"KB7PYF" wrote in message
...
Greetings from the PacNorWest!

My question is: what problem(s) would I have if I cut the antenna wire to
my
GPS/chart plotter (Standard Horizon CP-170) and splice with a BNC
connector or
equivalent? Not sure what the impact would be (loss issues) at the freq
used
by GPS.

Not a very experienced boater, but been a ham radio operator for years.

If you mean to cut the coaxial cable and then attach a BNC connector to
the cut
end from the antenna, no problem. In fact, at the 1.2 ghz to 1.5ghz
frequencies
GPS/NAV uses, the longer the cable the more loss you'll encounter. So if
you
can shorten the run you'll have less loss.

However, if you intend to cut the cable into two pieces and then splice
these
two pieces together, you'll have big problems. At these frequencies losses
will
be huge and the impedance change large enough to (possibly) damage your
unit.
Never cut, twist, and tape as a splicing method. Use only BNC male to
female
connectors. Still not good communications practice, but much better than
cutting/
twisting/splicing. Also, always use marine grade connectors and seal well.

Best advice: contact the manufacturer.

Jay



I want to relocate the antenna and don't want to pull the antenna wire. If
I
could cut, relocate and splice the wire the job is soooooo much easier.

Any ideas/suggestions?

Thanks for your time//

Charlie KB7PYF