Joining Radar Coax Cable

[capricorn]

Finally installed my Radar (Furuno 1623) this weekend, I decided it couldn't live in it's box in the spare bedroom forever !

I've cut the cable to the scanner and I'm intending to join it just below the deck where it comes through the cable gland.

There are 10 cores in the scanner cable, 9 ordinary copper cores and a coax cable. The 9 copper cored wires I've joined with a connector strip.

I'm unsure as to how to join the coax cable. It's a very thin coax, much thinner than say the vhf cable. It's screened on the outside and the inner core is very, very thin, maybe 6 or so hair thin copper strands. When I touch the cores together to test I get a nice clear picture on the display but obvilously I need to join with some kind of connector and presumably solder the core and screen to this connector (I hate soldering, I'm crap at it!). Any advice on what sort of connector to use much appreciated.

I'm intending to insulate all the joined connections inside a screened box when complete and hide it under the headlining.

 

[salamicollie]

Just use a connector block like the others, preferably the type with a stainless spring in them. Strip the core overlong and double/triple it up to get enough wire to make a good connection. Done this before - don't worry it works!

Make sure you also connect the overall cable screen up as well.

 

[macd]

Just done the same with a JRC radar, after checking with manufacturer, and it also worked for me. Incidentally, there's a view in some quarters that radar cables should not be shortened, as they're a 'tuned' length. To paraphrase JRC's advice this is a myth. Although true in extremis, taking out a few metres to avoid having redundant yards of the stuff is OK -- for JRC, if not all.

 

[Anonymous]

[ QUOTE ]
...(I hate soldering, I'm crap at it!). Any advice on what sort of connector to use much appreciated.

[/ QUOTE ]As others have said, ordinary screw terminals are fine but use ones with brass or stainless inserts or they will rust. Do tin the bare copper wire with solder or it will corrode (go black or green) and you will get a bad connection in 1 to 3 years time. Soldering is very easy - if you get an iron, some solder, and a bit of stranded copper wire, you will soon get the hang of it. Honestly!

 

[hightech]

If it is a plain bit of wire then a normal "chocblock" connector is fine.

If it is a coax wire then it should be connected with a coax connector of a suitable type. With a coax, the signal travels down the plastic dielectric and if not properly connected will attenuate the signal somewhere between the value of the original signal and nothing!

 

[mikejames]

The signal will also quite happily travel throught the air dielectric on the chocblock. The worst you will get is increased risk of interference to and from the radar., through pickup on the unscreened section.