BoatBanter.com - View Single Post - Yo! Harry! (or anyone else) Antenna question

John H.

On Wed, 26 Sep 2007 20:06:49 -0400, "JimH" ask wrote:

"John H." wrote in message
.. .
On Wed, 26 Sep 2007 17:29:23 -0400, "Reginald P. Smithers III"
wrote:

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!!

That would be one hell of a bad day. So are you going to cut and
install a new connection?

I'm going to see if I can get Shakespeare to make me about a 2 meter
cable.

Why not wait to see how much room you have to tuck the excess cable into
until you receive your boat? You may have plenty of room . I certainly
did on our 20 foot runabout.

I had the coil on a Whaler CC. I didn't like it. If it costs a few more
bucks for a special cable, it will be worth it.