for a 50 foot run that will be fine. I wouldn't worry about it. if it was 
RG58 I'd say replace it ASAP but RG213 isn't that bad on vhf and for a 
backup will be fine for uhf.
----- Original Message ----- 
From: "tom behler" <[log in to unmask]>
To: <[log in to unmask]>
Sent: Friday, April 29, 2011 8:23 PM
Subject: coax question


> Hello, again, everyone.
>
> Last week, when I had some help over here to resurrect my 40-foot mast to
> support my HF antennas, we decided to put up an extra VHF/UHF J-pole 
> antenna
> on the very top of the mast.  This was kind of an impulsive decision, so I
> had to scrounge together what coax I could for the feed line.  In my
> scrounging efforts, I found what I thought was a 50-foot piece of RG9913
> coax.  It only had a PL259 on one end, but I wasn't too worried about the
> prospect of putting another connector on the shack end at some point.
>
> Today, out of basic curiosity, I thought I should check to see exactly 
> what
> kind of coax I was dealing with, and was somewhat dismayed to find that, 
> in
> reality, it is RG213U.
>
> What I need to know now is whether I'm in serious trouble here.
>
> I know that RG213U is not as high-quality as RG9913, but I'm hoping it 
> will
> be reasonably adequate for an outdoor back-up VHF/UHF antenna.
>
> If this kind of coax is not suitable for what I need, I may have to bribe 
> my
> friend to climb up there and replace it with something better.
>
> I'm going to a local swap next week-end, so can pick up some 9913 there if
> this looks to be a truly necessary step.
>
> I'd be interested in any thoughts.
>
> Thanks, and 73 from Tom Behler:  KB8TYJ