Splice GPS antenna cable?

[BBC16385]

I am replacing a 10 year old GPS external antenna with a new one. The old one died this fall. It is mounted on the stern rail and this is a Hunter 42 center cockpit boat.Can I mount the new antenna and run the cable into the aft cabin and splice it into the old cable so that I don't have to re-run the entire thing and attach a new coupling for it to connect to the GPS?This is a Garmin old and new antenna and the cable that came with the old and new.Anyone done this or have any tips for me?Thanks.

 

[Tim R.]

Not recommended by Garmin...

...if it is the type of antenna that comes with the one end soldered into the antenna and the other end has a male coax fitting. I think Garmin made them that way because the length of the cable has something to do with the effectiveness of the antenna. Why chance it with such an important piece of equipment. Craw through the boat and run the new cable. You may learn something new about your boat.Tim R.

 

[tom]

I would try splicing it.

If it doesn't work you can still run the new cable.Let us know how it works out.tom.

 

[Don]

coax splicing

Coax cable can be spliced but not sure how you intend to do it - there is a right and a wrong way. It's not the length that is important.You cannot simply strip back the insulation and splice the inner and outer conductors as the change in impedence of the coax created by this type splice will significantly lower the signal strength which is obviously not huge to begin with.The proper way to do it is to purchase coax connectors intended for this purpose - two male and one barrel connectors. Follow the instructions on the package on how to connect the connectors without damaging the outer braid to the old coax and the new antenna coax and connect both to the barrel. If you can solder, it's preferable to not use the solderless type connctors but unless you know how, you'll do more damage overheating the coax with a poor soldering job.Just make sure the old and new coax are the same type and the conenctions are well-sealed and it will work fine.

 

[reudi ross]

I have spliced coax used in computer networks

by slipping a piece of heat shrink over it, stripping the two ends back, soldering the center conductor, and then build up the center insulator to the original insulator diameter. Then bring the braided shield together and overlap them. pull a small amount of each shield braid out in a pigtail and solder the pigtails. this gives you a soldered connection for the shield without heating the center insulation. lay it all flat and use a piece of heat shrink with glue liner to complete the job. I'm sure others will dispute this, but it's works fine for me with no measurable loss of bandwidth in the connection.

 

[Rob Hessenius]

Garmin

BBC- A quick thought to consider. You might need a software upgrade in your old unit to be capatible with the new antenna. I also think that you might be off better not comprising a splice. I've been wrong before. Best of Luck. Rob Hessenius

 

[Bill Ogilvie]

Don't compromise

You might be lucky and have a spliced cable work for you, but it's not worth the time saved. At 1575 MHz, the GPS signals see a coax splice as a big bump in the road, with most of the signal not getting past. Adding connectors isn't much better, even if you used the right connectors for that frequency. They would eventually corrode and become intermittent. The old cable is due for replacement anyway. Coax doesn't last very long in a marine environment.

 

[dwain6805]

Yours may be different

but I spliced mine. After many **** people had used the GPS antenna as a hand hold, the wire connection at the base broke. I purchased a complete new antenna but decided to try and splice the old one first. I had to open up the enclosure to "free" some extra wire for splicing. Mine unit is a Navman 5500 with external antenna. The cable is not coax. It was just a simple 3 conductor (or was it 4?)cable. However, it was a very fine ga. I just used crimp butt conectors and heat shrink and it has worked fine since. (I would recommend soldering though.)Again, yours may be different but this was my experience.