Radar Reflector & VHF Question
 

I'm about to place a radar reflector on my boat. Will an aluminum
reflector interfere with my vhf radio?

Nick

Red Cloud© wrote in
:

Only if you mount it directly in front of the VHF so you can't turn
the knobs!



Oh, funny, FUNNY!....(C;

No, Nick. Just don't let it near your VHF antenna and it'll be fine. The
ships won't see it, anyways, because you can't get it high enough to be in
their radar's vertical beamwidth when you need it most....when the are very
close to you. They'll see it when you are 3-5 miles away, if they're
looking.

This is why I think pleasure boat AIS transponders will be just fantastic.
Even around that next bend in the ICW, an AIS equipped ship will plainly
see where you are, who you are and know your boat's name and callsign and
MMSI....not just "White fiberglass sloop in the channel near bouy 14, this
is Sealand Performance, ovah?"....like it is now. Your AIS beacon will set
off his bridge alarms so just maybe he won't run you over in the fog.

--
Larry

Larry wrote:
Red Cloud© wrote in
:


Only if you mount it directly in front of the VHF so you can't turn
the knobs!




Oh, funny, FUNNY!....(C;

No, Nick. Just don't let it near your VHF antenna and it'll be fine.

So I shouldn't mount it on top of the antenna?????


The
ships won't see it, anyways, because you can't get it high enough to be in
their radar's vertical beamwidth when you need it most....when the are very
close to you. They'll see it when you are 3-5 miles away, if they're
looking.

3-5 miles would be fine actually. During the Monster Shark Tournament I
was within 50' of getting hit. In fact there is a point on the ESPN part
1 where somebody says, "that boat boat just veered off suddenly. I
wonder why. Better steer clear of that area.". That was why. There were
a number of us fishing away from the channel at 0300 when the sharkers
were leaving in the fog at full throttle.

This is why I think pleasure boat AIS transponders will be just fantastic.
Even around that next bend in the ICW, an AIS equipped ship will plainly
see where you are, who you are and know your boat's name and callsign and
MMSI....not just "White fiberglass sloop in the channel near bouy 14, this
is Sealand Performance, ovah?"....like it is now. Your AIS beacon will set
off his bridge alarms so just maybe he won't run you over in the fog.

Radar Reflector & VHF Question
 

Nicholas Brigham wrote in
:

So I shouldn't mount it on top of the antenna?????


No, don't let it touch the antenna in any way, even if the antenna is
fiberglas. Get it as high as you can get it, but not tied to any of the
antennas as it IS metal and will detune any antenna it's placed near.

--
Larry

Radar Reflector & VHF Question
 

Nicholas Brigham wrote:
I'm about to place a radar reflector on my boat. Will an aluminum
reflector interfere with my vhf radio?

Nick

Why buy an aluminum one?

Radar Reflector & VHF Question
 

Larry wrote:
Nicholas Brigham wrote in
:


So I shouldn't mount it on top of the antenna?????



No, don't let it touch the antenna in any way, even if the antenna is
fiberglas. Get it as high as you can get it, but not tied to any of the
antennas as it IS metal and will detune any antenna it's placed near.


Larry,
I was kidding. I may be dumb but I ain't stupid. 8-)

Radar Reflector & VHF Question
 

Dennis Pogson wrote:
Nicholas Brigham wrote:

I'm about to place a radar reflector on my boat. Will an aluminum
reflector interfere with my vhf radio?

Nick


Why buy an aluminum one?


I got one at work for free.

Radar Reflector & VHF Question
 

Nicholas Brigham wrote in
:

Larry,
I was kidding. I may be dumb but I ain't stupid. 8-)



I was not trying to offend you. I've seen the seemingly plastic radar
reflectors tied to the top of fiberglass VHF antennas many times. They
figure both are plastic, which they're not or they won't reflect radar and
the radio antenna is fiberglass so what could it hurt.

--
Larry

Radar Reflector & VHF Question
 

Larry wrote:

Larry,
I was kidding. I may be dumb but I ain't stupid. 8-)




I was not trying to offend you. I've seen the seemingly plastic radar
reflectors tied to the top of fiberglass VHF antennas many times. They
figure both are plastic, which they're not or they won't reflect radar and
the radio antenna is fiberglass so what could it hurt.

I was not offended in the least. I appreciate you input.

Radar Reflector & VHF Question
 

"Nicholas Brigham" wrote in message
...
Larry wrote:

Larry,
I was kidding. I may be dumb but I ain't stupid. 8-)




I was not trying to offend you. I've seen the seemingly plastic radar
reflectors tied to the top of fiberglass VHF antennas many times. They
figure both are plastic, which they're not or they won't reflect radar
and
the radio antenna is fiberglass so what could it hurt.

I was not offended in the least. I appreciate you input.

Another reason is that mechanical stresses from the reflector at the top of
a VHF fiberglass sleeve will eventually lead to cracking or possibly causing
the little elastic strap (think Halloween mask elastic strap) that holds the
antenna coaxial collinear sections to the top of the tube to break. I
shudder every time I see a flag or pennant waving away tied to a fiberglass
tube type antenna. Why encourage the antenna to fail earlier than its normal
lifetime?

73
Doug K7ABX