VHF wire connection

[Gene Kinney]

My 85 Legend came with a stern rail mount for a VHF antenna. The radio worked last year. During the winter the antenna was stolen. I replaced it with a Shakespeare steel whip antenna with an attached cord. The cord was too short. I spliced it with a couple of connectors. Now, I can't send or receive or send. The wire in the lazzarette is black but the wire to the radio is white. Where do they connect? I think maybe that my problem is there.

 

[Ken Palmer]

Don't "splice" coax!

Coaxial cable for VHF operation is 50 ohms unbalanced. When you splice coax, you are upsetting the impedance, and the transmitter part of your radio won't like that. The cure is to mount connectors on the ends of the coax. Quite commonly PL-259 UHF connectors with a barrel between. You probably have something like RG-58/U coax, the small stuff. You can use BNC style connectors with no problem, and they are easier to install, also with a barrel between the two male connectors.Some coax supplied by manufacturers may be white, but most of it is black. Makes no difference what color it is. If you cannot receive, it sounds as if you have shorted the shield to the center conductor. You may be able to use an ohm meter to figure that out. Be aware that some VHF antennas appear shorted with an ohm meter, but they are not really shorted. It is the way they are designed.Ken Palmer, S/V Liberty