peak and tune radio with factory coax & whips

I wouldnt see the problem my 2011 t660 was fine using the stock coax.

the quality of that coax is IMO better than most the junk at the J, or most other factory trucks

 

BS .... At 27 mhz coax is coax .....

NOW if your using long runs of 50 foot or more it just makes sence to use
a better coax because you will start to see losses above a 50 foot run or more.

Just like anything else you can OVER BUY coax running hardline in your car would be a good example of that but for 99.999% of base stations LMR-400 class and in the car RG-8X will work just fine.

 

I need to order some I need a few of them though. Id like a 6 inch piece of the best I can get to run from my radio to the amp, 6 foot piece for the same purpose and another 6 foot piece to run from the amp to the antennta. All fo mobile instalation. I don't know 100% what to get but hearing the clear gold coax is good for mobile. IDK what it is 100% maybe the rg 8. I also hear that the gray coax is good. I wonder if there are better brands to buy as well. They have it at the flying J but I don't know if its any good or not plus I would like to run shorter lengths. I wonder if the shops will make a 6 inch piece.

 

copper wire is copper wire

 

RG-8X coax under a 50 foot run is just fine for CB IN FACT IT WORKS FINE ON 2 METERS !!!!!

Under 25 foot the loss on CB using RG-8X is well under 1 DB ( Less than 1/6 of 1 "S" unit )

 

Yeah, what Bruce said. Even the "worst" coax of just six inches' length won't have any effect on any signal below about 300 MHz, as long as the connectors are put on right. As for jacket colors -- pick whatever looks best to you. Gray or clear/gold isn't inherently better than black or beige unless your sense of fashion is offended by one or the other. As long at the jacket is resistant to abrasion (if it's going to be touching anything), moisture (if there's any chance it'll get wet), or UV radiation (if it'll be exposed to sunlight), the jumper from the radio to the amp makes no difference for 6 inches or 6 feet. Signal levels will be low, and unless you're simultaneously running another HF transmitter with its antenna inside the vehicle, nothing you do with that jumper's choice will have any effect.
If you're going to be running more than a couple hundred watts out of the amp, nearly any of the RG8-class cables will be fine: LMR400, RG213, RG214 (double shielded), RG8 itself, etc.
For a good practical discussion of coax applications and limitations, here's a place that sources *lots* of ham stores with their products:

http://www.thewireman.com/coax.html

I have no commercial interest in the place, but I have bought stuff there for my 360-foot horizontal loop, ladder line, insulators, connectors, coax jumpers, etc.

Lots of good free info there, along with tables of specs and such, as well as actual "What coax do I need?" kinda questions & answers.

Hope that helps,
-- Handlebar --
P.S. If you need a six-inch piece, I'd suggest you make it about 15 to 18" so you have enough room to maneuver the units around, insert a wattmeter to check things, etc. You'll never be able to measure or notice the loss in an additional foot of coax at CB frequencies. And coax is cheap enough that learning how to make a jumper is good practice as long as you've got an iron that's hot enough. Just a thought.