Adding connector to antenna coax

[terryb]

I bought the Midland bull bar antenna system and the antenna is hard-wired to the coax. Would I degrade the performance by adding an in-line connector?

if it’s ok to do that, are there businesses that could do that for me since i don’t have the crimping tools?  Also what would that category of businesses be called so i can google it and find a local one?

[OffRoaderX]

Yes, it will degrade performance, but the degradation will be so negligible you will never notice any difference - ASSUMING that you do it right (don't short it out or anything) and assuming you use a quality connector - ie; get the $9 one from a name you've heard of and not the $0.99 one from a name you can't pronounce.

[WRQC527]

26 minutes ago, terryb said:

adding an in-line connector

Just curious, where do you want to put this inline connector, and why? Are you planning to cut the cable and insert a connector? And depending on the connectors you're planning to install, there are some that don't require crimping, and only a little soldering.

[SteveShannon]

2 hours ago, terryb said:

I bought the Midland bull bar antenna system and the antenna is hard-wired to the coax. Would I degrade the performance by adding an in-line connector?

if it’s ok to do that, are there businesses that could do that for me since i don’t have the crimping tools?  Also what would that category of businesses be called so i can google it and find a local one?

If it’s so you can feed the smaller cable into your vehicle, don’t put a connector part way. Take the connector at the end off and replace it with a new one with the cable only as long as necessary. 

[terryb]

The antenna mount I bought is flimsier than expected. I plan on welding on some gussets to beef it up. Since the coax is already ran I either have to totally remove it or cut and add a connector to be able to remove the antenna and mount.  The latter seems like a better idea since it will get rid of the stupid design by midland and make any future maintenance easier. 
The new connector will be within a few inches of where the coax goes into the antenna. 

[MrCoffee]

I was told a long time ago that each connection takes about .05db from the circuit.  It's been a while since I was told so, and my memory isn't the same back then!  You can look it up. 

 I personally would have soldered type connectors installed and then have it electrical taped, then some sort of coax seal over the tape and then taped again to protect the coax seal. The first layer of tape protects the connectors from getting the coax seal stuck to the connectors in case you need to separate them in the future.  It is always best to have one complete run of coax instead of using a barrel connector.  Speaking of which, an 'N' connector should be used for UHF and above.  Really 100 mhz and above in my opinion but anyway....

[nokones]

On 8/11/2024 at 4:08 PM, OffRoaderX said:

Yes, it will degrade performance, but the degradation will be so negligible you will never notice any difference - ASSUMING that you do it right (don't short it out or anything) and assuming you use a quality connector - ie; get the $9 one from a name you've heard of and not the $0.99 one from a name you can't pronounce.

Even if you can pronounce it, still don't buy the .99 connector.

[terryb]

Thanks for the advice.