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Random Quote: Well Mr. Carpetbagger, we have something around here called a Missouri boat ride
Got a bay boat that I primarily fish in the creeks. I will run out nearshore a few times a year on a slick day (10 miles max and usually much less).
How far does a 4' good quality VHF antenna reach to your local marinas and there is a coast guard station monitoring out of that same harbor also. I know an 8' does better but I am just not sure it matters if you are that close and the 8' is in the way. I had a guy break a nice fly rod recently on it and others hang up in it too. a 4' off the CC would be ideal. It would also be short enough to fold back out of the way too.
Antenna length is only part of the equation, you must also consider the height of the sending and receiving antennas. I suspect your mounting location is quite low.
Ten miles might be pushing it, but inside of that and you should do fine.
Make sure you buy a quality antenna. A stainless whip might work well for you also.
I have a 4' Shakespeare stainless steel antenna on my 22' Bay Rider and it works great. I can reach the marina where I keep the boat from about 15 miles away, but no more than that, and that is on a very clear day. Realistically probably about 12 miles, but it has worked at 15 miles. I have it mounted on the grad rail on the console (no T-Top an the boat). I also have an ICOM radio.
Maybe on the rail somewhere would work. I have a lot of interference problems from my Lowrance unit on the console anyway....so much so that the VHF is basically useless when the sonar unit is on. But there was nowhere on the CC that is far enough from the Lowrance to eliminate the problem.
I have similar interference problems. It is unrelated to your antenna, though. You need to separate/sheild the units themselves--something I wasn't able to do.
You are a good candidate for a high-quality stainless whip--very forgiving to fishing rods also...
For summer and trolling we run a 8 foot cover over the boat so I mounted my 4 foot low so it would not hit it. I have the Shakespear vhf SWR meter and worried about the swr being up with if mounted beside everything but it did not bother it at all.
Height does make a difference but no more than it is on our boats I really don't think its going to matter that much. I"m not going to guess how far we could talk but it does fine around the house and I have no problem hearing about everything in the sound on our side.
swinbourne Thats one fine ride you have there!!!
Davepen - no clue how to shield the units when both are mounted on the CC. Anyone got a suggestion. I sent mine back to Lowrance one time for this and it came back better but not fixed. You cannot scan due to interference and sometimes you cannot even stand to have the VHF on because by the time you squelch out the interference you cannot pick up anything anyway.
I had the 3' Digital 222 whip antenna surface mounted on the console of my McKee Craft 196 and it worked fine but I was never 10 miles away from shore.
For a 4' antenna, I would go with the Digital 528 and mount it on the windshield grab rail with a Shakespeare 4188 rail mount.
Actually, an 8' antenna mounted on the side of the console with the Shakespeare 4187 ratchet mount would probably be better. Something like the Digital 529 or Shakespeare 5225-XT would be good.
Davepen - no clue how to shield the units when both are mounted on the CC. Anyone got a suggestion. I sent mine back to Lowrance one time for this and it came back better but not fixed. You cannot scan due to interference and sometimes you cannot even stand to have the VHF on because by the time you squelch out the interference you cannot pick up anything anyway.
Any recommendations on good 4' ers?
I have a Glomex 4' and was told they are life guaranteed. Stainless rod seems very strong.
I have the same problem of noise from a Humminbird 798 ci SI. I sent them a message and I await their feed back.
Seems that screen colour choosing black/blue than white lowers that awful full squelch noise on my unit.
NExt step will be trying to shield the Humminbird with a stainless mesh. Not sure how much it will help and harm the satellites signals (inner antenna).
Maybe on the rail somewhere would work. I have a lot of interference problems from my Lowrance unit on the console anyway....so much so that the VHF is basically useless when the sonar unit is on. But there was nowhere on the CC that is far enough from the Lowrance to eliminate the problem.
Palmetto
I have had good luck with rail mount 8' antennas on the midship rail or at the rear end of the bow rail. Guys say you can't fish around them, but you just use a lay down mount and lay the antenna down when you fish. Also, don't know if you use a bimini, but if you do, in that location the antenna will clear the bimini nicely. (Just looked at my sig pic of my cat and see you can see the antenna on the right front quarter.) I like the rail mount way, way better than alongside the console as it will not interfere with the bimini and when laid down to be out of the way will just lie on top of the gunnel instead of sticking out the front or back of the console.
