I cut my Sirius antenna!

[jimmy77]

I was reinstalling our JVC plugnplay in a new car and thought I'd be able to splice the wire. I realized later that it was not a regular wire but tried to splice it anyway. Now I'm getting a message on the screen saying antenna not recognized. Do I have to buy a new one? (It's the magnetic one that came with the kit.)

 

[dfergie]

Welcome to SatelliteGuys... I broke the wire on my jvc pnp antenna, so I stripped the wires twisted togather and taped... it works.

 

[jimmy77]

cut antenna

Did you just splice together the thin wire in the center or did you also connect that metal mesh sheath on the outside of it? It seems like there are actually two wires: the center one and the sheath.

 

[dfergie]

Both must be spliced/connected...

 

[jimmy77]

Thanks, I'll give it a shot and let you know how it works.

 

[hometheaterman]

I assume it is like headphones where it is two or three wires seems to be 2 from what you guys are saying in this case and I know headphones they are thing wires that arnt like a normal wire? Is that how it is here? I would try connecting both of the wires and putting a little solder or something on there to hold it. I have done it with headphones and it isn't the easiest thing but not too bad. These may be totally differnt but they sound similar.

 

[comm_guy]

Don't make this harder than it is guys. Antennas are generally some type of a coax cable. A center conductor and an outer shield. The outer shield is just that. It shields the center conductor (by being grounded) to help keep noise out of the center conductor. The center conductor is what carries the signal to the front end of the receiver. This is typically a 50 ohm impedance for radios, 75 ohms for television, etc. You have to splice the center conductors together, insulate them so that when you splice the shield, you don't short this out on the center conductor. Also, keep in mind that when you make a "quick fix" connection, you will change the impedance of the coax cable that you are splicing. These are designed to show the proper impedance to the device it is connected to. (ie. RG-58 cable has 50 ohms, RG-59 has 75 ohms) This can cause some degradation in the sensitivity of the receiver. Make sure that your splice is sealed so that moisture can not get into it as well. This too will cause poor reception eventually. Long story short, splice both wires.

 

[charper1]

For $36 I would just buy another antenna and save the spliced one for a backup and not risk ANY possible damage to the main part of my system.

 

[gjxj]

surely there must be a proper way, i.e. install matching plugs on the cut ends with a crimp tool of some sort. I want to cut mine so I can push it through a small hole (not liking drilling a 7/16" hole in my car you know..).
I'd like to shorten the cable while I'm at it.

Alternately if someone sells an antenna with a straight plug that would help.