Yo! Harry! (or anyone else) Antenna question
 

On Sep 25, 8:06 am, Short Wave Sportfishing
wrote:
On Tue, 25 Sep 2007 07:48:27 -0400, "Reginald P. Smithers III"

wrote:
Piffle.

Your jealous nature is so obvious.

Hats for pansies.

This from a guy who wears his hat backwards, with the rim in the
front! Cept when the boat is moving along, then he wears it right.

Yo! Harry! (or anyone else) Antenna question
 

On Sep 25, 8:22 am, wrote:
On Sep 25, 8:06 am, Short Wave Sportfishing
wrote:

On Tue, 25 Sep 2007 07:48:27 -0400, "Reginald P. Smithers III"

wrote:
Piffle.

Your jealous nature is so obvious.

Hats for pansies.

This from a guy who wears his hat backwards, with the rim in the
front! Cept when the boat is moving along, then he wears it right.

Proof that this NG does some good for boaters and is not all
politics. I face the same issue in that I have an 8' antenna on my
Tolman but recently installed a bimini and have not been sure of what
to do about the antenna. Harry says his 3' antenna works fine and
clears the bimini............

Yo! Harry! (or anyone else) Antenna question
 

"Frogwatch" wrote in message
oups.com...

Proof that this NG does some good for boaters and is not all
politics. I face the same issue in that I have an 8' antenna on my
Tolman but recently installed a bimini and have not been sure of what
to do about the antenna. Harry says his 3' antenna works fine and
clears the bimini............


I installed a 3' antenna and Icom radio on the console of a Dauntless Whaler
I had. No bimini, but I didn't want a long antenna in the way while fishing
and the short, stainless whip could be bent over under the console grab
rail, out of the way.

It worked, but didn't have nearly the range of an 8 footer mounted higher up
on a boat. As for 10 mile range? No way on mine. Maybe two at best.

Eisboch

Yo! Harry! (or anyone else) Antenna question
 

Frogwatch wrote:
On Sep 25, 8:22 am, wrote:
On Sep 25, 8:06 am, Short Wave Sportfishing
wrote:

On Tue, 25 Sep 2007 07:48:27 -0400, "Reginald P. Smithers III"
wrote:
Piffle.
Your jealous nature is so obvious.
Hats for pansies.
This from a guy who wears his hat backwards, with the rim in the
front! Cept when the boat is moving along, then he wears it right.

Proof that this NG does some good for boaters and is not all
politics. I face the same issue in that I have an 8' antenna on my
Tolman but recently installed a bimini and have not been sure of what
to do about the antenna. Harry says his 3' antenna works fine and
clears the bimini............


VHF transmission range is a function of transmitter power, receiver
sensitivity, and distance to the horizon, since VHF signals propagate
under normal conditions as a line-of-sight phenomenon.

The way to calculate the the theoretical line-of-sight horizon distance
is:
distance in miles = The square root of (1.5 X the height of the
antenna from the water in feet)

Since the CG is normally located at the highest possible place, you
shouldn't have a problem sending and receiving to them. You *will*
notice the difference when you are communicating with other boats.
Which could impact on the ability to get a quick response to a Pan Pan
or a MayDay call.

I personally think a Hard Top with an ant. mounted on the top of the
Hard Top would give you better coverage, without the inconvenience of
the ant. and bimini straps being in your way as you fish.

If you don't have the ability to easily walk around the boat, what is
the advantage of a CC?

Yo! Harry! (or anyone else) Antenna question
 

John H. wrote:
On Tue, 25 Sep 2007 09:11:20 -0400, "Reginald P. Smithers III"
wrote:

Frogwatch wrote:
On Sep 25, 8:22 am, wrote:
On Sep 25, 8:06 am, Short Wave Sportfishing
wrote:

On Tue, 25 Sep 2007 07:48:27 -0400, "Reginald P. Smithers III"
wrote:
Piffle.
Your jealous nature is so obvious.
Hats for pansies.
This from a guy who wears his hat backwards, with the rim in the
front! Cept when the boat is moving along, then he wears it right.
Proof that this NG does some good for boaters and is not all
politics. I face the same issue in that I have an 8' antenna on my
Tolman but recently installed a bimini and have not been sure of what
to do about the antenna. Harry says his 3' antenna works fine and
clears the bimini............

