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Choosing
a cable for your antenna is straightforward. We offer three
types of high-quality cable (shown below in bold) plus Leaky Feeder.
We
strongly recommend best practice as follows: |
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- Use ONLY waterproof cable.
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- Do NOT use 'lossy' cable (RG58, RG174) unless you
want to lose some signal, perhaps to
meet maximum radiation of 20 dBm as EC regulations
require.
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- ALWAYS use heat shrink and self-amalgamating tape over all connectors to seal cables from water ingress. 99% of antenna problems are because water has got into the antenna cables.
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- Keep antenna cables as SHORT as possible. 5 metres of type 195 loses 3 dB, i.e. 50% of the signal. Use Power Over Ethernet to get the radio very close to the antenna and use a short antenna cable if possible.
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| Cable type |
Connector
types |
Waterproof |
Loss
per metre |
Diameter |
Fragile |
Price |
RG 174
not suitable for
wireless use |
MCX, MMCX, Lucent |
yes
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3
mm |
yes |
very
cheap
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| 2.4 GHz |
2.5
dB |
| 5.8 GHz |
unknown
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RG 58
not suitable for
wireless use |
SMA,
BNC, TNC
(and reverse versions) |
yes
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5
mm
|
yes |
cheap
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| 2.4 GHz |
1.5
dB |
| 5.8 GHz |
unknown
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| Type 195 |
SMA,
BNC, TNC
(and reverse versions) |
yes
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5
mm
|
strong and flexible |
inexpensive
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| 2.4 GHz |
0.62
dB |
| 5.8 GHz
|
0.98 dB |
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| RG213 |
N
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yes
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11
mm
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strong |
more
expensive
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| 2.4 GHz |
0.5
dB |
| 5.8 GHz: |
unknown
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| Type 400 |
N, SMA, TNC |
yes
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11
mm
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strong |
more expensive
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| 2.4 GHz |
0.22
dB
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| 5.8 GHz |
0.35 dB |
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| Type 600 |
N
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yes
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15
mm
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very strong |
more expensive
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| 2.4 GHz |
0.14
dB |
| 5.8 GHz |
2.38 dB |
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Type 600
Leaky Feeder |
N |
yes |
designed to leak evenly |
15
mm
|
very strong |
replaces antenna |
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