Prepare The Antenna Cables - KVH Industries TracPhone V11 Installation Manual

6

Prepare the Antenna Cables

Follow these steps to prepare and route the RF,
power, and data cables to the antenna location.
Prepare the Customer's RF Cables
You need to connect two 75 RF coax cables
from the antenna location to the belowdecks
equipment. Refer to Figure 16 to determine the
type of cables and connectors required for your
cable run. Then prepare both of them as
described below.
IMPORTANT!
• RF cables must be rated for 75, not 50.
• Low-quality, poorly terminated, or
improperly installed RF cables are the
most common cause of system problems.
Terminate all RF cables with high-quality
"F" connectors using the proper
stripping/crimping tools, exactly to the
manufacturer's specifications.
• Make sure the center conductor pin at
each end of the finished cables is 1/4"
(0.20"-0.28") (5-7 mm) in length, measured
from inside the nut to the tip, to ensure
proper engagement. Instructions for
terminating LMR-400-75 cable are provided
on page 36.
• Each RF cable run must not exceed 6.5 dB
of insertion loss. Keep in mind that an in-
line connector adds at least 0.2 dB of loss.
• Cables must be at least 25 ft (8 m) in
length.
• Call KVH Technical Support if you need
to use cables longer than 200 ft (60 m). An
antenna setting might need to be adjusted
over the air for the longer cable run.
• When determining cable lengths, don't
forget to account for service loops,
approximately 8" (20 cm) at each end.
a. Terminate both ends of the cables with the
proper "F" connectors (see Figure 16 for
connector and tool part numbers).
b. Label both ends of the two RF cables. Label
one cable "TX," and label the other "RX."
Figure 16: RF Cable Requirements
25 -100 ft (8-30 m) Cable Run
Cable LMR-400-75
(KVH part no. 32-0944-0100,
100 ft (30 m))
Loss: 0.06 dB/ft (0.195 dB/m)
Connector Times Microwave EZ-400-FMH-75*
Tools Times Microwave TK-400EZ-75
(KVH part no. 72-0374-75**)
Strip
Lengths
101-300 ft (31-90 m) Cable Run
Call KVH for lengths over 200 ft (60 m)
Cable LMR-600-75
(KVH part no. 32-0945-0200, 200 ft
(60 m))
Loss: 0.04 dB/ft (0.13 dB/m)
Connector Times Microwave EZ-600-FMH-75*
Tools Times Microwave TK-600EZ
(KVH part no. 72-0375-75**)
Strip
Lengths
C bl f l d h
0.065" (1.65 mm) dia.
0.170" (4.32 mm)
0.344" (8.74 mm)
0.610" (15.49 mm)
0.108" (2.74 mm) dia.
0.250" (6.35 mm)
0.370" (9.40 mm)
0.870" (22.10 mm)
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