We noticed a lot of people here were searching for a place to buy RF Coaxial cables to use with their flightaware setup, here are some options:
10 foot cable - amazon.com/dp/B01FTKC8NC
15 foot cable - amazon.com/dp/B01FTK7SI2
25 foot cable - amazon.com/dp/B01FFZW44O
50 foot cable - amazon.com/dp/B01FTKK0AA
The 50â length of LMR240 costs more than a 50â length of LMR400 on Amazon but has twice the loss? Why steer users to inferior performance for more expense?
You have two posts so far, both steering users to the same seller⌠Coincidence?
I believe youâre mistaken. Can you provide a link to where the 50ft lmr400 is cheaper than the cable linked above.
tinyurl.com/hp54qvn your LMR240 price is about $2 cheaper for seriously inferior performance. We can niggle about the extra $6 for an adaptor, but twice the loss is no consolation.
LMR240 is much easier to run, granted. I suppose it may be a wash for many users when weighing convenience vs performance
I have the 25â cable from them. No issues
Here are RFC400 cables:
amazon.com/dp/B01GK3VEXC - 50 feet $59.99 with the right connectors so no adapter needed
amazon.com/dp/B01GK3YEDE - 75 feet
amazon.com/dp/B01GK3ZI66 - 100 feet
LMR400ÂŽ and LMR240ÂŽ are registered trademark of Times Microwave
RFC400ÂŽ and RFC240ÂŽ are registered trademark of Shireen Inc.
KSR400ÂŽ and KSR240ÂŽ are registered trademark of Kingsignal Technology Co.
CNT400ÂŽ and CNT240ÂŽ are registered trademark of CommScope
yes. no adaptor needed, twice the loss⌠not much of an âexpertâ IMO.
Please look carefully that cable is an RFC400, not RFC240.
The images clearly show something that is NOT LMR400, KSR400 or RFC400 sized cable of 10mm diameter. Maybe fix the image?
So, to be clear, you are selling a LMR400 knockoff for $3.45 more than real LMR400?? Yes, with the âright connectorsâ.
Again, the issue of directly connecting 10mm RG-8 style coax to a tiny RTL dongle. Too much stress on the PCB connector, IMO. Even directly connecting up to a FA Feeder or RadarCape would be iffy for me. So, better to save the $3.45 on the cable and spend $3 more for a proper pigtail to feed the receiver end.
Letâs compare specs:
Cable type/attenuation 100ftâŚ900MHzâŚ1500MHz
Times Microwave LMR400âŚ3.9dBâŚ5.1dB
Shireen RFC400 (your cable)âŚ4.7dBâŚ6.2dB
Not quite a âdrop-in replacementâ for LMR400. Almost, but not quite⌠Just trying to keep it real, here.
@k5ted
I think you are looking to specs of RFC400-UF (Stranded core wire), instead of RFC400 (Solid core wire). These two have different attenuation figures.
Which model of the two is used in the Amazon cable pointed by wifiexpert?
LMR400 (Times Microwave), Click here to download specs pdf
RFC400 (Shireen Inc), Click here to download specs pdf
RFC400-UF (Shireen Inc), Click here to download specs pdf
KSR400 (Kingsignal Technology), Click here to view on line specs
Good catch. There seems to be a problem with Shireenâs and the Amazon sellerâs ability to use proper imagery when advertising their product. The RFC400-UF Stranded page clearly shows solid cable but states âstrandedâ. Just a bit contradictory. shireeninc.com/wp-content/up ⌠C400UF.pdf
These days, going by description only when buying âequivalentâ products on the internet can very often lead to sadness and buyer remorse. Accurate pictures are worth a thousand sales.
So even if RFC400 is the exact same spec as LMR400, where is the value? Initially, it costs more for the 50â roll than the LMR400 with N connectors. The only presumable advantage is that it has the SMA connector on one end which means a net savings of $1.49 after factoring in a N to SMA adaptor for the LMR400 product.
One thing about the good 'ol LMR400. No ambiguity in the advertising, known product, easy to buy, and actually, as it turns out, cheaper to buy than this RFC400, at least by my measure.
As I pointed out, IMHO, connecting RG-8 size coax directly to a RTL dongle or small SMA port receiver is not good engineering practice from a mechanical standpoint. I donât even do that with RG-8 or LMR400 here in the shack for directly feeding large radio sets or for interconnecting things with BNC or PL-259/SO-239. The big coax comes down to a termination point, which is the lighting arrestor, firmly anchored, and from there I use LMR240 to an antenna switch, then LMR240 or RG-8x for jumpers from the switch on to rest of the mess. (thereâs some 5D-2V cable jumpers in there as well, which are about halfway between RG-8 and RG-58).
But, again, thatâs just me. I find more value in an N connection to a distribution point with lightning protection, from which I can jump off with any other adaptor or jumper needed, than a single, finicky, fiddly, fragile SMA connector on the end of a thick, stiff, awkward cable that is really not meant for the bench, being the primary connection point for the radio.
The cost of shipping coax cables is what you are paying for compared to the cost of the cable itself. LMR is really discounting their cables on amazon and it is an great deal that is hard to beat.
To give you an idea, the wholesale prices of coax cable is around 40cents/foot for the âlmr equivalentâ cables compared to 70cents/foot for LMR branded cables. LMR are really good cables and their specs are top. There are a few companies that match the specs of LMR but you need to read them and understand them to know that. With LMR you know you are getting great cables.
N Connectors are worth about $1-4 (depending on quality and quantity bought). You need two connecters per cable.
You can do the math to see the markup and that the shipping cost is usually more than the cost of the cable. Usually much more.
You can also see that retail can be very competitive.