On Tue, 25 Sep 2007 15:52:15 -0400, "Reginald P. Smithers III"
wrote:

Needless to say, this will prompt a long discussion on the correct way
to splice or how stupid it is to splice an ant. wire

You never splice coax without using proper connectors and a barrel
splice, all of which introduce some additional losses.

The *right* way is to cut off the original connector, shorten the
cable as needed, and install a new connector.

On Tue, 25 Sep 2007 22:00:33 GMT, Short Wave Sportfishing
wrote:

Of course, we will beat this one to death.

ROTFL!!!

And in the end you will be left to sort out the theoretical from the
practical from the total BS and the folklore.

If, and this is a big *if*, the impeadance of the antenna, feed line
(coax) and the radio all match up correctly, the length of the coax
makes *no* difference at all, and no tuner is necessary or even
desirable.

It is a good idea to have the SWR checked periodically, maybe once a
season, and especially if you seem to have trouble being heard by
others. In practice I have never done that and my radios seem to work
fine. When they don't I usually start by replacing the coax with the
best high quality, low loss product I can get, and that has always
solved the problem. Any problems with impeadance mismatch will be
greatly exacerbated by low quality or aging coax.

On Tue, 25 Sep 2007 14:50:08 -0500, John H.
wrote:

PS. What would you recommend in the $200-$250 range?

It's really hard to go wrong with an ICOM radio. They are right up
there with Furuno for reliable equipment in my book.

On Wed, 26 Sep 2007 00:51:46 +0000, Larry wrote:


http://www.globalcomsatphone.com/glo...ited_plan.html

Done! $50/mo in what's left of 2007. $40/mo in 2008. $20/mo in 2009 and
2010. UNLIMITED AIRTIME TO ANY PHONE IN THE US AND CANADA INCL PR.
Reasonable rates to other places.

And, you can carry it in your car and use it at home, too!

Really cheap satphone for coastal USA/Canada and most of the Caribbean.
Look at the maps.

Anybody who can afford to feed those outboard monsters can afford a
satphone from Globalstar, now.

Globalstar has been getting poor reports from those who have used it,
frequent disconnections being the most common complaint. Most folks
seem to prefer Iridium. It's more expensive but apparently a lot more
reliable. I have no first hand experience with either.

On Tue, 25 Sep 2007 20:57:43 -0400, HK wrote:

I looked into that. The phone itself was about a grand. At the moment,
my cell provides the coverage I want while out on the Bay. Works good in
Virginia Beach to a decent distance offshore and it worked offshore in
Hawaii, too.

We are usually OK with cell phones out to about 10 miles or so, after
that nada. There are some massive dead zones however, particularly in
the coastal Carolinas. We found a big one today in the middle of
Delaware Bay about 1/3 of the way north from Cape May, NJ.

VHF to USCG or SeaTow seems to be OK 30 or 40 miles out in most
places, sometimes a great deal more. Their antennas are well sited on
high towers or buildings.

"Wayne.B" wrote in message
...
On Tue, 25 Sep 2007 20:57:43 -0400, HK wrote:

I looked into that. The phone itself was about a grand. At the moment,
my cell provides the coverage I want while out on the Bay. Works good in
Virginia Beach to a decent distance offshore and it worked offshore in
Hawaii, too.

We are usually OK with cell phones out to about 10 miles or so, after
that nada. There are some massive dead zones however, particularly in
the coastal Carolinas. We found a big one today in the middle of
Delaware Bay about 1/3 of the way north from Cape May, NJ.

VHF to USCG or SeaTow seems to be OK 30 or 40 miles out in most
places, sometimes a great deal more. Their antennas are well sited on
high towers or buildings.

And you start sinking, and you manage to call the CG. How do they know
where you are? If you can not get to your GPS or it failed in the fire
causing the sinking, you die. And you might have been saved by someone who
heard your VHF call.

HK wrote in
:

The phone itself was about a grand.

$645. $495 if you buy a demo unit.
add $30/mo for repair insurance.

Iridium phones are MUCH more!

Larry
--
Search youtube for "Depleted Uranium"
The ultimate dirty bomb......

Wayne.B wrote in
:

We are usually OK with cell phones out to about 10 miles or so, after
that nada. There are some massive dead zones however, particularly in
the coastal Carolinas. We found a big one today in the middle of
Delaware Bay about 1/3 of the way north from Cape May, NJ.



I have this 3 watt (800)/2 watt (1900) bi-directional, full duplex amp:
http://cellantenna.com/Boosters/da4000.htm
and it now comes with a high gain antenna you can haul up the yardarm for
more altitude. $199. You must have a cellphone with an antenna connector
and adapter cable, of course. My phone is a Motorola E815 on Alltel, which
is the 800B carrier here. Amp/antenna plugs into the back easily.

Range to shore cell at 3W up 50' is about the same as VHF marine
radio...20-30 miles. I can raise the ERP and receive sensitivity with my
11-element DB Products 800 Mhz paging antenna but pointing it ashore up
there is always iffy...(c;

Larry
--
Search youtube for "Depleted Uranium"
The ultimate dirty bomb......

Wayne.B wrote in
:

Globalstar has been getting poor reports from those who have used it,
frequent disconnections being the most common complaint. Most folks
seem to prefer Iridium. It's more expensive but apparently a lot more
reliable. I have no first hand experience with either.



Globalstar's satellite constellation is not yet complete....hence the cheap
prices. The drops are caused by gaps between the birds. There's also a
considerable difference in technology. Globalstar birds are simply
repeaters to the nearest ground station, hence the land-based-only coverage
footprint. Then their LEOs are over ocean, there's no ground station in
range. Iridium, on the other hand, has a full constellation of LEO
satellites that also act as relay stations, relaying your call from bird-
to-bird until it gets in range of the ground station nearest who you are
calling, even on the other side of the planet. This gives them true global
coverage with no gaps if you're standing outside with a view of the sky.

Too bad Iridium went belly up and had to be bailed out by the military.
It's a great concept, but was just too expensive to implement and operate.

Larry
--
Search youtube for "Depleted Uranium"
The ultimate dirty bomb......

On Tue, 25 Sep 2007 22:03:41 -0400, Wayne.B
wrote:


It's length *does* affect proper antenna loading.

And that's a *loaded* statement which gets debated in some circles
almost as much as "which boat is the best".

When I was at the ARRL and Technical Editor of QEX, I moderated a
panel discussion between Lou Varney, the head of the Lab, and the
editor of the ARRL antenna book at a seminar - there were other
professional RF engineers on the panel also.

The single most contentious issue was feedlines and their effect on
antenna loading.

I have a transcript of it around here somewhere. I'll send you a
copy.