Coax cables?

[slosurfer]

School me on coax cables!

My coax cable is busted right at the connector that goes into the back of the cb.

A) Can this be repaired by getting a new connector? If so, how can I do that?

B) If not, teach me about coax cables, and what should I look for? I have a cheapo radio shack cb and maybe a cobra 19ultra (I thought it was fried, but maybe it's still good), and I have a 4 ft. firestick mounted on the back.

I'm possibly thinking of buying a new coax cable and running that in the 4runner. Then if the cobra still works and my old coax cable can be repaired with a new connector, then I'll put those in the van and I'll only have to come up with the antenna.

[L33T35T Tacoma]

Hey Chris. check out walcottcb

I remember you were using the "ring" type mount" here's a new coax cord
http://www.walcottcb.com/firestik-mu...ath=28_355_437

I'd recommend going with the straight plug on the bottom though, just a personal preference
http://www.walcottcb.com/rg8x-coax-c...r49-p-729.html
and get a normal stud
http://www.walcottcb.com/firestik-k4...ion-p-247.html

my buddy built his whole CB system from this website, minus the radio itself. shipping was very decent also.

Also, if you want to get a quick disco, get this one
http://www.walcottcb.com/firestik-k1...l?cPath=28_354

again, buddy has it and its pretty bad ass. the one i have sucks, makes a lot of noise when it moves around.

and i know you already have a spring, but I like the heavy duty spring compared to my normal medium duty spring.
http://www.walcottcb.com/jbc404-heav...l?cPath=28_354

the medium duty lets the antenna fly everywhere. the heavy duty held my buddies 4 foot firefly antenna solid

hope this helped

[CYi5]

I'd say google is your best resource, and I 2nd the walcott suggestion, they are the company I always order from for radio stuff.

[slosurfer]

Thanks Jason, I remember you told me a lot of this stuff at Pismo, but I couldn't remember it all. I figured I could google it, but it's nice to hear from others with real world experience.

That's the disconnect that I have, and I thought I had the heavy duty spring, but my spring seems kind of weak (hence, my bungy corded antenna )

What are the pro's and con's of those two types of connections?

[L33T35T Tacoma]

I just like the idea of a screw on connector.... good ground. I'm not sure how the fire ring is grounded; a secondary, loose wire?

[Crinale]

i bought my stuff from rightchannelradios.com .. they had good prices and a good selection of stuff as well. can always cross shop

[corax]

For a CB, use coax that is rated 50ohms - this isn't anything you can actually measure with a DVOM or ohms meter, it's a measure of radio frequency (rf) resistance

Forget about needing 18', a cable that is a multiple of 3' or any of that false mojo - the correct length cable is the shortest amount it takes to go from your radio to the antenna

do not coil any excess cable into a loop - it acts as a "choke coil" and raises the SWR, in the Ham world antenna leads (coax) are usually sold without the end terminals on so you can trim to size without having extra

I've heard "foam core" coax is best, but I haven't heard an explanation why - take it with a grain of salt

make sure the chassis of your CB has a good ground (same goes for whatever your antenna is mounted to), run an extra wire from a convenient screw on the back cover to ground, the best grounds are braided wire not stranded (resists rf induction, stranded wire can act like an antenna and pick up rf), the cheapest braided wire comes from the outer shield of the coax you are replacing

[4x4mike]

I think a magnet mount antenna on the roof is hard to beat. In my experience the fiberglass antennas are hard to tune, can break and are heavy flopping around. My magnet mount just shills on the top of the roof and when I need it I put the antenna in it and call it good. It comes with the coax and there is no need for additional mounts.

http://www.wilsonantenna.com/lilwil.htm

[slosurfer]

Forget about needing 18', a cable that is a multiple of 3' or any of that false mojo - the correct length cable is the shortest amount it takes to go from your radio to the antenna

do not coil any excess cable into a loop - it acts as a "choke coil" and raises the SWR, in the Ham world antenna leads (coax) are usually sold without the end terminals on so you can trim to size without having extra

So, it sounds like I can repair my existing coax cable and I should actually cut it to fit anyways. I just need to find a new connector and figure out how to install it.

[slosurfer]

I think I just need one of these and to figure out how to install it.

http://www.walcottcb.com/pl259584-co...ck-p-1804.html

I also found this link which kind of explains what Corax was saying about the length not being important.
http://www.signalengineering.com/ult...ax_basics.html