Well...maybe we're all bored. I know I am now that the rains have set in
here in the NW. November and December can be pretty bad around here.
Good news is that things usually improve by January.
On the other hand, it seems to me that we are all interested in "getting
out" as well as we can when out on the water using our marine VHF, whether
it is just to talk to our buddies or if in trouble and needing a little
help from the CG or whoever can hear us. To simplify things (and to take
it out of the EE world) let me offer a little help with little or no EE
terms.
1) Mount your antenna as high as possible
2) Make your coax feedline as short as possible
3) Use good quality coax
4) Make sure the impedence of the coax is the same as the output impedence
of the transceiver you are using
5) Make sure that the impedence of the antenna is the same as the
coax/transceiver you are using
6) Use the minimum number of connectors/adapters in your feedline
7) Seal all connections of the antenna/feedline from the weather
These are the the main considerations I can think about right now...I'm
sure there are others.
For many of us who just use a handheld VHF with a "rubber ducky" antenna,
none of this is important.....but those who are wanting to go thru the
trouble of mounting an antenna on top of the mast are undoubtly wanting to
"get out" a little better...hopefully this is a little helpfull to them.
Rich Gort
WWP19 #202 SAYOKO (Oct, 83)
Lake Stevens, WA
On Fri, 10 Dec 1999, Bill Combs wrote:
> - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
> West Wight Potter Website at URL
> http://www.lesbois.com/wwpotter/
> - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
> Guys, guys, guys! You must be *really* bored to inflict all this EE arcana
> on the rest of us. This is line-of-sight radio and modern electronics here:
> final stages are _not_ gonna blow up from a mismatch & power is not even
> remotely as important as antenna height.
>
> Over-engineer your ground tackle, the effort will pay far more dividends.
>
> Regards,
> Bill Combs
> --
> WWP 19 #439 (Aug 1987) "Ursa Minor"
> Fort Walton Beach FL
> ttursine@earthlink.net
>
> > The practice of making a feedline a multiple of the working wavelength has
> > been around for a long time. Lots of arguements have been heard on both
> > sides of the practice. It is usually agreed that it is less important
> >
> > ...
> >
> >
> > Rich Gort (W7JVL)
> > WWP19 #202 SAYOKO (Oct, 83)
> > Lake Stevens, WA
> > Sailing Northern Puget Sound and North Cascades Mountain Lakes
> >
> >
> >
> > On Fri, 10 Dec 1999, Bill Blohm wrote:
> >
> >> Good going. Something else that could help, at least when I first
> >> started messing with antennae this is what I was told, is to use
> >>
> >> ...
> >>
> >>
> >> Bill B.
> >> P-19 #454, Dream Catcher
> >> Nampa, ID
> >>
> >> P.S. 144.39, for those of you that might be curious, is the
> >> national APRS frequency.
> >>
> >> Jim Nolan wrote:
> >> >
>
> >> > > > Would a couple of BNC or TNC connectors on RG58 pigtails be better
> >> > > > a PL259 on the cable from the mast connecting to an SO239 bulkhead
> >> > > > connector on the cabin roof?
> >> >
> >> > The UHF connectors can handle alot more power than either BNC or TNC.
> >> > UHF~2kW, BNC~10W TNC~25W. Also the UHF is less bothered by corrosion
> >>>
> >>> ...
> >> >
> >> > Jim Nolan P-19 #426 Panache
> >>
>