Went ahead with my little project and it proved to be a success. A poll indicated most use a VHF handheld in the cockpit as the fixed mounted radio is usually inside the cabin and away from the helm. My goal was to extend the range of the 5W handheld to at least 10nm but did not want to run splitters nor extend the length of the coaxial cable to use the mast mounted antenna. Too long a cable would probably negate any height advantage given the low power of the unit. I installed a 38" whip VHF antenna mounted 12' above the waterline with a 15' coax cable. I connected it via a BNC male to PL female adapter from Radio Shack. First try out of the box was talking with a boat 15nm away and transmission was reported loud and clear. (I'm aware the height of the other boat's antenna helped made this possible but with the rubber ducky antenna he would not have heard me; also I mostly talk with other sailboats which carry high antennas)) More than pleased with the results and the total cost came in at $34. A remote mike/speaker had been sugested but would have required for the radio to be replaced which made no sense at this time. Relocating the fixed mount VHF would have required to extend antenna coax and would have left an ugly hole where it is flush mounted. For storage the adapter comes off the radio and the coaxial cable is tied to the stern rail. Would anticipate some corrosion on the adapter but at $4.95 it can be replaced. It's going to be nice and kick back at the helm and talk to a buddy boat which may be 10-15 nm ahead or behind me.
Update on whip antenna for VHF handheld
- Thread starter Benny
- Start date
- Status
Although not cheaper... I think that monting a random access mike at the helm is a better solution.
Can you give some more information on where and to what you mounted the whip antenna to? Perhaps a photo for those of us with limited imagination?
I'm not sure I would mount one of those things on my boat pkdailey. At least not a permanent mount. It would get too much attention from the coast guard narc patrol
As much as I love it, I've had poor results using tye dye in a marine environment.
FLHippy, the whip antenna was mounted on a 5 ft piece of 1" PVC pipe. A 1" cap was drilled in the center to hold the antenna and the Coax cable was ran inside the pipe. The cap was attached to the pipe by two self threading screws. Thought about glueing it but decided screws would allow for easy removal. The PVC pipe with the antenna was hoisted and attached to the stern rail with two SS "C" clamps. I forgot to mention that I painted the pipe white to cover the red markins. It was made and attached in a way that if no noticeable improvement was noted that it could be easily dissasembled. Eventually I may discard the PVC pipe and install the antenna dirctly to the boat's arch.
Diploe or mono?
and what did you use for a ground plane?
I saw a nifty dipole in QST magazine a few months back that, as all dipoles do, gives 3 dB gain over a monopole. 3db is twice the power in or out BTW. Not that I think you will get farther as you are clearly working at the limits of line of sight but it could get you those folks at max range that have a lossy antenna setup on the mast head. Course it could just as easily bring in lots more noise. But then that is what the squelch knob is for.
and what did you use for a ground plane?
I saw a nifty dipole in QST magazine a few months back that, as all dipoles do, gives 3 dB gain over a monopole. 3db is twice the power in or out BTW. Not that I think you will get farther as you are clearly working at the limits of line of sight but it could get you those folks at max range that have a lossy antenna setup on the mast head. Course it could just as easily bring in lots more noise. But then that is what the squelch knob is for.
There is an easier way. I went down to the local ham shop and bought a 2-meter rail mount antenna. There antennas are designed with a rail mount, normally used on truck mirrors or similar rail/tube material. The mount consists of a clamp that is held onto the railing with a u-bolt and two lock nuts. I replaced the lock nuts with wing nuts, and it can attach to any railing on the boat in less than 5 minutes. Works great attached to my handheld, and serves as an emergency back-up antenna for my mounted VHF radio.
pkdailey, thanks for the "V" sign but that is one scary picture, man. A 3db gain antenna is adequate for a sailboat because of the heel factor underway. I don't want the signal to be so horizontally thin as to overshoot nearby antennas.
- Status