Hi
I am going to buy a Spec An and I am now looking at cable assemblies.
I have decided to standardize on SMA connectors. The obvious exceptions are the SA inputs and the antenna (N-type).
It looks like short cable assemblies (<=1m), pre-made from Element14 is the best path.
I do not want to buy el-cheapo stuff from ebay because I don't think buying cable sets of dubious quality makes good sense.
I need a longer cable or two (5-10m) for pre-compliance testing.
The price of longer cable assemblies is high enough to justify buying the tools, cable and connectors for DIY.
I want to make up 3 types of cables sets with crimp connectors:
SMA to SMA <=5m
SMA to N <=5m
N to N <=10m
If I buy the tools and parts to make up longish cables, I might as well make the shorter ones as well.
My test equipment will not be heavily used.
My question is, what coax types are best suited for this type of application??
It seems that the hi spec cables (LMR400) are also stiff while the flexible types (RG223) are lossy.
In saying that, RG223 looks like a promising candidate. It looks like I can get both N and SMA connectors to fit.
Dazz