View Full Version : antenna cable
04-12-2013, 10:57 AM
So I pinched my antenna cable in my seat latch and it gouged the insulation enough to see the copper shield. Is that an issue for patching?
04-12-2013, 11:06 AM
You know the answer. Consider the question, padawan, the knowledge is within.
Also, see the event planning section.
04-12-2013, 11:23 AM
In the audio video world, it would depend on the damage, and if it extends to the core. If it does, you can cut, strip, and splice and it's not a "huge" issue. Now, if I was installing a $100k projector, I would replace it and never look back.
I'm just not familiar enough with HAM or CB to know how sensitive that antenna feed actually is to splicing, or even just taping over the insulation damage.
04-12-2013, 03:13 PM
You are correct, it depends. Coax cannot be spliced but you might be OK to repair the outer insulation /if/ the shielding is not compromised. The very outside layer of insulation just protects the conductors and keeps them in place. If you just nicked it off, wrap with tape.
If any of the shield conductors are cut or displaced, you have a choice. Replace the length or cut and splice in connectors. Coax has a uniform impedance of 50 ohms and any splice would be a major disruption, a mismatch if you will. SO239/PL259 connectors do not have a constant impedance but are better than trying to cut and splice.
The right way is to replace the coax.
04-12-2013, 04:56 PM
Understood, I have.
04-12-2013, 09:14 PM
BTW, it's important to know that for a 4W CB having an impedance discontinuity is irritating and may damage your radio but when you put 50, 100 or 1,500 watts down the feedline an impedance issue increasingly becomes a major problem. A spike in impedance means that energy gets converted to heat quicker and you melt coax or worse.
04-12-2013, 09:51 PM
Eh, I looked at it again, and it's toast. Quite a bit of copper is broken, and I noted that there was lots of "activity" on the band this evening, but I couldn't make any of it out. Time to get a new one.
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