VHF antenna cable length

[garye5007]

whoever had my boat before me has about 20 ft of antenna cable coiled up under the dash. can it be shortened?
thanks in advance for your advice!
Gary

 

[Boatist]

Re: VHF antenna cable length

Yes it can be shortened but do not go shorter than 6 feet.
If it is RG-58 will give you a little less loss.
If it is RG-8X I dout you can tell the difference.
If you are useing a low power handheld go ahead and shorten it if your are confident
that you can reinstall the PL259 and your not ever going to move the radio to a different location.

 

[Locke]

Re: VHF antenna cable length

I just replaced my antenna last weekend (Shakespeare) and the instructions recommended not trimming shorter than 3'. I left about 5' and it works great. Like you the previous antenna had a bunch of coiled wire.

Locke

 

[garye5007]

Re: VHF antenna cable length

thanks for the replies, Gary