Several of our Sea-Tech SSB, WiFi, cellular, and satellite communications kits come with pre-made antenna cables, with lengths sometimes selectable during ordering. However, Sea-Tech knows that estimating cable lengths is difficult in a boat and most often our customers order cables longer than they need to be on the safe side. For this reason, Sea-Tech kits come with spare connectors for antenna cables that can be used to shorten the cables to a more reasonable length after running it through the boat. We’ve provided some video tutorials below for attaching these connectors below. Special thanks to ShowMeCables.com for producing these videos and uploading them to Youtube for everyone to access. Instruction videos and tools list posted below for each Sea-Tech kit.
As always, if you have questions or need help, feel free to reach out to Sea-Tech Support via email or phone or using the Get Help button on the right side of the website.
Sea-Tech Marine Cellular Booster Kit
The Sea-Tech Cellular Booster kit for boats comes with external LMR-400 antenna cables from 30ft to 75ft (selectable at checkout) with pre-attached N-Male connectors on both ends. The kit includes two additional crimp on N-Male connectors you can use to shorten the cable. After cutting the LMR-400 cable to length you can attach a new N-Male connector.
Follow the instructions in this video to make your attachment:
You will need the following tools:
- Coax Strip Tool
- Coax Crimp Tool
- Soldering Iron and Solder
The Sea-Tech Cellular Router kits for boats come with external LMR-240 cables of 20ft length or LMR-400 antenna cables from 30ft to 75ft (upon request) with pre-attached SMA-Male connectors on both ends. We don’t recommend modifying the LMR-240 cable as it’s fairly flexible and of short enough length not to be a major problem. However, the LMR-400 cable is stiffer and may come in a length that is just a bit too long to make installation easy. The kits with LMR-400 cables include two additional crimp on SMA-Male connectors you can use to shorten the cable. After cutting the LMR-400 cable to length you can attach a new SMA-Male connector.
Follow the instructions in this video to make your attachment:
You will need the following tools:
- Coax Strip Tool
- Coax Crimp Tool
- Soldering Iron and Solder
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TaWkEnCmmVk?start=12
Sea-Tech Satellite Terminal Kits (with external antennas)
The Sea-Tech satellite Internet/Phone terminal kits for boats may come with external antenna cables of from 25ft to 90ft of length (depending on the product) with pre-attached TNC-Male connectors on both ends. The kits with LMR-300 or larger cables include two additional crimp on TNC-Male connectors you can use to shorten the cable. After cutting the coax cable to length you can attach a new TNC-Male connector.
Follow the instructions in this video to make your attachment:
You will need the following tools:
- Coax Strip Tool
- Coax Crimp Tool
- Soldering Iron and Solder
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JxsjkwhtB-c?start=12
The Sea-Tech Marine SSB kits for boats come with an RG213 coax cable of 30ft length for the transceiver to tuner connection. This cable is not pre-terminated. The PL-259 connectors required for the connection are included in the kit and need to be attached during installation. After cutting the coax cable to length you can attach the PL-259 connectors on each end.
Follow the instructions in this video to make your attachment using solder-on PL-259 connectors:
You will need the following tools:
- Razor Blade/Knife
- Soldering Iron and Solder (in some cases a small butane torch to quickly head the connector for the solder may work better than a standard soldering iron)
Follow the instructions in this video to make your attachment using crimp-on PL-259 connectors:
You will need the following tools:
- Razor Blade/Knife
- Coax Crimper (with .429 size opening)
- Soldering Iron and Solder