how do you ground it, and without the back stay where's the antenna go? I know some people had the copper mesh for grounding installed when the hull was first laid up, but I purchased ours after the fact. Any idea's? MPJ
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A little help
Some knowledgeable people seem to be ignoring your post. There are whip type antennas that can be mounted either on a 'radar bridge' or on the stern rail. They are fiberglass rods and are of 2 types: 1) to be operated with an antenna tuner box 2) fixed tuned to cover only a narrow band of frequencies. It depends on the exact usage but, of course, the tunable type is prefered. Your boat should have a pretty good integral grounding system for lightning protection but it would be desirable to have a copper tape 3" or 4" wide tied from the antenna mount down and connected to a keel bolt. Some use copper braid but tape works well and takes less room. DO NOT UNDERESTIMATE THE IMPORTANCE OF THE GROUNDING SYSTEM. You could pull up a wire antenna where the backstay would normally be and mess up the open cockpit......but performance might be a little better. Ken S/V Wouff Hong
Some knowledgeable people seem to be ignoring your post. There are whip type antennas that can be mounted either on a 'radar bridge' or on the stern rail. They are fiberglass rods and are of 2 types: 1) to be operated with an antenna tuner box 2) fixed tuned to cover only a narrow band of frequencies. It depends on the exact usage but, of course, the tunable type is prefered. Your boat should have a pretty good integral grounding system for lightning protection but it would be desirable to have a copper tape 3" or 4" wide tied from the antenna mount down and connected to a keel bolt. Some use copper braid but tape works well and takes less room. DO NOT UNDERESTIMATE THE IMPORTANCE OF THE GROUNDING SYSTEM. You could pull up a wire antenna where the backstay would normally be and mess up the open cockpit......but performance might be a little better. Ken S/V Wouff Hong
Try Chris Olham's site
Mark, Chris provides a pretty detailed description of hooking up SSB on his Hunter 450. He used the port and starboard shrouds on his B and R rig. Try www.passagemaking.com and check out the "commisioning" pages. Regards, Jeff
Mark, Chris provides a pretty detailed description of hooking up SSB on his Hunter 450. He used the port and starboard shrouds on his B and R rig. Try www.passagemaking.com and check out the "commisioning" pages. Regards, Jeff
Going through same problems
I am going through a lot of the same problems with our Beneteau 411 except I have backstays that I don't want to cut. Shakespear makes at least three whips that will work. They are the 390, 5390, and I think the 5390R. These are in the 17-23' range and have a smaller upper section. All require an antenna tuner (about $500). In fact even the backstay approach requires the same type tuner to work across the full spectrum of frequencies. 150 watt transmitters require large 12 volt feeds and draw in the 15-20 amp range when transmitting, luckily only a few amps when recieving. I have been told to run direct from battery (with fuse) or from a very large source where that type draw will not produce a voltage drop. Read your installation manual and you will pribably find the need to ground several components and that copper strapping is recommended. There are techniques for running that (folding around corners) and terminating at connections. Good Luck. George
I am going through a lot of the same problems with our Beneteau 411 except I have backstays that I don't want to cut. Shakespear makes at least three whips that will work. They are the 390, 5390, and I think the 5390R. These are in the 17-23' range and have a smaller upper section. All require an antenna tuner (about $500). In fact even the backstay approach requires the same type tuner to work across the full spectrum of frequencies. 150 watt transmitters require large 12 volt feeds and draw in the 15-20 amp range when transmitting, luckily only a few amps when recieving. I have been told to run direct from battery (with fuse) or from a very large source where that type draw will not produce a voltage drop. Read your installation manual and you will pribably find the need to ground several components and that copper strapping is recommended. There are techniques for running that (folding around corners) and terminating at connections. Good Luck. George
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