Having said, I think that at the distances you are talking about you'd be fine with a four footer, even mounted low on the rail or gunnel.
I have always used the Metz Manta 6 stainless whip-- it's 34 in and was picked by the US Coast Guard last May (2009) as their antenna of choice(see the Metz website for complete details).
Mounting the Metz on the T-top works great. Marine electronics guru Gordon West has been recommending Metz Manta VHF antennas for over 20 years now!
Rare atmospheric conditions allow humble antennas to reach greater distances. Count on those conditions not being there when you need them.
For normal circustances, VHF is line of sight. Can the middle of your antenna see the middle of someone else's antenna over the horizon? Remember, if you are standing at the water's edge, the horizon is less than 6 miles away.
If your purchases are ruled by styling or convenience, buy a handheld. If that radio is there to get your butt saved someday, get an eight foot antenna and mount it on the highest structure on your boat. The cheapest eight footer will talk further than the most expensive four footer.
ONE MORE THING: Make sure you have a DSC radio, and connect it to your GPS. Pushing the little red button will transmit a digital burst of your location, and it will be relayed to the Coast Guard by big ships with Class "A" DSC. This will get through a lot of static that would obscure verbal comms.
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If it ain't broke, I haven't played with it.
Rare atmospheric conditions allow humble antennas to reach greater distances. Count on those conditions not being there when you need them.
For normal circustances, VHF is line of sight. Can the middle of your antenna see the middle of someone else's antenna over the horizon? Remember, if you are standing at the water's edge, the horizon is less than 6 miles away.
If your purchases are ruled by styling or convenience, buy a handheld. If that radio is there to get your butt saved someday, get an eight foot antenna and mount it on the highest structure on your boat. The cheapest eight footer will talk further than the most expensive four footer.
ONE MORE THING: Make sure you have a DSC radio, and connect it to your GPS. Pushing the little red button will transmit a digital burst of your location, and it will be relayed to the Coast Guard by big ships with Class "A" DSC. This will get through a lot of static that would obscure verbal comms.
I would like to know more about theDCS radio you are talking about.. Can you give a link?Thanks
I would like to know more about theDCS radio you are talking about.. Can you give a link?Thanks
From BoatUS:
DSC Capability
Digital Selective Calling, or DSC, is the equivalent of a "mayday button" on a VHF or SSB. When activated, it automatically broadcasts an encoded distress call that will be picked up by all nearby vessels equipped with DSC. If the radio is interfaced with a Loran or GPS, it will also automatically broadcast the distressed vessel's position. A few high-end radios now include it as a feature, so when it becomes fully operational, your VHF will be able to take advantage of this latest feature. To use DSC, you must obtain a MMSI (Maritime Mobile Service Identity) number. You may do so free of charge at this web address: (click on link or copy and paste into your web browser). http://www.boatus.com/mmsi. Keep in mind that the U.S. Coast Guard is not yet responding to DSC transmissions. Currently, monitoring is scheduled to begin in 2007.
This article is apparently old because I don't think you can buy ANY new fixed mount VHF without DSC.
The Coast Guard has activated DSC (part of the "Rescue 21" system) in most areas around the US. The Chesapeake was activated in March of last year. Lives have been saved, but I would estimate that less than a quarter of all the DSC-equipped radios in use are connected to a GPS. That's just plain STUPID. But I was a Search and Rescue Helicopter Pilot, and got VERY tired of flying 60 mile search patterns for days, and then just finding a body (or most of one.)
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If it ain't broke, I haven't played with it.
I have the Shakespeare 5400 4' antenna on my console...its out of the way for anyone to cast, yet I can transmit and receive a healthy 10-15 miles. For near shore and on the lakes/rivers, that's all I need.
And what do you do when your bimini is up? That's exactly why I said I prefer the rail mount or even gunnel mount. You will lose a little height with your four footer (looks like about a foot or so to the rail on your boat) but gain the ability to leave the antenna up when your top is up. If your bimini clears it, then disregard. Mine would not clear a four footer mounted that way, so I just used an eight footer on the rail. Have done this on several boats now, works well.
4' VHF Antenna
