Thinking of ssb and ham for a 32' sailboat. Do the whip type antennas make
a satisfactory setup?
G

I have an 'Outbacker' on my 32' Bristol and I am happy with it. Only
problem is having to run to the stern to change the tap for the band.
They make a marine version that will do both Ham and marine bands.

On Wed, 23 Mar 2005 16:36:08 GMT, "Gordon" wrote:

Thinking of ssb and ham for a 32' sailboat. Do the whip type antennas make
a satisfactory setup?
G



Jeannette
aa6jh
Bristol 32, San Francisco
http://www.eblw.com/contepartiro/contepartiro.html

"Gordon" wrote in
:

Thinking of ssb and ham for a 32' sailboat. Do the whip type antennas
make
a satisfactory setup?
G

How long is your backstay? It's a far better antenna than any short whip,
especially on the lower frequency HF bands, because more of the RF waveform
fits on it than on the short whip.

On 2005-03-24 06:43:43 +1100, Larry W4CSC said:

"Gordon" wrote in
:
Thinking of ssb and ham for a 32' sailboat. Do the whip type antennas
make a satisfactory setup?
G

How long is your backstay? It's a far better antenna than any short
whip, especially on the lower frequency HF bands, because more of the
RF waveform fits on it than on the short whip.

However, when the 'fit really hits the shan' and the stick comes down a
backstay is really pretty useless. Thats why a separate HF antenna
independent from the rigging is a much better bet for installation on
an ocean going yacht.

PS: it is also a requirement for Ocean Racing here in Australia too.

--
Regards,
John Proctor VK3JP, VKV6789
S/V Chagall

That's one of the reason I like the Outbacker. Besides it's made in
Oz...

Jeannette

However, when the 'fit really hits the shan' and the stick comes down a
backstay is really pretty useless. Thats why a separate HF antenna
independent from the rigging is a much better bet for installation on
an ocean going yacht.

PS: it is also a requirement for Ocean Racing here in Australia too.

Jeannette
aa6jh
Bristol 32, San Francisco
http://www.eblw.com/contepartiro/contepartiro.html

Absolutely! I run a 23' Shakespeare whip with excellent results. It works
better than the insulated backstay I had on my old C&C 36. he whip came
with the boat and my first reaction was to insulate the backstay. But the
whip
works so well that I found other things to spend the money on.

Doug, k3qt
s/v Callista

"Gordon" wrote in message
...
Thinking of ssb and ham for a 32' sailboat. Do the whip type antennas make
a satisfactory setup?
G

jeannette wrote in
:

That's one of the reason I like the Outbacker. Besides it's made in
Oz...

Jeannette


I've never been impressed by the Outbackers, nothing but hookup wire
wrapped around a fiberglass rod with plastic taps in the continuously
loaded coil whip. It's too short for a good radiation pattern below 20
meters with way too much loading and you can't put any real RF power to it
which will destroy the hookup wire it's made of. "Homebrew" comes to mind
under the shrink wrap exterior.

Some have commented they didn't like having to go out to change the taps.
I'm curious how they keep the salt out of the little holes from corroding
it all up.

The longest screwdriver antennas would make a MUCH more efficient HF
tunable antenna for all the bands as they have continuous coverage if we
could figure out how to keep from drowning their coils in seawater....

http://www.eham.net/reviews/detail/1...90cf2ed1290b68
d5d1d

http://home.earthlink.net/~jimlux/ra...crewdriver.htm

http://www.dxengineering.com/Product...cID=8&DeptID=2

http://www.n2vz.com/
automatic control of screwdriver antennas....autotuner!

http://www.kj7u.com/
KJ7U's screwdriver with the rubber boot looks very promising for marine
use....

http://www.wb0w.com/tarheel/tarheel.htm
Tarheel says theirs is for marine use.

The key to all these antennas is they use a LARGE, EFFICIENT, center-loaded
coil with a continuous tap that allows you, or an autotuner, to put the
tuning of this antenna EXACTLY on your frequency, not "close enough" like
an outbacker. ANY frequency as the coil is continously tuned, not banded.

The idea of tuning by remote control, from the nav station for instance, is
much nicer than having to go out to the outbacker in the weather on the
stern to fool around with that stupid tap.....

