When installing gear to amplify your mobile signal, so-called "line loss" – the signal you lose by running lines over long distances on your boat – is the enemy. Want to see how line loss works in action? Go to this line loss calculator.
Now compare RG-8 cable against the recommended LMR-400 cable for 1,900 MHz at 50 feet. You should find that RG-8 has a line loss of 5.4 dB at this distance – and that is more than the typical 4 dB cellular antenna will provide in amplification. The line loss negates the utility of the antenna.
Substitute LMR-400 cable, however, and you have a line loss of only 2.9 dB, meaning the 4 dB antenna will add some amplification. As you can see, line loss really matters!
This calculator, available from TimesMicrowave.com, can estimate line loss.
Karen and Jeffrey Siegel live on the Penobscot Bay in Castine, Maine. They cruise the east coast on their boat, aCappella, each Winter and are the developers of www.activecaptain.com.