The K8NGP is a specialized coaxial cable designed exclusively for no-ground-plane (NGP) antennas. It will not work with standard ground-plane-dependent CB antennas.
Installation Note:
Slide the weather cap onto the bare end of the coax first, followed by the heat-shrink tubing. Insert the bare center lead into the ring connector and either crimp or solder it in place (soldering is recommended; crimping can risk breaking the conductor). Then heat the shrink tubing so it seals the gap between the ring connector and the coax. Attach the assembly to your mount and slide the weather cap over the ring connector for added protection.
Just as healthy arteries are critical to your heart, the correct coax cable is vital to your radio. Choosing the proper coax for your specific application is essential.
In NGP systems, only the center conductor of the coax feeds the antenna. The coax shield is used to form the ground plane required by all transmitting antennas.
The K8NGP is typically used as a replacement cable (if your original NGP kit cable has been damaged) or for those assembling a custom NGP system with a mount that is not included in our standard NGP kits. An NGP system has four main components: the NGP antenna, the NGP coaxial cable assembly, the stud mount, and the primary mount. The first three are mandatory. Any primary mount with a 1/2" (25 mm) hole to accept the stud mount will work.
Because the K8NGP coax includes a tuned circuit, shortening the cable by as little as 1/4" can make it unusable. In rare cases where trimming is unavoidable, it must be done with care and an understanding of how cable length affects the resonant frequency of the system.
FireStik single-lead cable assemblies are built from our Fire-Flex RG-58A/U coaxial cable and are intended for single-antenna installations, including CB, scanner, 2-meter, and 10-meter setups.
Features include:
- 17-foot cable length
- Stranded center conductor for maximum flexibility and reduced risk of breakage
- Shielding coverage averaging 95% to prevent RF leaks and interference
- Polyvinyl center insulation for durability and long life
- Performance exceeding mil-spec requirements for 50-ohm RG-58A/U coax
- 100% foil shielding to stop signal leakage
- 95% braided copper shield over the foil for double protection
- Overall performance superior to comparable products
These assemblies use the same premium coax as FireStik’s mobile cable assemblies. One end is terminated with a PL-259 connector, and the other end is finished with a no-ground-plane assembly (K-8 shown). This coax is suitable for your no-ground-plane system.
Always match your system components: use NGP coax with NGP antennas, and ensure you have an NGP antenna for any NGP installation.
For more details on when an NGP system is recommended, refer to our Help Center article.
NGP antennas may look similar to standard ground-plane antennas, but they operate very differently. All FireStik fiberglass NGP antennas can be identified by a yellow band near the base and by the length of the close-wound section at the upper end of the antenna.
Use NGP Cable with NGP Antennas:
Mixing NGP coax with a traditional antenna (or using standard coax with an NGP antenna) will result in high SWR issues.
Extending NGP Coax:
If you already have NGP coax and need more length, you can extend it with RG-8X coax (you may need a KPL258X connector). Be aware this will introduce some signal loss. Our Kalibur coax, with 95% shielding, is the recommended choice for extensions. Most NGP kits use specialized RG-58 coax. If extending the coax is not feasible or an NGP system cannot be made to work in your situation, you can install a metal plate to create a ground plane and then use a standard antenna instead.
