Plans: 1. Continue Radio installation. Status: About done. I had purchased a manufactured cable online with a right angle BNC connector for the antenna and an audio plug cable for the mic switch. Both went in today. The BNC cable was purchased with a very high quality coax that is thicker in diameter than usual. I figured I might as well get the best performing cable I could. At the VHF wire antenna I needed to use crimp lugs. The technique to build the lug end is shown in the photo. I used a section of braided shield to make the ground plane connection. The braided shield will perform better than a simple wire at RF frequencies. Testing went well. The reception is loud and clear.
I did not quite finish in that I will add some additional mechanical connections to act as strain relief.