Broken VHF antenna

[oneeyedjackass]

Hi Folks,
Broke off the top 2' of our VHF antenna. Does anybody know if I will have to re-run cable all the way to VHF radio or can I just use existing cable? Also, Is it worth tit to spend the extra $$$ for better antenna?
thx,mark

 

[scross]

We too have broken our VHF antenna. Here’s what I did on our R25 Classic
Buy a new good quality antenna. I bought a Shakespeare 5101 Centennial White 8' VHF Marine Antenna for $50. Take off the spice rack over the sink in a R25 Classic. You will see the lead going down to behind the spice rack to behind cabinets. Cut the lead about half way down the spice rack. Install a BNC connector on the end coming up from behind the sink. Run the lead from your new antenna through the outside opening following the path of the old lead. Give yourself about a foot of slack then cut and install the opposite BNC fitting in the lead from the antenna. Connect, test then reinstall the spice rack.
Obviously the paneling you have is different than the spice rack on the R25 but I hope the process would be similar.

PS: You can probably just screw the new antenna right into the ratchet base. No need to get a new ratchet base unless the old one was damaged.

 

[dclagett]

Another approach if you have sufficient cable from the antenna base to the boat is to splice the cable from the old antenna to the new cable on the new antenna. West Marine has a selection of gold plated connectors and a splice that do not require any special tools or solder. They just screw on to the coax cable. I have an antenna that has about 2 inches broken off and when I replace the antenna that is the approach I plan to use. These connectors are made by Shakespeare.

 

[oneeyedjackass]

Right On! Sounds like I'll be able to figure something out. Thanks!

 

[S. Todd]

Before I went through the effort to splice into the old cable, I would put some effort into pulling the new cable through using the old cable to pull a fish tape or line through. Anytime you can avoid a splice is a time you can avoid a future problem with connections and signal strength.

 

[dclagett]

If you are concerned about a splice and have sufficient cable from the old antenna, many new antennas don’t have a cable, they have a connector at their base. Just put one of the new connectors on the old cable and attach to the new antenna.

 

[scross]

I really would have liked to avoid the splice too. Unfortunately the coax seems to go through many, many zip ties and other restricted areas that made fishing a new coax cable through the old coax cable almost impossible. I could have taken out the refrigerator, heater, sink, etc. to have success but after a full day of effort I gave up. Besides that, the new antenna only had 15 ft of coax and I really wasn’t sure it would reach the radio given the path it had to follow. So a connection or splice may have been inevitable.
Having the stainless steel aircraft grade BNC connection inside the cabin in a location fairly easy to access seemed to be the best solution. If I ever hit another low hanging tree branch while towing through city streets, with the antenna stowed, that breaks the tip again, I can replace it in less than an hour.