Coax i am using 213

Does this coax look ok to you.
A second picture will follow in a bit to explain why i am asking.

Well that pic (first one) looks like normal 213 nice tight outer copper webbing not the skimpy looking cheap stuff I've seen,it looks  the normal twisted centre core I think you can get some with solid centre core but I think it's very expensive, what's the problem Alan ?

Study this picture see if you can spot the age ???..
The bottom coax...

Bloody ell where did you get that Check Point Charlie lol ,joking apart though Alan if it's not damp inside or mildew it might be OK , German stuff doe seem to be made to last, where did you find it?

Bought it some weeks ago.
It's dry as a bone and when it is in your hand you would swear it's brand new.
Just finished fighting it putting the pl259's on and i sat fighting as stripping it back ang getting the dielectric ???( white bit lol ) off is a tough job especially with only one good hand.
With postage it cost me 0.66p a metre.
Put the new aerials up this week with it well just finished the plug's shack end.
So how old is it the wall came down in 89 i think it was.
Oh and got a load left as i got 45 metres and used about 15/16 metres.
Just got to plug it all in now and hope for the best.
Will report back.

That's brilliant Alan , I know they say German quality but that shows you don't it, some of the coax we use get here in the U.K .didnt last a year sometimes .

I have never had such a struggle to strip down the end's to put the pl259's on ever.
The coax look's new and i don't think the age would make it stiffer (go on comment on that lol).
Just turned the ft991a on and usa clear as a bell on 20 meters going to try out the rest now well in a bit need to get my breath back first.

If it's as old as it seems be I cant believe it that must be a good quality coax or failing that Alan wonder if it's good new stock and the company who makes couldn't it be bothered to change the West German markings but whatever it sounds a good quality coax, by the way I'm the same as you feel like I've done 10 rounds with Frank Bruno when doing PL259s lol

It's not new bought second hand and the pl's on it where black but cut back 6in and clean as a whistle.
Like i said 66 pence a meter not bad or what.

Edit......... Took the pl's of and the copper is still quite bright at the very end and the plugs polished up like new so i refitted them at the shack end as i think the quality is better than the ones i had. (HF & 2M/70CM Aerials)

BARGAN

Well all up and running again.
Just wish this coax would let me turn my swr meter round lol not enough weight in it so the coax wins the position.

That good strong coax then Alan lol, another thing  Alan have you googled the company name on the coax to see if there still making it .

Yes they come up in google but didn't look into them much.

Setup's looking good Alan and seems to be working well for you. Well done mate

(Bargain coax and I guess the ATU was the bargain amongst your 'weird lamp' box buy)

Morning Victor.
Yes the ATU is from the sputnik box lol.
Gave it a bit of a service and working very well.
Tuning up my 10 meter's of wire with a 9.1 unun very well indeed working better than the hf-360.
Just looking at positioning for a 20m length of wire as the 10 is the length of my garden and the one i am using is only for 40m to 10m.
Re-made the unun as the way moonraker makes them they don't work very well but i bought it long before i went to school if you know what i mean lol.

Nice one Alan.

You'd be amazed at what you can achieve with lengths of wire for antennas mate.

It can also be surprising that you can fold such lengths of wires into almost any shape to fit your plot and still get decent performance, (especially with a tuner to simply match the impedance). My 80m dipole antenna is hung in a zig-zag fashion to fit the space and doing quite well!

My 213 is 33years old and still going strong , it came with me when i moved house  its military  stuff but  i aint sure if back in the day that military stuff was any better than retail stuff? .213 for me is a good comprimise  as the top stuff is mental dear  and if loose a few watts due to losses then so be it ill just turn the dial up a wee bit .

You do realise that coax even so called milatry only has lifetime of about 5/10 years before it starts to deteriorate after 33years, I would change for new   .

Does that picture i put up of my coax look deteriorated ??.
The wall came down in 89 i think so how old it it.
I have cut it from the end and also about 15m in and all looking the same.

I wouldn't worry Alan,

The copper isn't corroded and I assume easily soldered so is fine. The insulation doesn't crack or split when bent and is usually a UV resistant material so also looks fine. You have a decent centre insulation material so it isn't going to fall apart like the foam stuff.

You're all good


That said Martin makes a good point and those lifespans are usually for coax installed outside and exposed to all weathers. Rain water 'wicks' up as well as down coax and can often 'corrode' much further along the coax than you think. As mentioned the 'foam' insulation breaks down over time and 'crumbles'. UV or sun exposure will break down the external insulation over time also.This can also happened if stored in less than ideal conditions - that pile at the back of the garage sort of scenario.


Get a bit of corrosion in your coax and you lose power on the way to the antenna....the reflected power is also lost through the corrosion and surprise, surprise, your SWR still looks good!!!

Worth checking that coax every so often.

I dont know why I bother helping people with advise ,I may not be a bloody Amateur or some someone who has a electronics background but I've been around CB a very long time also in sales of it back in the day so I do have some experience TBH I think alot more than some on here , OK rant over.

Take 5 Martin we know you give good advise and appreciate it. 
I have had a lot of coax in the past free from the RAF base when a m8 worked as a civilian fireman there.
It had a use by label on the drum's and when that date came around they where given it to burn in a practice fire but he used to bring it for me instead.(he sadly passed away a few years ago).
The stuff i got recently is like new and as said i cut it in a couple of different places and as you can see still like new.
The centre insulation is a bartender to get off as it is solid and the outer is quite tough as well.
If for one minute i had thought it was going off to say then it would have gone for scrap and by the weight of it i would have got a few bob for it lol.
I have been around radio since the late 70's but still take advice and ask for it even though i think i know the answer.

Sorry Alan it wasn't directed at you or anyone in particular, its just I've given some people advise and either I've had no thanks or someone comes along and post something in the same thread I've given advice and completely repeated what I've siad but slightly changed it and suddenly there the best thing since slice bread ,it make me feel that some think if your not a Amateur on hear you know nothing, but I know quite a few Amateurs who absolutely know nothing about CB infact some I've spoke dont even know about radio apart from what they read in learning books to pass there exams ,it just gets on my nerves TBH ,this is suppose to  CB and Amateur forum and you have members new and sometimes old asking CB questions and only seem to accept answers from the Amateurs, makes me laugh some of them cant post in right sections of the forum .
anyway as I said rant over

If I'd lived any closer to you Alan, I would have happily brought round an analyser and tested the coax for you.

We're all trying to help, albeit in slightly different ways from different backgrounds and experiences.

Victor
I have a nanoVNA and a SARK100 and both check out as near to spot on as you can expect.