If your ham friend has an MFJ-259B or similar antenna analyzer, use it
first, before the Bird 43 meter. The MFJ will measure impedance, show the
frequency response, and the SWR, all without requiring your radio to
transmit. I use it whenever someone asks me to check an installation, as
many new boat owners have no idea how to put an antenna connector on the
cable properly. IF the MFJ shows a short, it is shorted at RF. Once I have a
good reading on the MFJ, I remove it, insert the Bird 43 inline with the
radio and measure the actual power output and reflected power from the
antenna.
Doug K7ABX
"Ron Patterson" wrote in message
om...
"garry crothers" wrote in message
Ron

If you are worried about damaging the vhf, then contact a local ham
radio
guy who has a vhf swr meter, e.g a bird43, and ask him to measure the
swr
of the aerial. shud be less than 1.5.

regards
garry

Garry, I am going to do exactly that. A guy I work with is a ham and
happens to have one. I am going to test it next week.

Thanks
Ron

In article ,
(Ron Patterson) wrote:

snipped for brevity

Before installing it I decided to check the antenna resistance from
the center of the coax to the shield. I got about two and one half
ohms. I was thinking it should be an open. What should the resistance
be, measured from the radio end, from the center conductor to the
shield? Someone please help me because I don't want to hook up the
radio and blow the transmitter. Is this a danger? Or perhaps I have
nothing to worry about.

Thanks in advance

Ron Patterson

That's yahoo.com

Most, if not all, commercial Vhf antennas are designed to be DC
Grounded from the center conductor to the shield, and have a 50 Ohm
RF Impedance at the antenna connection. The 50 Ohm Impedance
is because that is the defacto Standard Output Impedance for
Commercial Twoway Radio's, worldwide. The DC Grounded connections
are used, so that any Static Charges that the antenna picks up are
shunted directly to ground thru the feedline connection, and, or
the DC Mounting System of the antenna.

Bruce in alaska Hopeing, Rodney Myrvaagnes of NYC, would only
speculate on things he actually has knowledge of
--
add a 2 before @

Ron,

Realize that the sail track for your mainsail, as well as spreader-mounts,
standing rigging mounts, etc, all have razor-sharp ss-screws that penetrate
the open space area inside the mast. Cables inside this space are subject to
a law that says constant degradation will result, normally as soon as the
mast is stepped.

In almost 30 years of stepping masts with radio feedline, masthead
instruments etc, only plastic conduit protecting the cable runs has ever
really helped. The taller the mast, the more difficult that is to fit inside
between the protruding ss-srew array. But is is a better long-term solution
and protects the coax from near-instant degradation from moisture
penetration.

Jack

"Ron Patterson" wrote in message
om...
I have a 34 foot sloop which I bought six years ago on Kentucky Lake
near Paducah. I motored it up river to Guntersville Lake in North
Alabama. I sailed her on Guntersville Lake on the very few days that I
had off and the wind was blowing. That however, was no more than a few
days a year. Now I am retiring in June and am going to take her down
the Tenn-Tom Waterway to her new home in Pensacola, Florida. There we
will sail and fish for the rest of our days.

When I bought the boat it had a pretty good VHF radio with the antenna
mounted at the top of the mast. It worked fine when we were bringing
the boat down to Alabama. But a few months back I tried the radio for
the first time in six years. It would not even power up. Not to worry,
I bought a new Icom VHF radio.

Before installing it I decided to check the antenna resistance from
the center of the coax to the shield. I got about two and one half
ohms. I was thinking it should be an open. What should the resistance
be, measured from the radio end, from the center conductor to the
shield? Someone please help me because I don't want to hook up the
radio and blow the transmitter. Is this a danger? Or perhaps I have
nothing to worry about.

Thanks in advance

Ron Patterson

That's yahoo.com