Recently a client reached out to us about replacing a few of the antennas for their mobile radios with base station configurations. He had a few questions regarding the transition of his device/antenna from analog to DMR in the upcoming year. He stated that the antennas being replaced were Laird FG450 and the radios were Motorola CM300D with a power of 25 watts UHF. He wanted a recommendation on some cables with lengths 20’, 20’, 20’, 50’ and 60’ because he would be replacing them during the transition. What cable type should he use? Should he get a spool with connectors and do we have those cables with N-male on one end and mini-UHF male on the other end? I figured it would be best to share with you all the recommendations that we made for the client.

I’ll start by saying that we don’t recommend building cable assemblies “in the field” since most cables fail without factory testing, however, we can create the cables that you need. I recommend the use of our PT240 which is an LMR240 equivalent cable that works at the 450 MHz frequency. It has an outside diameter of approximately 0.24 inches, offers low loss, and is quite flexible to work with. If you feel very strongly about going with a very low loss cable, then you should opt for an LMR400 equivalent. Below I have included the “loss” characteristics:

• PT240: loss of 5.3 dB per 100 feet (but, it’s small diameter makes it flexible and easy to work with)
• PT400: loss of 2.7 dB per 100 feet (but, it’s large diameter makes it quite rigid and tough to bend)

Note: If you would like to buy bulk cables for PT240 please click here and if you would like to buy bulk cables for PT400 please click here.

For further information regarding the application of this product, you can always reach out to our tech support!

Tech Help at RFMAX / rfmax.us can be reached by email at rfcustomerservice@rfmax.us