Bobsprit wrote:

Not only were we prepared, but my GPS 38 was also set to go if needed.

Ah, was this a spare GPS that you forgot to mention in the trip report?


And though Donal and Jeff already figured it out, our "dinner stop"
was to avoid ebb with a strong NW wind on a night with a severe storm
watch.

Seems reasonable.


I can outsail most of the people here, Wally! If they felt otherwise,
they'd actually show up at some point to take me on!

I must admit that the lack of attendance on the 'challenges' does tend to
substantiate this. Well, amongst those that are local enough, anyway - I
dare say there are a few who might be up for it, but are too far away.


--
Wally
www.makearatherlonglinkthattakesyounowhere.com
Things are always clearer in the cold, post-upload light.

"Donal" wrote in message
...

"Steve Thomas" wrote in message
. ..
I seem to recall commercial advertisement for single mode fibres that
involved a graduated refractive index rather than extremely small
diameter.
One thing is certain, until the amount of work involved with polishing
the
ends is reduced, it will never replace copper wire for low cost or
casual
applications.


We've just finished putting in 1700 fibre links at US$111.00 each.

The ends were all hand polsihed, but we used a special connector that
almost
eliminates split fibre.

Personally, I think that soon fibre will be economical for general use.
How much does Cat6 cost?

Our facility was done about 3.5 years ago - over 2 million square feet.
Glass fibre for long runs between switches, Cat 5 for the rest.
I think that in either case, the labour cost outwieghs the cost of the
transmission media.

Regards


Donal
--

As I commented earlier, Its common around here to hear CG transmission form 100 miles
away, sometimes even further. I assumed this was due to the very high power plus
atmospheric ducting.

Today I asked a friend who's an ex-Coastie about this - He said that the CG rents space in
the highest towers (the Hancock Tower in Boston) but also has repeaters up and down the
coast. High towers in Gloucester and Plymouth serve as repeaters for Boston; similar
repeater are setup for other stations.

Thus, when you hear Key West CG, you might actually be listening to a broadcast from Key
Largo.



"Simple Simon" wrote in message
...
As usual . . .

Bobsprit lied. His antenna simply isn't high enough to get out forty miles.

I can receive Coast Guard transmissions from Group Key West - 90 miles,
Group Miami - 80 miles. This huge range is because their antennas are about
five hundred feet high. It wouldn't surprise me either if their transmission power
is higher than 25 watts.

S.Simon

"Wally" wrote in message
...
Bobsprit claims to have made a VHF transmission of over 40nm. Given that his
antenna height is about 50 feet, that would require, for a line of sight
transmission, that the other antenna be about 800 - eight hundred - feet
above the water.

I believe that 40 miles is too close for skip, so could his transmission
have a 'terrain following' effect in the sense that the sea might act as a
ground plane?

Would anyone care to comment on the veracity of Bobsprit's claim?


--
Wally
www.makearatherlonglinkthattakesyounowhere.com
Things are always clearer in the cold, post-upload light.