) and replaced the RG8X. Both are 3 sections. What a difference. Oh and both were swap meet as I recall. Yup, one length has very discolored shield like oxidation, so perhaps water intrusion at one point. I didn't set up for a loop test of the coax. New stuff in a single run the correct length instead of 3 stitched together is on the list.

[@W9HJBill]

People thought I was crazy for spending so much for coax, but I use DXE's 400MAX for everything, including my 3 HF antenna runs. Quality coax. 73, W9HJ

[@ham-radio]

I was really impressed with the stuff. It is not easy to prep for connectors but well worth the effort. 73, Jim

[@davefugleberg5113]

@@ham-radio the 400 MAX is actually pretty easy to prep using the prep tools that DX Engineering sells. The tools are not cheap, but after years of doing it by hand with razor blades etc. I finally bought their prep kit and their crimp kit. Makes things so much easier. You are certainly correct- cheap coax is not worth it. 73 de W0ZF

[@alanjames4526]

Hi, Jim. Great video on coax. Alan KZ6B

[@royramdeen8864]

This is how fires start.. thanks for sharing Jim..

[@margaqrt]

Sorry about your amplifier Jim. I hate to say it, but this turned out to be an expensive video series on cheap coax. If I'm following the timeline correctly, the amp catastrophe happened after you cooked that 100' line of junk coax. The events can serve as a painful reminder to test your load at low power before switching on the amp. Hope to catch you on the air soon. I just bought my first home. It's a duplex. Between moving, getting the lower unit renovated and rented, the new shack project has been sidelined. I can relate to your recent moving experience and just how long it takes to get situated and back on the air. Thanks and 73 de KE0RFZ.

[@indymac7]

A necessary video. Thanks, Jim

[@ham-radio]

Glad it was helpful! 73, Jim

[@geofham8332]

Not the fault of the coax, more like who made the cable and not checking all parameters

[@greasydot]

Holey smokes. Literally. Wow. Thats impressive. Sorry for the break down but great experiment.

[@greasydot]

If you weren't so dog gone far away I have several hundred feet of 7/8" and 1/2" heliax that was gifted to me. It would be fun to experiment with it to see if you could measure loss on HF by coupling them together in ther respective coils then straightened out.

[@bro.weaver1282]

Haha, you gave me an Ideal. Is there any channel on KZbin that records hams on the air(with call) and critiques them? as "bad on air practice"

[@toddanonymous5295]

The noise in a discharge like that can cause another hole. In the fruit of the looms due to secondary emission.

[@timgoad5750]

Well presented video.

[@ham-radio]

Thank you! Some disagree. And that s good. The idea Tim was to get them thinking about coas and the role that it plays. Hey Tim, what did you hear from the kind folks in Newington CT at ARRL Headquarters? 73, Jim W6LG

[@timgoad5750]

@@ham-radio I have heard absolutely nothing from the ARRL. I am getting more discontented with them with each passing day. I received a qsl card yesterday from Lithuania that only took less than 3 weeks in the postal service to get to me. In over 5 weeks, I have heard nothing from Newington, CT.

[@lyfandeth]

Aren't all the RG8 designations obsoleted in favor of new milspecs?

[@paulhastings3109]

Have you looked at Messi&Paoloni coax out Italy Have some PL-259 are sealed Compression fit. I found some PL-259 on Ebay. Looked just like the one's on their website alot cheaper. just like Messi&Paoloni, I believe Gigaparts is the site that I seen here in the States. 73 Jim Paul KQ4CD

[@ham-radio]

Thanks again Paul for your help. 73, Jim

[@jimgiordano8218]

Wow, it punched a hole through the Pyrex chimney. This coax series has been extremely informative. Have you ever tested Altelix AX400 coax, It has all the same specs and construction as LMR400. I have bought 100 feet but have not had the time to install it. I am interested in what you think of it.

[@CrisisGuildWOW]

And these are the many reasons why my station has no RG8X. Only RG-400 for short runs, and LMR400 for long.

[@ham-radio]

Was that RG-400? 73, Jim

[@CrisisGuildWOW]

@@ham-radio yes, for short runs like jumpers.

[@michaelo6003]

Does anyone know who makes the DXE 400MAX, and if it’s even made in the US?

[@Aikikris]

Is there any brand of RG-8X you would recommend or do you recommend staying away from RG-8X altogether?

[@douglaswilliams6834]

LMR-240.

[@amateurshooter6054]

Thanks Jim 73 AB7RR Bob

[@paulhastings3109]

Jim just wondering about the coax from DX Engineering Purchase some RG213 125 ft. and to jumpers at 6 ft. Don't know if that would make a difference from what you have. Did get a stripper from them #DXE-UT-405C- P1. could not get it to work right. Sent a 3 ft. Chunk witch they got it to cut, correctly. I guess I was not strong enough. Lol Now with that gray coax the tip looked soldered but braid was not or crimp. I think this is long enough for now 73 KQ4CD Paul

[@jakemichael8586]

love to hear about rg11 tv coax for ham radio! it has similar loss to lmr400! what are your thoughts?

[@ham-radio]

Hi Jake, I have used that coax many times when money was tight. I was able to get it free from the cable company after a forest fire in the area. As near as I can tell, it made little difference. The SWR was slightly higher. So, I changed the antenna t match the coax and then used a tuner in the shack. That worked for several years with HIGH power and no issues. Thanks for asking. 73, Jim W6LG

[@TheRiddleNL]

Is this a reuploud?

[@marklowe7431]

Spend money on feed line. Look outside LMR and you will find better. M&P is an example.

[@dkabell]

So you were testing RG8x beyond it rated power capacity, right? Also the failure appears to be a bad connector install, not the coax. Why do you seem to dismiss RG8X as a solution for situations not involving Amps? I get it’s your channel and you can say what you want, just not clear that everyone needs to be running LMR400 or what you promote - DXE’s version.

[@galileo_rs]

With such a huge surplus market in the USA why would anyone use low quality cables when you can get PTFE ones?

[@powellmountainmike8853]

whine, whine, winge, winge, If you want something done right, DO IT YOURSELF. Buy the cable and the connectors, and make your own lead ins. Making your own s**t has always been the best part of the hobby. It may not perform quite as well as so called "professionally made" equipment, but at least you know exactly what you have, and can blame nobody but yourself when it fails.

[@bigchew3149]

i have ben into and repairing radios for 35+ years and recently i have ben trying to build a new station up from scratch an i know what to look for But i have gotten junk coax 3-4 Times n a row Even when it said all Copper & Made in the USA it was still cca Or Just so full of swr..Even LMR 400 Solid Copper Is Junk & I Found Out That 95%-98% of Coax you buy Online Is Fake JUNK...You Half To Be Very Very Careful Where You get it From Now Days !

[@buddyadelsberger5083]

I have been getting to the point not to buy anything from DX engendering.