John H. wrote:
On Wed, 26 Sep 2007 06:45:29 -0400, "Reginald P. Smithers III"
wrote:

Wayne.B wrote:
On Tue, 25 Sep 2007 15:52:15 -0400, "Reginald P. Smithers III"
wrote:

Needless to say, this will prompt a long discussion on the correct way
to splice or how stupid it is to splice an ant. wire
You never splice coax without using proper connectors and a barrel
splice, all of which introduce some additional losses.

The *right* way is to cut off the original connector, shorten the
cable as needed, and install a new connector.
Wayne,

What I have learned from all of this is when I said "splice" I really
meant "cut and install a new connector", and if I can't use the proper
words, I probably am completely incapable of installing a new connector,
without dropping so much signal that it will barely reach from my helm
to the bow of my boat.

It probably won't matter, I very rarely use my VHF, so I would only know
it was not working correctly if I had an emergency and really needed a
good quality connection. Since the odds of this happening is low, I
will not worry about it.


When you're on the water, and your engine dies, and call TowBoatUS on your
cell phone, and you drop your cell phone in the bilge while trying to
unscrew the fuel filter, and the tow boat guy manages to get to where you
were when you (luckily) gave your position to the operator immediately, but
the wind has blown you a few miles away, and your radio will receive but
not transmit, and you hear the towboat guy calling but he can't hear your
response, and you stand on the engine compartment waving your orange throw
cushions back and forth for a half hour, and finally the towboat guy spots
you, *THEN* you'll begin to worry about your damn radio!!


I don't worry about that, as I don't have a boat powered by either an
I/O or an eTec. :}