On Tue, 24 Nov 2009 18:29:14 -0500, "Flying Pig"
wrote:

----- Original Message -----
From: "Wilbur Hubbard"
Newsgroups: rec.boats.cruising
Sent: Tuesday, November 24, 2009 4:00 PM
Subject: I hate to say it but there sure is a bunch of ignorance here
concerning VHF antennas



Heh. Sorry Wilbur, but you haven't been following the thread.

My unit wouldn't receive worth a damn - until I hooked it to a good
antenna and feed.

My last showed that even a lousy position, so long as I had a good feed,
was fine for reception and transmission. Had me going for a bit on the
radio, but it's fine. The antenna works, with just a pigtail. Nothing
left but the cable...



For NOW. But, did I not state that it is a condition that becomes
progressively worse? Or did you forget you read it? But, suit yourself.
Remember when it goes out completely when needed the most way down island
that I TOLD YOU SO.

Wilbur Hubbard


Ya, but it's no longer an issue. It never "got worse" - it's been that way
sorta forever, and until here in MH, it hadn't been an issue. Many times in
Georgetown, we'd not hear very well - but everyone was a lot closer. Before
then, it was a head-scratcher which got lost in the shuffle of all the other
stuff which was going on simultaneously.

Until here, it didn't really matter. And, having proven, with about as
lousy a possible antenna position as possible, that the antenna and radio
worked just fine, I'm not going to worry about it (the radio).

Now, I'm just looking for the best cable for the application - lighter, more
flexible, best resistance to water/salt intrusion, and best throughput. A
3db loss is half power, and given that I've got somewhere on the order of
75-80 feet, a multiplier of 1.5 on a 50' (or .75 on a 100') spec would give
me my loss, using 100, 150 and 200 mHz, those covering all the VHF
channels - and 150 a reasonable place if I didn't want to mess with the
math. I'm surely not interested in something like 3, and would prefer
something like 1 or less.

Finding all of those in one cable will involve tradeoffs, for sure, but - I
guess, but am willing to be convinced otherwise - the order of preference
for me would be signal loss, water/salt prevention, and then ease of
handling. Cost, given the relatively small amount in the scheme of things,
is a distant 4th.

This is only one of several places this discussion is happening, and I get
constant reference to both positive and negatives on 400, 8x, 58, 142, 9913,
and a few others...

Let the debate continue :{))

L8R

Skip


RG-213 is similar to RG-142, except you can find it for 70 cents a
foot. Mil spec and everything! Rated for both direct burial
(waterproof) and UV exposure.