The longer the whip on top of it...the better because it reduces the amount
of loading coil necessary to tune it.....

On 2005-03-24 15:09:27 +1100, Larry W4CSC said:

jeannette wrote in
:

That's one of the reason I like the Outbacker. Besides it's made in
Oz...

Jeannette


I've never been impressed by the Outbackers, nothing but hookup wire
wrapped around a fiberglass rod with plastic taps in the continuously
loaded coil whip. It's too short for a good radiation pattern below 20
meters with way too much loading and you can't put any real RF power to
it which will destroy the hookup wire it's made of. "Homebrew" comes
to mind under the shrink wrap exterior.

Some have commented they didn't like having to go out to change the
taps. I'm curious how they keep the salt out of the little holes from
corroding it all up.

The longest screwdriver antennas would make a MUCH more efficient HF
tunable antenna for all the bands as they have continuous coverage if
we could figure out how to keep from drowning their coils in
seawater....

http://www.eham.net/reviews/detail/1...90cf2ed1290b68
d5d1d

http://home.earthlink.net/~jimlux/ra...crewdriver.htm

http://www.dxengineering.com/Product...cID=8&DeptID=2

http://www.n2vz.com/
automatic control of screwdriver antennas....autotuner!

http://www.kj7u.com/
KJ7U's screwdriver with the rubber boot looks very promising for marine use....

http://www.wb0w.com/tarheel/tarheel.htm
Tarheel says theirs is for marine use.

The key to all these antennas is they use a LARGE, EFFICIENT,
center-loaded coil with a continuous tap that allows you, or an
autotuner, to put the tuning of this antenna EXACTLY on your frequency,
not "close enough" like an outbacker. ANY frequency as the coil is
continously tuned, not banded.

The idea of tuning by remote control, from the nav station for
instance, is much nicer than having to go out to the outbacker in the
weather on the stern to fool around with that stupid tap.....

The longer the whip on top of it...the better because it reduces the
amount of loading coil necessary to tune it.....

Don't knock it til you try it! I would agree that the taps present a
problem in the maritime environment (possibly) but many hams down under
use the outbacker and swear by them. So unless you have first hand
experience using them your feelings count for nothing! Too many people
make judgements about products without trying them! No first hand
experience value of opinion = 0!

--
Regards,
John Proctor VK3JP, VKV6789
S/V Chagall

Hello Doug,

Interesting to hear of your success with the 23' whip. I
wonder how you have mounted it. Do you use the standard
Shakespeare mount at the base with no intermediate supports?

I've always been concerned that the "whipping" in a swell
would really stress the mounting.

Thanks for your thoughts.

Chuck


Doug Dotson wrote:
Absolutely! I run a 23' Shakespeare whip with excellent results. It works
better than the insulated backstay I had on my old C&C 36. he whip came
with the boat and my first reaction was to insulate the backstay. But the
whip
works so well that I found other things to spend the money on.

Doug, k3qt
s/v Callista

"Gordon" wrote in message
...

Thinking of ssb and ham for a 32' sailboat. Do the whip type antennas make
a satisfactory setup?
G

"chuck" wrote in message
...
Hello Doug,

Interesting to hear of your success with the 23' whip. I wonder how you
have mounted it. Do you use the standard Shakespeare mount at the base
with no intermediate supports?

It is mounted with the base fixed to the transome. The an intermedeate
mount is on the end of the radar arch which gives it support about 6
feet up.

I've always been concerned that the "whipping" in a swell would really
stress the mounting.

We've been bounced around pretty good offshore and there are
no signs of problems. I'm going to replace the upper mount just
because the UV has deteriorated it.

Thanks for your thoughts.

Chuck


Doug Dotson wrote:
Absolutely! I run a 23' Shakespeare whip with excellent results. It works
better than the insulated backstay I had on my old C&C 36. he whip came
with the boat and my first reaction was to insulate the backstay. But the
whip
works so well that I found other things to spend the money on.

Doug, k3qt
s/v Callista

"Gordon" wrote in message
...

Thinking of ssb and ham for a 32' sailboat. Do the whip type antennas
make
a satisfactory setup?
G