radioshack antenna

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bonk83

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i have a radioshack vhf-hi/uhf antenna with a rg-58u would it work better with a radioshack pl-259 connecter i had this antenna with radioshack rg-59 coax & connecters & worked great & it went bad so with the rg-58u & a different brand connecter & it is still missing something what should i do
 

gewecke

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i have a radioshack vhf-hi/uhf antenna with a rg-58u would it work better with a radioshack pl-259 connecter i had this antenna with radioshack rg-59 coax & connecters & worked great & it went bad so with the rg-58u & a different brand connecter & it is still missing something what should i do

The answer depends on if you intend to use this with a scanner? If so, then simply wire a crimp on BNC connector.
If you intend to transmit then the BNC or PL259 will work.

73,
n9zas
 

LtDoc

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There's no particular benefit to using 50 ohm coax instead of 75 ohm coax is the antenna system is set up to use 75 ohm coax to start with. If it's working with RG-59 cable then it would seem to be set up to do so. If you changed that to RG-58 then you'd also have to do some impedance matching changes, which doesn't have to be 'simple' at all. Typically, there's not enough difference in loss between those two cables to make any difference. I think I'd replace that RG-59 with RG-59 cable. As for the connectors, a good connector isn't going to make any noticeable difference. There are other brands of connectors that are much better than Radio Shack's, easier to deal with. Use what you got or have access to.
- 'Doc
 

bonk83

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i have a 3ft rg-59 cable & a coupler i'm going to hook the rg-58u to it if that don't work i'm going to try my old rg-59 cable with a new connecter can you crimp on a connecter to much & damage the wire
 
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SignalSeeker

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Can you take a picture of what you did to the antenna, i am pretty sure the loss of signal is from the splice job, not the type of cable.

Coax doesn't splice.

Justin
 

mmckenna

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I agree, sounds like a connector issue. On receive you will likely not notice any difference between the two cables.

Check for a short circuit between the center conductor and the shield. Could be a piece of loose coaxial braid is touching the center conductor on one of the ends. If not that, I'd suspect a bad connection with center conductor on one of the ends. If you can locate it, it should be an easy fix.
 

bonk83

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i don't think i did well i tried my 3ft radioshack 3ft cable with pl-259 on both ends & it works good like my radioshack rg59 did seems like to me the radioshack pl-259 goes in deeper in the antenna than the one i got at a electronic store would that make a difference receiving it seems to be missing something to be right
 
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