On Tue, 25 Sep 2007 13:42:29 -0400, Wayne.B
wrote:

On Tue, 25 Sep 2007 16:04:59 GMT, Short Wave Sportfishing
wrote:

Agreed. :)

You're awfully agreeable today. What's up?

I'm at peace with the universe.

On Tue, 25 Sep 2007 11:50:39 -0400, Gene Kearns
wrote:

On Tue, 25 Sep 2007 07:01:13 -0500, John H. penned the following well
considered thoughts to the readers of rec.boats:

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?

By formula, 3' vs. 8' is about 2.74 miles difference in LoS..... which
is fairly meaningless..... since we don't know the altitude of the
other antenna. For safety, I rely on the height of the local 170+ foot
USCG antenna, instead of the height of my own......

Receiver sensitivity is probably way more important than +-5' of
antenna at the boat end.... unless you are trying to DSC some guy near
the horizon....

..... sooooo.....
save that money on the antenna and spend it on the IC-M604...

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

Another question: Most antennae seem to come with about 20 feet of wire.
Mounted on a console with the radio right there, I could get by with about
3 feet of wire. Is all the extra wire necessary?
No, but I was told that unless you know someone who can do a new
connection as good as the old connection, (which I was told will not be
done by the average DIY or boat mechanic) I was told it was better to
just wind it into a ring use some velcro to keep it out of the way.

Well, I know (?) Shortwave! He could probably tell me what to do.

Shortwave doesn't know sh*t.

On the serious side, it isn't knowing how to do it, it is having the
skills to be able to do it well. Now if you fly SWF down, he might be
able to splice it for you. But it might be cheaper to buy a short ant.

I can't remember who told me this, or where I read it, but I think it
was in the instructions that came with my Horizon VHF. The question I
asked my installer when I heard this, was there any problem to wind it
up. I was told no, but they said a bad splice job can make a good VHF
worthless.

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

On Tue, 25 Sep 2007 18:37:27 +0000, Larry wrote:

It's not on larger boats, either. At 55' atop the mainmast of an Amel
Sharki 40 ketch, the Metz easily outperforms the 8' monsters, which must
be mounted lower.

What - you work for them or something?

Metz antennas are crap - always have been, always will be.

Junk.

On Tue, 25 Sep 2007 14:44:58 -0500, John H.
wrote:

On Tue, 25 Sep 2007 14:51:44 +0000, Larry wrote:

John H. wrote in
m:

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

Thanks for the tip, Larry.

Another question: Most antennae seem to come with about 20 feet of wire.
Mounted on a console with the radio right there, I could get by with about
3 feet of wire. Is all the extra wire necessary?

Yes - it's part of the loading for the antenna. There are forumlas
where you can cut the wire length down, but the problem is reattaching
the connector. You can use a mechanical connector, but they aren't
really a good idea.

Just roll it up and tuck it away.

Short Wave Sportfishing wrote:
On Tue, 25 Sep 2007 14:44:58 -0500, John H.
wrote:

On Tue, 25 Sep 2007 14:51:44 +0000, Larry wrote:

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
Thanks for the tip, Larry.

Another question: Most antennae seem to come with about 20 feet of wire.
Mounted on a console with the radio right there, I could get by with about
3 feet of wire. Is all the extra wire necessary?

Yes - it's part of the loading for the antenna. There are forumlas
where you can cut the wire length down, but the problem is reattaching
the connector. You can use a mechanical connector, but they aren't
really a good idea.

Just roll it up and tuck it away.

SWF,
I was trying to get you airfare down to Baltimore and you blew it.

Short Wave Sportfishing wrote:
On Tue, 25 Sep 2007 14:44:58 -0500, John H.
wrote:

On Tue, 25 Sep 2007 14:51:44 +0000, Larry wrote:

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
Thanks for the tip, Larry.

Another question: Most antennae seem to come with about 20 feet of wire.
Mounted on a console with the radio right there, I could get by with about
3 feet of wire. Is all the extra wire necessary?

Yes - it's part of the loading for the antenna. There are forumlas
where you can cut the wire length down, but the problem is reattaching
the connector. You can use a mechanical connector, but they aren't
really a good idea.

Just roll it up and tuck it away.


IT's not that difficult to put a proper connector on...even I can do it.

On Tue, 25 Sep 2007 14:40:51 -0500, John H.
wrote:

On Tue, 25 Sep 2007 11:50:39 -0400, Gene Kearns
wrote:

On Tue, 25 Sep 2007 07:01:13 -0500, John H. penned the following well
considered thoughts to the readers of rec.boats:

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?

By formula, 3' vs. 8' is about 2.74 miles difference in LoS..... which
is fairly meaningless..... since we don't know the altitude of the
other antenna. For safety, I rely on the height of the local 170+ foot
USCG antenna, instead of the height of my own......

Receiver sensitivity is probably way more important than +-5' of
antenna at the boat end.... unless you are trying to DSC some guy near
the horizon....

..... sooooo.....
save that money on the antenna and spend it on the IC-M604...

$500! Damn! Do I really need that for an 18' boat that will probably never
get out of sight of land?

Nah - but then again, I like radios.

Probably the Icom M302 is what you want. Actually, in this price
range, any of the manufacturers, Uniden, Standard Horizon, Oceanus -
hell, even the West Marine brand radio are decent enough to get by.

On Tue, 25 Sep 2007 16:01:16 -0400, HK wrote:

Short Wave Sportfishing wrote:
On Tue, 25 Sep 2007 14:44:58 -0500, John H.
wrote:

On Tue, 25 Sep 2007 14:51:44 +0000, Larry wrote:

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
Thanks for the tip, Larry.

Another question: Most antennae seem to come with about 20 feet of wire.
Mounted on a console with the radio right there, I could get by with about
3 feet of wire. Is all the extra wire necessary?

Yes - it's part of the loading for the antenna. There are forumlas
where you can cut the wire length down, but the problem is reattaching
the connector. You can use a mechanical connector, but they aren't
really a good idea.

Just roll it up and tuck it away.

IT's not that difficult to put a proper connector on...even I can do it.

Of course you can.

And I'll bet you can solve quantum flux equations using only the
calculating power of your brain stem. :)

John H. wrote in
:

Another question: Most antennae seem to come with about 20 feet of
wire. Mounted on a console with the radio right there, I could get by
with about 3 feet of wire. Is all the extra wire necessary?



No, it's not. If you're not a solderer, find someone who can put a new
connector on the radio end of your cable or make up a new cable. The Metz
does NOT have a cable attached to it....one of its great features. YOU put
the cable on it so the cable can be replaced....not hard wired into the
plastic, like the little whips from Shakespeare come.

The farce of "tuning" the antenna with cable length is nonsense....

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