Carter-k8vt wrote:

Don't worry about matching the impedance. It is relatively non-critical
for short wave listening. However, you may want to devote a little
attention and thought to some kind of lightning protection.

Well, that depends. IF you attach a long wire antenna to a 50 ohm
coax cable, then the coax cable to an input on the radio whose impedance
is changing, that coax cable becomes part of the antenna system and ceases
to be a transmission line.

In the case of a long-wire antenna, the result is minimal. Maybe it
changes the antenna pattern in a minor way, but you won't notice any
real difference.

BUT, now take a highly directional antenna which you are swinging around
to avoid a noise source.... run that into the 50 ohm cable and into the
high-Z receiver, and now the signal pickup on the transmission line will
become a problem.

Finally, if you mean an SO-239 to be mounted on the radio, I vote "no",
only because IMHO, it buggers up the radio and reduces what ever resale
value it may have; however, this is just my personal pet peeve.

And there is no reason not to just make a PL-239-to-pigtails cable, if
you're plugging the receiver into a distribution box or T/R relay that
has SO-239s on it.
--scott
--
"C'est un Nagra. C'est suisse, et tres, tres precis."