VHF transmission range is a function of transmitter power, receiver
sensitivity, and distance to the horizon, since VHF signals propagate
under normal conditions as a line-of-sight phenomenon.

The way to calculate the the theoretical line-of-sight horizon distance
is:
distance in miles = The square root of (1.5 X the height of the
antenna from the water in feet)

Since the CG is normally located at the highest possible place, you
shouldn't have a problem sending and receiving to them. You *will*
notice the difference when you are communicating with other boats.
Which could impact on the ability to get a quick response to a Pan Pan
or a MayDay call.

I personally think a Hard Top with an ant. mounted on the top of the
Hard Top would give you better coverage, without the inconvenience of
the ant. and bimini straps being in your way as you fish.

If you don't have the ability to easily walk around the boat, what is
the advantage of a CC?




When I'm using the boat for fishing, the bimini will be down. Walking
around will not be a problem.

An advantage of a CC, for me, is that I prefer to operate a boat in the
standing position.

If I were getting the boat just for my use, I'd go with the t-top, with
perhaps a three foot antenna mounted on it.

But, I expect to be pulling a lot of grandkids on tubes or skis, so the
wife has a big say.

(in my best SWF voice)

Pansy.

Yo! Harry! (or anyone else) Antenna question
 

On Tue, 25 Sep 2007 07:40:02 -0400, "Reginald P. Smithers III"
wrote:

John H. wrote:
With the new Key West, I'm getting a bimini. The wife didn't think the
t-top would give enough sun protection.

In one of the shots of your boat, Harry, it appeared that you have the 8'
antenna folded down, although it could have been a 5'er I guess. In any
case, what do you have, and does it interfere with the bimini?

Anyone - Is the performance of the 5' antenna seriously below that of the
8'er?

John,

With the Bimini where do you plan on installing the antenna? It seems
no matter where you place it, it will be in the way when you are
fishing. I personally would recommend the hard t-top and a sunhat. But
then again, I don't fish. ;)

In the past, I always wore baseball caps with a hat catcher (alligator
clip attached to cap and shirt). I have since changed to a Tilley, and
there is a world of difference in protection of the face and neck.
It also has a strap that you can use so it won't blow off in the wind.
The LTM 6 is lightweight and is vent to be cooler in the sun.

http://www.tilley.com/detail.asp?gen...od uctNo=LTM6

The antenna will be installed on the side of the console. Hopefully, there
will be enough height for the antenna and the bimini to be deployed
simultaneously.

If the boat were just for me, and just for fishing, I'd have a t-top. But,
it's not just for me. So I lose that one.

I like the looks of the Tilley hats, though. Maybe I'll check into them, if
I can find a local store that carries them.

Yo! Harry! (or anyone else) Antenna question
 

"Reginald P. Smithers III" wrote in message
...

VHF transmission range is a function of transmitter power, receiver
sensitivity, and distance to the horizon, since VHF signals propagate
under normal conditions as a line-of-sight phenomenon.

The way to calculate the the theoretical line-of-sight horizon distance
is:
distance in miles = The square root of (1.5 X the height of the antenna
from the water in feet)



It's also a function of the proper matching of antenna length, usually
expressed in quarter wavelength values, for the lowest SWR value which
yields maximum power transfer of the radio's power. The shorter the
antenna, the more difficult it is to match it to the transmitting frequency.
Many short antennas have additional windings of wire to make the antenna
appear "longer" in order to get lower SWR readings and protect the radio's
output stages, but don't help with maximizing the effective radiated power.

Very few people adjust the antenna length to get maximum range. In many
cases the 25 watts you think you are transmitting with is in reality much
lower and can vary widely installation to installation.

