ed...reading all the coax emails, i have something to add...i use rg8-x for all things boat...am/fm recieve, vhf, etc, etc...one of the things was uv eating up the coax...several yrs ago, while installing a vhf on a friends boat, the thot that the one thing i have agnst most marine antennas on the market, with the coax permanently attached! so when the sun eats it up, the antenna must be replaced! so i covered the coax with some white plastic corragated plastic wire cover, that has the split down it, so it`s easy to put on the wire..i got the 1/4"/white from the local ''ace is da place"...since that time, all my stuf is covered with it...any outside wire! i left shakespear, and went to morad ant, that are made in seattle...they work great! and the coax is easy to replace! morad is the antenna we see on most gov boats, commrercial fishing, etc...they are way up on the mast, and look like a long covered loading coil, with a stainless wire sticking out of the top...i never solder the ground in the coax fittings anymore, just the center...to hard to save the fitting when replacing the coax...c clyde fernortner garbage7@wavecable.com