Where to get LDF 5-50 ?

[VK2KRR]

Would anyone know where I can source some new lengths of LDF 5-50 from ? or I think it may have a different name now, but you know what I mean.
I know I used to be able to get it from VK Discount Cables, but they dont appear to be in operation any more?

An alternative would be the RFS cellflex equivalent also.

[VK4TIM]

Hi Leigh,

Have a look at RFI's website, we source our LDF4-50 and LDF5-50 from RFI when we're getting new commercial sites installed.

I don't have a ready source of second-hand LDF5-50 but I do occasionally get my hands on runs of LDF4-50, and I hopefully have enough for my needs.

[VK2KRR]

Thanks Tim.

[VK2AAH]

How well do you get on with the Wagga police radio techs Leigh? They love using LDF5-50 and may retrieve some when they clean up their towers doing the P25 upgrades. Or talk to Rod at the Ambos...

Cheers,


Richard
VK2AAH

[VK4ABW]

I used to know a guy who could order 'anything' cable wise... one time he ordered a 100ft of LDF8-50 and it turned up........on an 8ft square pallet. He didn't know what to do with it, so he offered it to me. It's a pity i had no way of getting it home

These days..i just keep my eyes open for the Telstra/Optus guys working on towers. Stop and ask...it doesn't hurt and you may be surprised what they chuck out sometimes because of minor damage.
3 x 50mtr rolls of 7/8" hardline plus connectors for a slab.....i can't argue with that.

[VK2XSO]

These days..i just keep my eyes open for the Telstra/Optus guys working on towers. Stop and ask...it doesn't hurt and you may be surprised what they chuck out sometimes because of minor damage.

This is a gross understatement

There are a few reasons for chucking out equipment which appears to have nothing wrong with it.
The most common reason these days is PIM (Passive InterMod).
We test feeder and antenna systems for every job and -140dBc is a fail. Anything over -150dBc gets checked.

There are a number of things that can cause PIM issues. Old antennas, faulty pre-amplifiers, corroded cables, kinks in cables, bends in cables, loose connectors or my personal favourite, dust in the connectors.
Most feeders were installed in the analog mobile phone days and they pass PIM without too much fuss even after 20 years. More often than not more cables were added later for GSM and CDMA and 3G. As the older systems are replaced their cables are used for the new systems.

If I walk into a job and see N-type connectors, the first thing I do is replace them with DIN connectors and throw out the old N connectors.
There is nothing wrong with the connectors, but they usually won't pass a PIM test so they have to go.
If a cable doesn't pass a PIM test then it will also be replaced later by a rigging crew.

Heliax tails we also test. If they fail I will attempt to clean them. Even a tiny amount of dust can effect them. Sometimes they just won't come good or they are already faulty new out of the box. The cost of sending them back to be fixed is pointless, they get thrown out. So while they might fail PIM, there isn't anything else wrong with them. Old tails that have been in service for long periods are also replaced and thrown out.
All of them a 7/16 DIN connectors, and a few these days are N-type. The ham community is only just starting to realise the huge numbers of these high quality connectors going to waste.

I remove the tails from a job and take them back to a depot where they go into a scrap metal bin for recycling. If there isn't a recycling bin, they go in the garbage. So if you ask a friendly tech or rigger they'll probably be more than happy to give you stuff they have to throw out.

Long runs of LDF5 on towers they do not pull it out in one piece. They don't have any concern for it's RF qualities or re-use. It is nothing more than scrap metal to them. They will cut it up into ~2m lengths on the tower and drop the pieces into a collection bin. It's easier to remove it from a tower and transport it like that. So if you're going to approach them, do it before they start work. Chances are if you see them already on the tower, the heliax is getting shorter by the minute.

We're all familiar with copper being stolen, so they won't just hand over cable to anybody who asks for it. But if you make it clear that your a ham radio operator and that you want it for your own radios or a ham radio club or school etc, then you will find that they can be quite helpful.

Sometimes there's other parts which they throw out or go to scrap metal. Not that long ago we removed 14 x 4m solid aluminium dishes from a tower.
Their scrap aluminium value made them worth something. But I made it clear to the scrappies that if a new home for some of them could be found like a school or radio club, then they had priority. I kept one on standby while 13 of them were cut up with an angle grinder. The final day came and nobody came to collect it so the last one was cut up too.

Old mobile phone antennas are often replaced and thrown out. They're big and heavy, but if you ask for one chances are might be given one if you promise to destroy it (make it useless for mobile phones). The panel antennas are an educational gold mine. I've destroyed a few of them now in the name of education and I've not found two that are the same internally. Rather weird.
One I have saved is a dual band 900MHz/2100MHz panel antenna. I've converted it to a 1.2GHz/2.4GHz antenna for use on ATV.
I can make this antenna vertical, horizontal, LHCP or RHCP or almost any other polarisation. And I'm still learning more.

Old omni antennas are also an educational experience. The antenna is not good for anything, but it's design will give you ideas. The radome can be recycled for your own antenna designs.

[VK4ABW]

yes, I wasn't going to go into great 'detail' about the why's (and there are a lot more reasons too)....but stuff gets chucked all the time.....even in the military. When one of my 'contacts' calls me and says 'hey Gary...we are chucking out 3 drums of assorted LDF cable...i don't stop to ask why......I just grab the trusty 6x4 trailer and get my a*** there as-quick-as-possible.

The stories i could tell people about 'whole antenna farms'....towers, feeders, etc being buried .....would make anyone .......because it's not worth the trouble of contracting a company to come and remove it

How to place multiple yagi's...in a 'surburban' block. That's LDF5-50 you can see coming away from the tower

Townsville 1999

VK8AW / VK4ABW