Eisboch

Yo! Harry! (or anyone else) Antenna question
 

On Tue, 25 Sep 2007 08:00:11 -0400, HK wrote:

HK wrote:
John H. wrote:
With the new Key West, I'm getting a bimini. The wife didn't think the
t-top would give enough sun protection.

In one of the shots of your boat, Harry, it appeared that you have the 8'
antenna folded down, although it could have been a 5'er I guess. In any
case, what do you have, and does it interfere with the bimini?

Anyone - Is the performance of the 5' antenna seriously below that of the
8'er?


I haven't noticed any difference on the Bay with my five-footer. (I was
going to go with an eight-footer, but decided I wanted one that would
fit under the bimini). Only used it a couple of times, but "raised"
other boats maybe 10 miles away, and of course, no problems hearing or
raising the CG with its high land towers.


Whoops...my antenna is a 3' unit, not a five-foot unit. It was
positioned to just clear the bimini. Works fine. I lower it when I put
the cover on the boat.

The three footer sounds even better. Post a pic when you get a chance.

Yo! Harry! (or anyone else) Antenna question
 

On Tue, 25 Sep 2007 09:11:20 -0400, "Reginald P. Smithers III"
wrote:

Frogwatch wrote:
On Sep 25, 8:22 am, wrote:
On Sep 25, 8:06 am, Short Wave Sportfishing
wrote:

On Tue, 25 Sep 2007 07:48:27 -0400, "Reginald P. Smithers III"
wrote:
Piffle.
Your jealous nature is so obvious.
Hats for pansies.
This from a guy who wears his hat backwards, with the rim in the
front! Cept when the boat is moving along, then he wears it right.

Proof that this NG does some good for boaters and is not all
politics. I face the same issue in that I have an 8' antenna on my
Tolman but recently installed a bimini and have not been sure of what
to do about the antenna. Harry says his 3' antenna works fine and
clears the bimini............


VHF transmission range is a function of transmitter power, receiver
sensitivity, and distance to the horizon, since VHF signals propagate
under normal conditions as a line-of-sight phenomenon.

The way to calculate the the theoretical line-of-sight horizon distance
is:
distance in miles = The square root of (1.5 X the height of the
antenna from the water in feet)

Since the CG is normally located at the highest possible place, you
shouldn't have a problem sending and receiving to them. You *will*
notice the difference when you are communicating with other boats.
Which could impact on the ability to get a quick response to a Pan Pan
or a MayDay call.

I personally think a Hard Top with an ant. mounted on the top of the
Hard Top would give you better coverage, without the inconvenience of
the ant. and bimini straps being in your way as you fish.

If you don't have the ability to easily walk around the boat, what is
the advantage of a CC?




When I'm using the boat for fishing, the bimini will be down. Walking
around will not be a problem.

An advantage of a CC, for me, is that I prefer to operate a boat in the
standing position.

If I were getting the boat just for my use, I'd go with the t-top, with
perhaps a three foot antenna mounted on it.

But, I expect to be pulling a lot of grandkids on tubes or skis, so the
wife has a big say.

Yo! Harry! (or anyone else) Antenna question
 

John H. wrote in
:

Anyone - Is the performance of the 5' antenna seriously below that of the
8'er?



None whatsoever. I got to the horizon on a Metz Manta 6 halfwave at butt
level in a Sea Rayder jetboat all the time.

VHF only goes to the horizon, line of sight. To get further, you must
extend the horizon with ALTITUDE. 5' to 8' means nothing.

Screw a bunch of sun-destroyed fiberglass rods. The Metz is guaranteed for
life unless you lose the whip out of it. All the USCGs boats use the Metz,
a testimonial to its rugged construction. Completely self-contained. No
ground plane required. It'll work the horizon holding it in your hand.
http://www.metzcommunication.com/manta6.htm
Great company, too.

This guy has it on sale:
http://www.northeastmarineelectronics.com/index.asp?
PageAction=VIEWPROD&ProdID=2984
$34! That's half price!


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