Installing Motorola UHF Base Station

[koolmer 0]

Hi guys,

 

Well, this didn't fit anywhere so I decided to put it here.

 

I have to install a Motorola MC2100 UHF Base Station. The UHF antenna exists already on the roof. The Base Station is in an office in the Basement. What cable do I use to connect the two?

 

I have seen RG59, RG6 and RG213 being used for that. The distance from the Basement to the roof is large (50 - 60m). What cable is best for that?

 

Thanks!

[katrina05 0]

Hi guys,

 

Well, this didn't fit anywhere so I decided to put it here.

 

I have to install a Motorola MC2100 UHF Base Station. The UHF antenna exists already on the roof. The Base Station is in an office in the Basement. What cable do I use to connect the two?

 

I have seen RG59, RG6 and RG213 being used for that. The distance from the Basement to the roof is large (50 - 60m). What cable is best for that?

 

Thanks!

 

 

You need a 50ohm cable rather than 75ohm so that rules out rg59 & rg6. For that distance at uhf, I would recommend a rf cable commonly referred to as hardline. Don't know what is available in your country but something comparable to Andrews LDF5-50A which has a loss .83db per 100ft at 400mhz (uhf). As a comparison, Rg-213 has a loss of 4.8db at 400mhz (uhf).

 

It really comes down to how much power your Motorola is putting out and how high and the gain of your antenna and what distance you need to cover with the uhf radio - realizing that uhf is a "line of sight frequency".

 

As always, lots of variables.

[koolmer 0]

The Base station has 35 Watts output.

 

I honestly never understood the Ohm value on coax cable. What is it for? Why do I need 50 Ohm cable?

 

What type of cable is rf cable?

 

Hardline looks okay, but I have never seen it in Europe. Must google some more... its really expensive though.

[jeromephone 6]

Motorala should have some specifications some where as what type of cable is required. As the other posters said if it calls for 50 ohm cable don't use 75. See what connectors they require also some of this rf stuff uses something other than BNC

[koolmer 0]

The connectors are BNC and the install where the base station came from used RG213. I just wasn't sure if it is the right type of cable.

 

I think I will just get RG213 for the new install. The hard-line is much too expensive.

[excableguy 0]

Being a radio enthusiast, I can give you my opinion. At a run of 50ft, loss won't be too bad. If budget is of no concern I would use Andrews heliax LDF4-50A. For higher frequencies around the uhf spectrum coax becomes more lossy. Connectors will be fairly pricey. All of those items can be purchased from RFparts.com... If you dont want to spend quite so much, I recommend using Times Microwave LMR-400. I've used it a lot for years and its great coax. Not as low loss as the Andrews heliax but still great. Connectors and shipping will also be much less. The connectors will also be easier to install. If you have anymore questions pm me if you want.