Author Topic: Coax vs Ladderline  (Read 1631 times)

Offline pkveazey

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Coax vs Ladderline
« on: November 09, 2016, 06:15:54 AM »
Ladder line is absolutely, without a doubt, the best feedline you can possibly use. It has almost no loss at most frequencies. Would I use it? NOPE. You fiddle with it and get it working. Then you fiddle with it some more to get it perfect. Then when you're setting in front of your radio patting yourself on the back for creating the worlds greatest radio station, it starts to rain or snow or sleet and the feedline gets wet or covered in snow or ice and then you can't hear or talk across the street until it all dries out again.

Coax is second best because its easy to use and easy to tune in any weather condition. However, line loss can make it inefficient. Especially at really high frequencies. If you can afford it, get you some nice hardline coax. If your wire antenna ices up, don't blame the coax. The water or ice on the wire antenna changes the capacitance a little bit.

With that said. If you don't mind working with it, ladderline can be awesome. You also better get real familiar with Baluns. If I lived in the desert, I'd probably try using it again.

Offline JohnyMac

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Re: Coax vs Ladderline
« Reply #1 on: November 10, 2016, 10:43:57 AM »
My G5 multi-band dipole antenna uses ladder line from the half wave wire, to a balun then to marine grade tin coated RG58x coax for my 20 - 80M radio. So far working great. As you write pkveazey, it might change when the snow flies.
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