RG 174 and RG 58 coax - UK Vintage Radio Repair and Restoration Discussion Forum

robertsozo · 10th Aug 2021, 10:03 pm

Hello!
I am setting up a randomwire antenna with 9:1 UnUn for shortwave listening. I have a spool of RG174 coax lying around that I would like to use as a coax from antenna to receiver (lenght ~ 20m). I know that RG174 should have higher losses compared to RG58, but does it matter much if I use the coax only for receiving?

Thanks!

Radio Wrangler · 10th Aug 2021, 10:47 pm

The losses will be exactly the same while receiving as they are while transmitting. Your chief problem would be heating if you used it for transmitting.

On receive, it would only become an issue if the signals you wanted to hear were getting close to the noise floor of your receiver. Normally cosmic noise and man-made noise are bigger issues for most good receivers.

David

US7IGN/P · 26th Aug 2021, 11:27 am

I have successfully used last 2 years RG-174 on the HF bands, including for transmissions up to 100W. No problem.

10th Aug 2021, 10:03 pm	#1
robertsozo Diode Join Date: Aug 2021 Location: Riga, Latvia. Posts: 8	RG 174 and RG 58 coax Hello! I am setting up a randomwire antenna with 9:1 UnUn for shortwave listening. I have a spool of RG174 coax lying around that I would like to use as a coax from antenna to receiver (lenght ~ 20m). I know that RG174 should have higher losses compared to RG58, but does it matter much if I use the coax only for receiving? Thanks!

10th Aug 2021, 10:47 pm	#2
Radio Wrangler Moderator Join Date: Mar 2012 Location: Fife, Scotland, UK. Posts: 22,894	Re: RG 174 and RG 58 coax The losses will be exactly the same while receiving as they are while transmitting. Your chief problem would be heating if you used it for transmitting. On receive, it would only become an issue if the signals you wanted to hear were getting close to the noise floor of your receiver. Normally cosmic noise and man-made noise are bigger issues for most good receivers. David __________________ Can't afford the volcanic island yet, but the plans for my monorail and the goons' uniforms are done

26th Aug 2021, 11:27 am	#3
US7IGN/P Triode Join Date: Aug 2021 Location: Kyiv, Ukraine. Posts: 12	Re: RG 174 and RG 58 coax I have successfully used last 2 years RG-174 on the HF bands, including for transmissions up to 100W. No problem.