Will Regular Coaxial Cable Work For Radio Antenna Lead?-gctid811753

[driz]

Mine is on the wrong side of the boat since new and I finally had it and put on a new stereo over where I can finally get at it. OEM had a crappy little antenna wire on there that worked just fine and it heads off into the cuddys ceiling under the rat fur . One thing for sure it's not going to be usable as is. I sure don't want to try messing under the rat fur to remove it so plan on continuing from where it ends now all the way to the stern and around and back up to the opposite side . Can I get away with running that in standard coaxial or is there an easier way? I don't even know where the antenna is hidden. Thoughts, suggestions:huh:

[CptCrunchie]

"driz" post=811753 wrote:
Mine is on the wrong side of the boat since new and I finally had it and put on a new stereo over where I can finally get at it. OEM had a crappy little antenna wire on there that worked just fine and it heads off into the cuddys ceiling under the rat fur . One thing for sure it's not going to be usable as is. I sure don't want to try messing under the rat fur to remove it so plan on continuing from where it ends now all the way to the stern and around and back up to the opposite side . Can I get away with running that in standard coaxial or is there an easier way? I don't even know where the antenna is hidden. Thoughts, suggestions:huh:

No. Like car wire, it is stranded so it can handle movement without breaking. Regular coax has a solid core.

However, you can get stranded coax in bulk at most boat supply shops like West Marine, Defender, etc.

[richardson]

Where is your new stereo location? It would probably be easier to run a new antenna wire. All you need is a couple of feet of stranded wire run in an area that is clear of other wiring or electric motors.

[driz]

"richardson" post=811785 wrote:
Where is your new stereo location? It would probably be easier to run a new antenna wire. All you need is a couple of feet of stranded wire run in an area that is clear of other wiring or electric motors.

Actually I don't even know where the antenna is and I've had this boat forever. Unless it's inside the windshield frame, which I doubt, I believe it's in the middle of the cuddles ceiling buried in the rat fir.m.

Come to think of I you gave me an idea. Why not just put in a whole new antenna........guaranteed a whole lot easier than runnin a long length of wire all the way around the boat.

[SomeSailor]

My 2355 had the antenna wire tied to the stainless railing and used it as antenna worked great.

[Solandri]

Regular cable TV coax cable is RG-6 - 75 Ohms.

Radio antenna cables are usually RG-8 or RG-58 - 50 Ohms. I'm relatively new to recreational boating so I dunno exactly what's used for marine VHF, but would not be at all surprised if it's RG-8 or RG-58.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Coaxial_cable#Standards

RG-6 cable can work as a substitute for short lengths, but the different specs will cause greater signal loss and/or degradation versus proper radio cable.

[CptCrunchie]

Hmmmm.... Thought you meant for the VHF radio, not AM/FM. I've used a coat hanger with a modicum of success. :whistle:

[driz]

Simple solution. I ordered one off Amazon $13 . I just happen to have the perfect spot to mount it already there where there used to be a vhf antenna mounted. Easy peasy ...........hopefully

[driz]

Quick n easy not even a hole to drill. Not a thing of true beauty but will work and not be waving in front of my face. It's on the side right behind that red mounting block for the unused UHF antenna


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[driz]

This worked out ok. Right mine too to the VHF ,mount on the side. All I had to do was mount it in the hole where the cable had previously passed. I did have to go buy a longer mount screw but it worked out fine. One thing to note. If buying one of these things. Make sure of the cable length. This one is a paltry 52" long . Just enough to suit my use but barely.


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