Running cable for mast install radome

[Latitude9.5]

I was considering a couple possibilities, one would be to cut the cable, drill a hole route the cable for the radome down the inside of the mast, then out a small hole, then through the deck.

The other i noticed on the boat next to me at the marina, the guy had ran the cable down the outside of the mast in conduit and fastened the the conuit to the mast then through the roof. The advantage as far as i could see would not be cutting the end of the cable off, as you would just run the conduit through the roof, seal it with some 4200 and on the road.

Anyone have any advice?

[Sandero]

Can you drill a hole which can accommodate the cable connector? If so then you don't have to cut and re attach the cable wires.
Jef
sv Shiva
Contest 36s

[markpj23]

Radar waveguides are notorious for reflected energy problems if you cut the waveguide (cable). I recommend that you avoid that all cost...

[Sandero]

I have done 2 radar installs, Vigil and Raymarine and had (unfortunately) to sever the cable. The radar seems to work fine, but I have no way of knowing if I have lost signal or introduced interference.

I suspect many people end up cutting their radar cables. I did because I wanted to run the cable inside a "conduit" above the headliner and the mast is deck stepped. My solution involved feeding the display end forward to the mast (after cutting of course) and the radome end through a smallish hold in the mast and the through a deck gland where I could make the splice above a removable panel.

It looks neat, I can unstep mast without major hassles and it seems to work. But it is not recommended to part the cable.

Jef
sv Shiva
Contest 36s

[Latitude9.5]

Well i was thinking with the deck stepped mast i would have to go into the mast then back out of the mast prior to entering the cabin, seems like a lot of holes, but i guess the only one that would really cause any concern is the one through the cabin, which i will have in either case. I just need to get cable seal for it and I should be good to go.

Can't wait to get the boat home, its hard sitting here thinking things out in my head then running over on the weekend and trying to get work done lol! This weekend!

[phorvati]

I have decided to splice the cables at the mast base on a keel stepped mast. The reason for this is that JRC for instance does not have antenna cable extention and they said that many people splice the cable with a terminal block and connect the shielding as well (very important). I would have never gotten the cable with display connector through the 1" SS tubing at the pedestal without cutting the cable. Also there has to be a way to disconnect the cable at the mast base to accomodate unstepping the mast.
Petar

[Pura Vida]

Originally Posted by Latitude9.5

Well i was thinking with the deck stepped mast i would have to go into the mast then back out of the mast prior to entering the cabin, seems like a lot of holes, but i guess the only one that would really cause any concern is the one through the cabin, which i will have in either case. I just need to get cable seal for it and I should be good to go.

I'm about to re-route the cables on my deck stepped mast and after looking around decided to use the "stanchion method". One 45 degree 1" stanction is fastened and sealed to the mast with the opening facing down. A second stanction is fastened and sealed to the deck. A white hose is used between the two as a conduit for the cabling and sealed with hose clamps. It is a pretty common retrofit around here and beats those gasket that use compression to make the cable weatherproof.

[chuckiebits]

Phorvati, we just went thru the same excercise with our Raymarine unit. In order to avoid cutting the cable, we would have had to feed it from the pedestal in the cockpit thru the boat all the way to the base of the mast, thru a hole in the mast, feed it 25' up the mast, and thru another hole in the mast near the antenna. AND the cable would have had to be probably 25 meters long, not the 15 meters that Raymarine provide with the unit.

An extra 15M cable to complete the installation cost us over $200.

John

[c2csailor]

This sounds like a great thread and I have a friend who I'm trying to help install a Raymarine C80 unit on a Catalina 30 (deck stepped mast)with 2kw radome at spreader level...the 15m included cable doesn't appear to be even close to reaching the back of the display in the cockpit without splicing or re-routing somehow..does anyone have pics of their installation they could share? Especially where the wire comes from the mast step and the connection point. Thanks.

[fairbank56]

There's nothing wrong with cutting and splicing or using plugs. The waveguide is in the transmitter, not the cable. The video signal is via a small coax cable inside the radar cable with the other wires. It is perfectly ok to splice. I'm a marine electronics tech and do this all the time. I use male/female plugs in which the pins can be extracted if the cable needs to be pulled through a small hole. The picture shows a Raymarine cable that I installed a plug on. There is a cover that clamps over the connector/cable for protection and strain-relief. I spray the connectors liberally with corrosion block and make sure the connection is at a high point so moisture cannot run down into the connection.

Eric

[GordMay]

Eric:
I can't see the shield/screen wire - how do you insert it into the connector?

[fairbank56]

Its in there. If there is a drain wire, you just use that and trim the shield off. If not, just take a few strands of the braid and twist into a wire and trim the rest of the shield off.

Eric

[7tiger7]

What brand / model connector is that? I will try to find something like that to splice the cable on my installation of a C80 plotter and radome on my catalina 30 (I am the friend C2C was talking about...)
Thanks
Phillip

[Lancerbye]

The newer type ICOM Radar uses digital communications between the radardome and the display so you you only have the pair for power and two very small data cables. all connected to a small flat berg type connector. That will fit through a 3/4 in hole. Mine goes through an angled hole in the dead wood support. Goes up inside the mast (inside a conduit) and out at the first spreader. There is an access hole and cover at the bottom of the mast to allow fishing stuff through in two steps. All the cables for wind indicator, three antennas, and masthead light run throught the same place.

[GordMay]

Greetings and welcome aboard Phillip.
Hope you find the forum entertaining and informative.