Coiling the cable won't create a problem unless you coil it too tightly.
The cable manufacturer's specifications should list the minimum bending
radius, but I'll bet you're well above that. As long as the characteristic
impedance of the coax matches that of the antenna and there are no shorts or
opens in the line, you should be getting maximum performance. I'd be more
suspicious of antenna placement.

I'm assuming the designers set the antenna length for the frequencies in
question and chose the correct coaxial cable for the application.

BSEE, 1972, but antennas haven't changed much since then...


"Jim" wrote in message
...
On Thursday, September 13, 2012 4:34:16 PM UTC-4, kirk.stant wrote:
As anyone who has one can testify, the cables on the dipole and GPS
antennas that come with a PowerFLARM Brick are absurdly long - you could
almost mount the GPS puck on your tail!



Has anyone any experience in shortening these cables and reattaching the
connectors, or is there anyone out there who can do this for a reasonable
fee?



Kirk

66

LOL "absurdly long" is a great way to describe all the antenna wires. I just
wound them all up in a tight coil and ty-wrapped them out of the way. I
wonder if that is reducing my FLARM range? ...something is. Any ham radio
guys of real EE's have an opinion on this?

-Jim