Long Mobile Antenna Cables
Posted: Mon Aug 03, 2009 7:15 pm
New to the hobby. Unfortunately, sometimes I have to drive to areas infested with assorted cretins who delight in bending-breaking-stealing mobile antennas or "just" damaging the cables out of sheer cussedness. Magnetic mount seems the way to go but the cables are much longer than I need. Question--would coiling the excess cable into a neat loop fastened with cable ties bolix up the SWR? Would it be better to run the cable all around the inside of the car being careful not to let the cable even cross itself? Could I just cut off the excess and install a new BNC connector? (Possibly the most elegant solution--is this often done?) Any input or suggestions would be appreciated!