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

Piffle.

Short Wave Sportfishing wrote:
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

Piffle.

Your jealous nature is so obvious.

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

Piffle.

Your jealous nature is so obvious.

Hats for pansies.

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.

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............

"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

Eisboch wrote:
"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




Mine is mounted on a vertical rail on the side of my center console.
When up, it just clears the underneath of the bimini, and the bimini
clears the top of my head by at least six to eight inches, so I am
guessing the tip of the antenna is somewhere close to 7' off the deck of
the boat. It seems to work well for me, although I rarely use VHF, since
almost everyone is on cell, even the guys I chat with who are fishing on
their boats out on the bay.

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?

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.

"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