[Mike]

i got some sort of radio (cb/uhf whatever) in one of my zooks and i need need a new antenna cable and all the premade ones i've seen for sale are too short is it just a simgle core wire that can be joined or do i have to get one especially made?

Cheers
Mike

[Zook_Fan]

it needs to be the proper stuff or by the time it gets to the aerial all the transmission would have already been lost. The proper cables have the webbing on them to help restrict interference and stuff

[BLZUK]

Too short!! cant be that far in a zuk haha. Most of the premade leads we have are 5m.
It will depend on what antenna you have and if it is AM CB or UHF CB as some antennas have a set length the cable needs to be.

Coax can be joined with proper connectors but probably cheaper and easier to get a whole new cable assembly.
Any good radio comms store should be able to make you up lead any length you desire, or if you have some sort of soldering skills, get a new length of coax and a base.

[keechox]

dont skimp mike, $20 difference in the price will make all the difference when it comes to range. get a good quality base and the right type of coax (i think its rg59) and you cant go wrong. Try active electronics (im pretty sure you have one down that end of the state) I went to dickcheese electronics once and they just told me absolute crap, they had no idea!!

[royce]

its RG 58 coax

I have a shitload of it in teh shed, if you get stuck let me know how long you need and what ends and I can sort something for you

[Bruce]

royce wrote:

its RG 58 coax

I have a shitload of it in teh shed, if you get stuck let me know how long you need and what ends and I can sort something for you

Whoooooooosssssssssss shed

[royce]

MINE, as in underneath me right now

[morpheus]

making a cable is heaps cheaper than buying 1, just make sure soilder the connections well & check the connections with a multi meter. the plug/radio end is the hardest.

[SuperRoo]

If your replacing everything with a new antenna base, cable and connectors then make sure you get a antenna base suited to either UHF or 27Mhz and use RG58C/U.

[BlueSuzy]

Similar line of length talking. Although unwilling to compare

A mate of mine was getting his professionally installed. He said that the bloke doing it said, that if you get a longer lead then what is original packed and intended, it will stuff up the tuned reception and may possibly overload the cb unit.

Is this true? I was like wha? I think this bloke was talking out of his arse.

The aerial does all the reception then just sends the signal down the line correct?

A Tv doesnt worry about how long the cord is, just as long as its a good connection with the plugs!

[Bruce]

royce wrote:

MINE, as in underneath me right now

Got room for all your other shit in MYYYYYYYY shed then.
All except your snap on tools

[Pezooki]

BlueSuzy wrote:

Similar line of length talking. Although unwilling to compare

A mate of mine was getting his professionally installed. He said that the bloke doing it said, that if you get a longer lead then what is original packed and intended, it will stuff up the tuned reception and may possibly overload the cb unit.

Is this true? I was like wha? I think this bloke was talking out of his arse.

The aerial does all the reception then just sends the signal down the line correct?

A Tv doesnt worry about how long the cord is, just as long as its a good connection with the plugs!

Hi all!

The longer the coax cable is, the more attenuation you will have (i.e. - when your radio/CB is receiving it will have less signal to listen to, and when it is transmitting, less power (watts) will actually make it to the antenna and be radiated).

Shorter is better with coax... Having said that, if you go and purchase a professionally made coax assembly that is 5m long, and you decide it really only needs to be 3m long, then make sure you know exactly what you are doing when it comes to fitting new coax connectors. If not, leave it the pre-made length. You will be doing VERY well to notice the difference anyway!

If you terminate a coax connector incorrectly then you will have very poor performance, and even worse, you could destroy the final transistors in your radio/CB. If most of the transmit power is not radiated by the antenna (due to a poorly terminated connector, a faulty or poorly tuned or incorrect antenna, or damaged or incorrect coax cable), then what ever power (watts) is not radiated will be fed back into your transmitter. This is bad and will usually result in an early failure of your radio! (The symptom here is no more output power (watts) - i.e. when you push the button to talk, nobody will hear you.)

FYI: A TV DOES worry about how long the coax is. The more coax that there is, the less signal the TV receiver will see, and the worse your picture will be! Keep in mind that a TV is a only a RECEIVER (it's not a TRANSMITTER), so no damage will be done to a TV if the antenna/coax/connectors are faulty - the result is simply poor TV reception!

I hope that helps!

Pez

[Mike]

that made sense i want a 5metre cable as the one i have is 3.8metres or something and its a bit short i'm not looking for a 27metre long one just something a bit longer than the one i've got

[royce]

you also have to keep in mind some antennas are tuned to suit the coax length as well, though generally changing the length doesnt effect the SWR all that much in cb's

[Pezooki]

royce wrote:

you also have to keep in mind some antennas are tuned to suit the coax length as well, though generally changing the length doesnt effect the SWR all that much in cb's

True for some commercial applications. For a CB application, you don't need to worry about a 'correct' length of coax. Just make sure the connectors are terminated correctly, and that you are using the correct antenna.

Cheers,

Pez

[magnat]

I bought a Uniden UHF with a Dick Smith 3.5db Gain aerial and a Bull Bar mount and it works really well.. Around 10-15k range .. Unfortunately it drops to about 5k's around town...

Not sure on how the ones you have seen could be too short as mine came with enough cable to allow me to hook my aerial up on the front bar .... the long way round...