VHF Coax and Antenna

[The Blue Heeler]

Where is the best, most economical, place to order 70' of coax cable, a mast mounted VHF antenna and connectors? My boat is finally arriving this Thursday night and I want to relocate the VHF from the stern rail to the mast before I raise the mast on Sunday! Any thoughts as to how to wrap the coax that travels up the mast so that I don't get clanging inside the mast? There is no more room in the conduit that goes up the mast.

Thanks!!!
Bart

 

[Mark F]

I haven't done it but I like the idea of using three snapties every three or four feet. The ends of the ties center the cable in the mast.

 

[Rob Hessenius]

Hermitage, TN

Blue Heeler- Why not just go over to the West Marine in Hermitage and get it. I would think that they have a spool of RG8U on hand with the fittings to connect them up? I'm sure you might find it cheaper on some web site, but there right there. Rob Hessenius

 

[Howard Keiper]

Well, for starters, if you're interested in getting the most bang for the buck, you should substitute RG213 for the RG8U. It's the mil spec version, or so I'm told. RG8U is the preferred cable in concept anyway, but steer clear of the Radio Shack variety. Use the cable sold by a good marine supply store (RG213). It is more expensive, but you'll understand why when you solder the connectors.
Regarding the cable slap...be sure the cable will be supported adequately from the masthead, tie good, stout cable ties three to a bunch, spaced about 120* (a three pointed star), and string those bunches about 5' along the cable as you thread it up the mast. Sounds hokey but it works.

howard keiper

 

[vbenn]

On my previous boat, I used foam pipe insulation, Each piece was 48" long x 2-3" diameter. I taped them closed and together. You need to make sure that your halyards do not wrap around them when you install.

Vince Benn

 

[windjunkee]

We have some foam plugs somewhere in our mast so when the new cable went up, we didn't need anything extra to prevent the cable from flopping around inside. More to the point, I bought the cable at our local marine electronics store. I don't recall the grade, but it was the good quality marine coax cable. I bought a high gain antenna and when put all together we have a very powerful VHF system. We have received nothing but compliments from fellow boaters who relied on us during the Puerto Vallarta race as the communications hub.

Be careful feeling the cable through the mast. We didn't pay enough attention to the connection between the old cable and the new one and as we were pulling the new one through by using the old one, the connection parted and we had no way of feeding the new cable through. Thus we spent at least 5 extra hours at the top of the mast dealing with the issue. Unless others have the same problem, I won't describe how we eventually did it, but believe me, it was a huge hassle that could have been avoided if we had lashed the two cables together more firmly.

Jim McCone
Voice of Reason E-32-2 Hull #134
Redondo Beach, CA

 

[Howard Keiper]

I did that foam thing too...and it well for several years. Then, we noticed the increasing noise and discovered, one day when we pulled the mast, that there was a bushel of gray, foam stuff at the base of the mast.
hk

 

[Loren Beach]

Coax and Redundancy

Coax comment:
Use good quality stuff, and thereby reduce line loss.
Also, consider keeping the stern antenna -- use a switch by the radio. That way you have redundancy in case of a dismasting.

I was on a 29 footer that lost the rig, offshore, many years ago, and we were all glad to have a stern-rail-mount antenna to keep communication up and running.
(We motored back to port without injury or any need for outside help, but it was quite comforting to be able to keep the Coasties advised of our situation.)


Loren