I know that transmitting without an antenna attached used to be a death sentence for radios. I don't know if today's radios are better protected but I wouldn't try it on purpose. As you mentioned, a bad connection, especially at the antenna radio connection can look electrically like no antenna. It all related to impedance and the SWR ( standing wave ratio) factor. That's about all I remember from college.
VHF antenna
- Thread starter Dear Prudence 2.0
- Start date
I know that transmitting without an antenna attached used to be a death sentence for radios. I don't know if today's radios are better protected but I wouldn't try it on purpose. As you mentioned, a bad connection, especially at the antenna radio connection can look electrically like no antenna. It all related to impedance and the SWR ( standing wave ratio) factor. That's about all I remember from college.
Like I said, with DC I am fairly adept but RF is not my forte.
I used to work with a fellow who did a lot of microwave radio work. Now, he really understood RF.
He explained to me once that at times he had to tune high frequency wave guides. These wave guides are like metal duct work. No screws to adjust,, no knobs etc. He would fill them with ball bearings and my shaking the guides in the right direction and with the right force, the walls of the wave guides could be reshaped and in effect tuned up! At that point, I decided that RF was not my thing
I used to work with a fellow who did a lot of microwave radio work. Now, he really understood RF.
He explained to me once that at times he had to tune high frequency wave guides. These wave guides are like metal duct work. No screws to adjust,, no knobs etc. He would fill them with ball bearings and my shaking the guides in the right direction and with the right force, the walls of the wave guides could be reshaped and in effect tuned up! At that point, I decided that RF was not my thing
RF is complicated. I try to keep the best antenna I can get within reason in my price range in good condition and a good quality radio. I need to be able to talk to my buddys while tooling around the gulf, Atlantic, or the Bahamas. Calling for help is important if I need it also. Lol.
I agree that a very long wire will reduce the power to the antenna or can change the increase the signal reflections but I think his advice had more to do with shortening a cable and doing not such a good factory like job reattaching the connector. In general, it is best for the average boater to just coil the excess cable ( and no too tight a coil).
Agreed, but I would still inspect the connector, unscrew it and make sure it doesn’t have a manufacturing defect when it was put together. I know very little about antennas but could tell there was an issue with it. After taking it apart and putting back together, I actually got reception.
Parthery
GreatGrady Captain
I may be the only person in America who has had good luck with the solderless Shakespeare connectors. I know that some experts think it’s blasphemy not to solder a connector on, but I’ve found that - properly installed - they work great.
I've have always soldered mine using a mini butane torch, but I don't see why the no-solder solution shouldn't work, especially if done as recommended.
I have had issues with the no solder connectors and prefer the center conductor solder type with the non-solder braid connection
my dad was a ham radio operator his entire life before he passed away. he was an electronics weapons officer in the Navy attached to VF 31. he was then in the electronics business both commercial and military contracting retiring from Martin Marrietta as an engineer. I learned some of my radio skills from him.
on my boat I have a Shakespeare Mariner 8700 antenna. antennas are tuned for a given frequency range and they have loading coils which are designed to give you gain which is measured in a log scale called DB. VHF is very high frequency band and it's line of sight. which has been discussed here. I think by law the power output of VHF radios is limited to 25 watts. your antenna is key to it all. your coax is important as well. the smaller and cheaper it is the more loss you can expect and if the shielding is bad you can lose RF energy down the length of it. your cable does not radiate or recoeve RF signals if it is quality shielded cable. most good antennas come with good cable . you can cut it.
Shakespeare makes good antennas and they have been making VHF and Ham antennas for decades. I use their solderless connectors with great success. I currently have an icom 540 . I have also had standard horizon gear . both Icom and standard make ham equipment and aircraft equipment. they are who I trust with my boat radios.
my thoughts are this. don't buy entry anything on radios and antennas . your VHF is your first and last line of communication. in an emergency it needs to work. if you and or your crew lives are on the line, the boat is imperil your VHF could be the only thing saving you. so, do you buy something cheap to get you by ? is your life worth $79 on that off brand VHF radio or do you spend $250 or more for a mid range icon or standard vertex ?
I think safety gear you get the mid point at a minimum. others may disagree. I am not trusting my life to a radio system that will get me by. it's why I have a handheld back up,an ACR rescue fix plb and a Garmin in reach as part of my boating communications package .
on my boat I have a Shakespeare Mariner 8700 antenna. antennas are tuned for a given frequency range and they have loading coils which are designed to give you gain which is measured in a log scale called DB. VHF is very high frequency band and it's line of sight. which has been discussed here. I think by law the power output of VHF radios is limited to 25 watts. your antenna is key to it all. your coax is important as well. the smaller and cheaper it is the more loss you can expect and if the shielding is bad you can lose RF energy down the length of it. your cable does not radiate or recoeve RF signals if it is quality shielded cable. most good antennas come with good cable . you can cut it.
Shakespeare makes good antennas and they have been making VHF and Ham antennas for decades. I use their solderless connectors with great success. I currently have an icom 540 . I have also had standard horizon gear . both Icom and standard make ham equipment and aircraft equipment. they are who I trust with my boat radios.
my thoughts are this. don't buy entry anything on radios and antennas . your VHF is your first and last line of communication. in an emergency it needs to work. if you and or your crew lives are on the line, the boat is imperil your VHF could be the only thing saving you. so, do you buy something cheap to get you by ? is your life worth $79 on that off brand VHF radio or do you spend $250 or more for a mid range icon or standard vertex ?
I think safety gear you get the mid point at a minimum. others may disagree. I am not trusting my life to a radio system that will get me by. it's why I have a handheld back up,an ACR rescue fix plb and a Garmin in reach as part of my boating communications package .
I installed an 8 foot Shakespeare 5225-XT, 6 db antenna gain paired with a Standard Horizon Explorer GX-1700 VHF radio on my GW Tournament 205 and get very good coverage. I soldered my connector. The antenna cost $112.
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