VHF or CB Antenna, what's the difference?

[Daniel H. Pitman]

I need to put an antenna on my H25. The previous owner had a 3' antenna mounted on the stern of the boat. I was thinking of mounting a 3' or 6' antenna on the mast top or possibly one of the spreaders. I will need to buy an antenna. I can purchase a new, high quality CB antenna with a mount for $24.99 or a basic 6db VHF antenna for $39.99 with no mount. What is the difference, in some catalogs CB and VHF antennas are listed together? What do you other Hunter owners recommend?Thank You,Dan

 

[ED KNEBEL]

BUY VHF

Buy only a Vhf antenna. Using a CB antenna will not give you proper performance and will probably damage the transmitter when you broadcast at 25 watts. Since VHF is line of site, the top of the mast is best, buy one designed for this location, as it will be the proper gain.

 

[pat]

3db

i believe a 3db vhf antenna is the one generally recommended for optimum reception.

 

[Gary Adams]

Choosing the proper ant.

Hi, If you are using a VHF radio then you MUST use a VHF antenna. Cb antennas are tuned for 11 meter band. A vhf radio operates in the 2 meter band. You could use a "cb" antenna for vhf transmissions, however you would need to use an antenna tuner. Forget about the overal gain or "db" This is used under laboratory conditions. True, 6db ant will be better than a 3db ant, but we are only talking about a difference of 1 mile line of sight. By the what you feel you can afford. If your going to need long distance transmissions by a linear. This will not be needed in your case. If you use a "cb" antenna for transmission in the 2 meter band. It will burn up the finals in your radio. You will also need to have the standing wave ratio set. If you have a cb shop around have them set it for you. the more metal around your antenna the less effective it will be. Try to get it as high as you can with an unobstucted 360 degree "view" . If you have any more questions contact me. Gary AdamsN9VNO

 

[Forrest]

antenna differences

The difference is the length of the actual antenna element inside of the plastic housing. Antennas are designed for specific frequencies and are physically limited to those frequencies. Antenna tuners and matching devices rob power from your transmission and should not be considered. Buy the VHF antenna, put it as high as you can. Just as important, use high quality cable and connectors. We seal connectors with one layer of butyl rubber tape, followed by several layers of electrical tape. Exposed cable shielding will degrade over time. One thing to think about - antenna gain is a redirection of radiated power. Picture an antenna radiating energy in all directions, like a sphere. Then, squash the sphere and it pushes the energy outward horizontally. This is what a higher gain (omnidirectional) antenna does. The "gain" is actually the energy radiating that was radiating above the antenna redirected out horizontally. You don't actually increase your signal, you radiate more of it in the same place. The higher gain antennas have a flat radiation pattern. This could be a problem on top of a mast on a boat heeled over at 15 or 20 degrees. On one side the majority of your signal is radiating into the sky and on the other it is directed at the water. A lower gain antenna will out perform the higher gain in these conditions. Sorry to carry on for so long.