The use of aluminum cable seemed to became popular when the cost of copper was sky high. It became cost effective for some companies (according to the bean counters) to use aluminum. Supply of copper was beginning to become a problem, so some coax manufacturers were promoting aluminum as a viable substitute. Then the price of copper came down and aluminum was not such a bargain. Copper supplies went back up and copper coax was readily available.
I believe that aluminum coax can be used effectively, but the chances of having it installed properly are slim. Cable crews are either not trained or experienced at aluminum coax installation, or they lack the proper tools to install the connectors. Yes, aluminum coax has been used successfully in the CATV business, but CATV does not have to deal with the relatively weak receive signals and high transmit powers that are used in two way systems. I'll take copper any day. As Jeff said, one site visit to fix a bad aluminum cable connector on the top of the tower and you've lost all that you saved plus more. Jope Jeff DePolo wrote: > While the cost of the cable alone may be 15% mroe for copper versus > aluminum, the total project > cost variation is likely going to be only a few percent. >
