Coaxial Antenna Wire

I bought a used car and found out the antenna wire is cut.  I was wondering what I should do to connect the antenna cable back to the radio.  I can't use any of the adapter wires cause I have no wire to adapt.  Looks like I need to crimp a new connector on the end of the antenna wire.  Does anyone know where I can get the bare connector and crimping tools?

Thanks

You can probably use the same type of tool that the cable tv dudes use cuz it's basically the same kind of coax cable.  The few times I've repaired antennas (since usually I just replace the whole thing), I've done it the old fashioned way--soldering, tape, and lots of patience.  I know that many shops sell the end connectors so that you can put them on to damaged cables, but depending on how much slack you have you might be better of just getting a 12" antenna extension and cutting off the female connector end.  Strip the black outer insulation off but don't go through the plastic core.  Then just gather up enough of the outer metal shielding to twist it, and solder it to the shielding of the damaged cable.  Tape up the solder joint, then solder together both center core wires, and tape up as well.

If done properly it will sound as good as crimping it, and it won't require you to buy a coax crimping tool.  Just remember to not let the shielding come in contact with the center core wire.  good luck and let us know if you have any more questions.

Thanks for the info.  I thought about doing that as I sat in my driveway today without a clue.  I did that beofre to splice my cable tv wire once, but it seemed like a such a "hack" job.  I was wondering if the center core will break easily since it isn't really protected by any of the plastic dielectric stuff?

the center core will probably not break, it's just so small and thin that a lot of times it's hard to work with.  That's also why unless you have the special coax crimpers and connectors, crimping using any other kind of tool is just pointless.

As long as you solder properly, and the cable is not moved around on a regular basis, it should never break.  But obviously use plenty of good electrical tape to cover each solder point, as well as another couple layers over the entire section of cable.

One thing you could think of doing is to get a short section of metal like a coathanger, and use it sort of as a "splint" for the section of cable where all these connections are.  If you do something like that, it'd be nearly impossible to even bend that section--much less break it.

Thanks for the ideas.  I soldered the antenna wire today.  Man, that GM antenna wire is cheap.  The core is super thin.  I shoulda added in a splint before taping it all up.  I ended up just zip tie'ing the slack together and making sure the soldered part was kinda splinted by the straight parts of the slack.

One thing I wish I had was electrical tape that also acts like shrink tube when you heat it up.  Does that even exist?  Do you know where I can get some?  I just hate it when there's no way to get a piece of shrink tube in an area.

Yes heat shrink tape does exist and can be found on many different sites online.  Do a google search for "heat shrink tape" and you'll get quite a few results.  I found this one sells single rolls whereas many of the places only sell in bulk. Scroll down to the "misc. tools, equipment, and supplies" section, and it's the last item listed in the table.