"Rob" wrote in message
...
Most of my work is 2 meters and higher and good transmission there is a
must. I just don't have the operating time on the low bands to know if
that
extra .2 db would make any diffreance there. That is 2/10 of a db.

On 70 centimeters that would not make any difference either, but on 70
the difference is more than that.

On 80 meters you should use a 2x20m dipole with open line feeder.

Coax is only good for driving an unbalanced 50 ohm load, which is
practical on VHF and above but not on HF bands where you are going to
use a tuner.

I don't think .2 db would be detected unless maybe moon bounce or very weak
signals with special equipment. I am thinking more of the average ham
station. Yes , the losses go up as you go higher in frequency. Don't
recall without looking it up, but around 2 meters is is probalby slightly
under 1 db for the hardline and around 3 db for the rg-213 which is getting
into the noticable range.

For myself, I am lucky have up antennas that are reasonable for my type of
casual operation. I don't go at it hot and heavy, just like to chat on the
low bands. I have a 3 element triband at 60 feet , and OCF (home built
Carolina Windom about 125 feet long at 50 feet) for 80-10 and it will work
the 18 and 24 mhz bands good enough for me with a tuner. Also a 80 meter
dipole. All of this is fed with some Davis BuryFlex which is similar to
LMR-400 with a stranded center conductor that is 100 feet long for each
antenna.