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Old 30-03-2009, 19:37   #1
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VHF leads on a wooden mast

My older boat Espina has a spruce mast, and no way of getting a co-ax up to the masthead. I want to install my vhf antenna up there. I figured stapling the co-ax to the mast is tacky and not very attractive.

I was thinking about wire tying the co-ax to the back stay. Maybe even heat shrinking it in place.

Does anyone have a better idea or possible objections to this approach? At the moment my antenna is attached to the cockpit coaming.


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Old 30-03-2009, 19:48   #2
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Attaching a conduit up the mast might be better. An external conduit would provide basic protection exposed to the elements. Staples are not a valid means of attachment of anything. Making a bundle of wire(s) with some line to act as a support would be better. The fitting coming out at the masthead really is not meant to support the weight of the cable. If you have an anchor light or a wind instrument the wires need to be in a self supporting bundle.
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Old 31-03-2009, 16:59   #3
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Hmm, I suppose any way I do it up the exterior of the mast is going to be an ugly affair. I'll never know why they didn't put a couple of leads in there in the first place.

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Old 31-03-2009, 17:36   #4
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Sometimes ugly means less functional but not this time. Well thought and working well beats ugly most all the time. If you go with the really thick coax the clarity of your voice will win over your critics!
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Old 31-03-2009, 17:54   #5
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You could dress a coax up the backstay using black tie wraps as long as you are careful not to dimple the coax with the ties. Most low loss coax has dielectric material that easily crushes and deforms. Such deformation would create reflections in the line decreasing your effective radiated power output power. Colors other than black wraps will not last long in the UV.
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