Mika wrote:
On Thu, 07 Dec 2006 09:02:14 -0800, RW Salnick
wrote:


cavelamb himself inscribed in red ink for all to know:

I'm adding a VHF radio to my sailboat and would like to ask for details
about the antenna cable.

RG-58 is recommended, but the losses in the cable seem staggering!

Is there a better cable for antenna connections???

Richard

Capri 18
Spirit

Use RG8 or RG8x



How long cable? Lower loss cable such as RG8 for masthead
installations, but RG58 is quite ok for shorter cables. BTW, make
sure to use good quality connectors and be carefull that connections
are waterproof. Having boating and ham radio experience for 20 plus
years, 99% of problems have something to do with poor corroded
connections ...

Mika



God is in the details, so they say.

Yes, I'm mounting the antenna on the mast head.
the mast is 24 feet long (hey, it's a Capri 18!).

Add another 10 or 12 feet for routing the cable out of the way in
the cabin...

The antenna is a 3db Shakespear that has a built in cable.
The mounting instructions say the cable can be shortened but must
be at least 3 feet long. I haven't decided whether to coil it up
at the mast head or maybe put a bracket a couple of feet lower to
attach the connectors.

Either way there is a connector at the top of the mast, one at
the bottom (it's a trailerable boat) and one at the radio.

I thought about putting a deck clam near the mast and just
running the cable from the top of the mast to the radio, but
for the fact that we drop the mast to travel several times a year.

I hear ya about connector problems.

The only local source for cable and connectors is Radio Shack(!)
(PL-259 is spec)

Where do I look (and what am I looking for) in regard to connectors?

Richard

BTY, pics of my boat at:
http://www.home.earthlink.net/~cavel...rit.htm#spirit