[A/S] Refurbishing old TV antenna

["Christopher45103" <blickcd@xxxxxxx>]

I have one of those TV antennas with the multiple tines that unfolds 
as you crank it up, on a '79 International.  Only had a TV in the 
trailer for the past few trips and the picture has always been a 
little fuzzy.

I was on the roof doing some other work yesterday and decided to 
clean the oxidation and dirt off the tines with some steel wool.  
They were really dirty.

The real problem I noticed is that where the wire connects to the 
antenna, the insulation on the two leads is cracked, and the wiring 
is corroded a bit.

If I cut off the bad ends and installed new connectors, I'd lose 
about four inches of the twin lead cable.  It seems that someone has 
done this once or twice before, because the cable from the roof to 
the antenna doesn't have a lot of slack in it, making it impossible 
to rotate past 270 degrees unless you lower it about halfway.

I'd really like to splice in some new outdoor rated twin lead antenna 
wire on the roof, but have heard that a splice will weaken the 
signal.  I'd replace all the wiring on the roof, but it just 
dissapears into the base of the antenna at the roof, so no easy 
access to that end.

I know some of you must have been thru this before.  What are my 
options here?  Keep in mind that I don't want to replace the antenna 
with a new one since it still works.

Thanks,
Christopher