Thank you all for your replies, you've been very helpful and I couldn't have "git 'er done" without your help!
Being in Canada, I don't really have access to cheap parts and everything is hard to find and/or on backorder, 3x more expensive on average, including shipping costs. I will wing it with the current connectors and tape solution.
That being said, the NX-700K has had another surprise in store for me that has me dumbfounded... for which I'll start a new thread, as not to make this one uselessly long. Long story short, I programmed it to conventional analog channels with KPG-111D "lab patch" and it's acting like the antenna is disconnected, even when it's not. Only very close and very strong signals come in, like from my VHF portables.
Being a newbie to configuring and fixing old radios, I'm learning new things every day. This forum is great!
