View Full Version : vhf ant/cut the wire?
i saw a person asked this yesterday but didnt get a clear answer. can you cut the ant wire on a vhf ant to any length you want? mine will only be about three feet from my radio and i was told not to coil the wire. cut it?
Reels
03-31-2002, 05:01 PM
Yes, you can cut it and resolder it into the fitting.
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perchjerker
03-31-2002, 05:05 PM
3 ft is the minimum recommended on the Shakespere site. But we had a discussion on the boats and motors page about this. You might want to check it out. It was only a few days back. It was pretty interesting. Then you can decide which is the best way to go for you.
Reels
03-31-2002, 05:06 PM
As long as you dont cut it too short! :-)
Mine is only about three or four feet
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d_rigger
03-31-2002, 07:25 PM
My understanding is the co-ax cable should not be cut,something like a
x-ducer cable, built in resistance. So I have heard.
IFISH4I
03-31-2002, 07:48 PM
This is what happened to me. I cut my wire about 4 feet. When I tried it I could recieve fine, but I could not transmit. Got another antenna and left the entire length of wire coiled up and it worked great.
i should have done like perchjerker,gone to the shakspere web site. they say you can cut it to a min of 3 ft. they do warn about having the radio too close to the antenna,they say 3 ft or you will screw up transmission. thanks for the help.
BlackSilver
03-31-2002, 08:55 PM
As a general rule of thumb you should have a minimum of a half to 3/4-wavelength of feedline (coax) between the radio and the antenna. It should be as straight as possible (NOT coiled up). That works out to about 3-5 feet for marine VHF. Avoid distances less than 3 feet. Longer is fine, again so long as you don't form the excess into a coil.
SET the hook!!!
Hans/MN
Master Chief Radioman, US Navy
LakeRat
03-31-2002, 09:52 PM
Hans, Tell them what the choke effect is so they stay away from that coil business.