One of the things I have begun to expieriment with lately is using RG6 coax for HF radio.  Where I installed my new 5BTV antenna I had already buried 8 RG6 lines for a previous Dish Network dish.  Rather than pull this coax out and rerun RG8x I figured I would give it a shot, as the loss is quite negligible at the HF frequencies.

I wasn’t sure if the impedance mismatch would cause issues, but my tuner was able to bring it up without issue.  I have been using this for quite some time now without any complaints.  The tuner brings it to 1.5:1 on the radio side quite nicely and my signal gets out good.

I am really impressed using RG6 connectors for HF work.  For one, of course, it is nice because I have the proper equipment to easily crimp ends on to the wire so it makes it extremely easy to work with.  Also, Snap and Seal are much easier to install than, for instance, a PL259 which requires being soldered.

The loss on RG6 is quite low on HF frequencies.  I also have found at several hamfests very inexpensive F to PL259 adapters which allow me to easily hook it in to my radio.

I have used RG6 and F connectors for many years for scanner antennas.  I have found that it works great for VHF and UHF scanning over the years.  However I do not like using it for transmitting at these frequencies.  For one, at VHF/UHF it’s power handling can be quite low.  Also, especially at UHF the losses add up rather quickly.

I am interested to know your thoughts on using RG6 coax for HAM radio.  Leave feedback in the comments!