I finally replaced the coax cable on an old King Air install and got way better signal

Was working on a 1980s King Air 200 last week and the owner kept complaining about static on the coms. Swapped out the old RG-58 with some new double-shielded stuff and suddenly the signal was crystal clear even at 50 miles out. Anyone else run into old coax causing issues that you didn't expect?

3 comments

3 Comments

miles_hall1d ago

Man oh man, YES. Old coax is a HUGE hidden problem. I had a similar thing on a Piper Navajo, swapped out the ancient stuff and it was like night and day. The static just VANISHED, especially on the longer hauls. You think it's the radios or the antenna but 9 times out of 10 it's that crusty cable. Seriously, that double-shielded stuff is a game changer for old installs.

jana_shah1d ago

Yeah, that Navajo coax story hits close to home. I had the same thing with a Baron I used to fly, chasing a ghost of a static burst for months. Turns out the cable was original from the 70s, cracked and corroded inside. Swapped it out one weekend and the radios were basically brand new. It's crazy how much noise that old RG-58 picks up after a couple decades. You start yanking it out and you're like, how was this thing even getting a signal at all.

vera_robinson361d ago

Jana, I gotta push back on that. "Cracked and corroded inside" I mean, sure, maybe yours was that bad, but I've pulled perfectly good 1970s coax out of twins that still tested fine after a decade of sitting. I'm not saying old cable can't be the problem, but everyone jumps straight to the coax and ignores the actual antenna or the grounding. Run a SWR check first, check the bonding straps on the static wicks. I've seen guys drop a thousand bucks on new coax and double-shielded installation, and then they find out the real issue was a loose ground wire behind the panel. Your mileage varies, but in my experience, old coax that isn't physically damaged still works fine. It's just thick copper and plastic, not magic.