Fred wrote in
:


If I went into most places selling cables I'd get laughed at if I took
that line, they'd say 'hie me to a research lab, if not an actual
nunnery'. Not that you're wrong, but if you want a single general
purpose cable for HF and VHF especially if stocking it for general
sale, then there IS a 'best' cable, defined simply by that which most
likely serves the wide range of purposes at a low price. Currently in
the UK that cable seems to be RG6; few places like to stock more than
one type for RF if they think one will do. Perfectionism is NOT the
first base. It's reasonable to expect some standard without being told
to either become an expert or use a bell wire and stay in ignorance.
RG6 works, but they sell it for VHF/UHF, not RF. I'm not so concerned
with moderate losses, but SNR maintained by good shielding matters to
me.


You seem to miss the point that one shop's RG6 (or most other RG cables)
may well not be the same as another's. So there is no definitive answer
to you question.


No, haven't missed that at all. Most of my time is spent looking at all the
RG6's out there and examinng that. Besides, most advice out there implies I
have to buy it and try it to be sure, which is stupid because it's cheaper
and faster to get a better cable! RG6 is specified for UHF, I want HF.

It is also very unlikely that 'good shielding' will have any effect on
SNR in most applications, other than due to increased loss if the
braiding is very very poor, or you are running the cable very close to a
source of broadband interference.


I've been told that braid makes a great deal of difference to common mode
noise pickup, and that while a thin foil and loose braid is fine at UHF it's
not to be expected to do the same for HF.

http://www.abccables.com/info-rg59-vs-rg6.html is one of the more descriptive
texts I read. No RG6 that I have found fits the description given there for
HF. RG59 does though, as does BT2002. I think I'll be going with that BT2002
anyway, never mind the expense. The waste of time trying to avoid it is alone
beginning to look more expensive than the price difference.