VHF antenna advice

[CC Rider]

Looking for advice/recommendations for replacing my VHF antenna. It is currently an 8 ft fiberglass Shakespeare mounted on the roof lip with a plastic ratchet mount.
I would like to re-locate a new antenna to the radar arch and I am thinking a shorter (4 ft?) SS whip would be nice.

What mount to use? - I would need to fold it back towards the cockpit while trailering/storage. I do have a plate on either side of the arch or I could mount it on the horizontal 1" SS tubing. Either way, the cable needs to come through the tubing and through the cabin roof. There is a hole in the mounting plate of the arch for just this purpose.

The VHF is an Icom M506 with AIS receive.

Tks, Chris

 

[tsturm]

Looking for advice/recommendations for replacing my VHF antenna. It is currently an 8 ft fiberglass Shakespeare mounted on the roof lip with a plastic ratchet mount.
I would like to re-locate a new antenna to the radar arch and I am thinking a shorter (4 ft?) SS whip would be nice.

What mount to use? - I would need to fold it back towards the cockpit while trailering/storage. I do have a plate on either side of the arch or I could mount it on the horizontal 1" SS tubing. Either way, the cable needs to come through the tubing and through the cabin roof. There is a hole in the mounting plate of the arch for just this purpose.

The VHF is an Icom M506 with AIS receive.

Tks, Chris

Shorter will not transmit as far. :thdown

 

[jkidd]

Morad 156 MHz (Marine Band) VHF 6dB Antenna "Hot Rod" 156HD you will need their adapter to mount it to a ratchet mount. It's 4.5 feet stainless whip. It will probably outlast any antenna out there and it performs very well.

https://www.morad.com/collections/anten ... 56-hot-rod

 

[thataway]

Like Jody, I used the Morad 156 "Hot rod" 6 dB gain, It will be about the same distance or better as the 8' on the lip, vs the Hot Rod on the radar arch. Also has a Mini UHF connector on the not to be altered antenna lead. The PL 259, which plugs into the back of your VHF is perfectly done--not relying on crimps or soldering.

 

[CC Rider]

Thanks Brats!

Also has a Mini UHF connector on the not to be altered antenna lead.

Does it come with a cable/lead? It looks like it has a connector on the bottom for a cable? I find the world of RF connectors often confusing... :?

If I need to order a cable as well, and it has connectors on both ends, would it still be possible to run the cable through the radar arch tubing without cutting off a factory-made connector and re-soldering?

Thanks,
Chris

 

[Robert H. Wilkinson]

I would upgrade to a stainless ratchet mount. My first boat had a plastic one it broke - mind you I had grabbed the antenna in a last ditch effort to stop myself from going swimming fully clothed. Coming to the dock I tried to grab it sitting on the gunwale but reached too far and ended up pushing the boat away and over I went! First thing I did was look to see if anybody had seen me! It was bass opening day though so was worth the price!

Rob

 

[CC Rider]

I would upgrade to a stainless ratchet mount.

For sure, I don't care for the existing plastic one..

I think Bob may have meant that the antenna comes with a short adapter cable to go from the bottom antenna connector (PL259?) to a small UHF connector. Then, all I need to solder is a new UHF connector on the cable that I feed through the arch tubes...correct?

 

[pcg]

Is there any real benefit to having two separate Hot Rods (156Mhz and 162Mhz), one dedicated to VHF and the other to an AIS B/SO transceiver, vs. buying a 159MHz Hot Rod and using a splitter to share the antenna?

 

[jkidd]

The Morad antenna comes with a PL-259 connector on the bottom. You need to buy a cable that will have the PL-259 on one end and a mini uhf on the other, Morad sells different lengths on their website here https://www.morad.com/collections/installation


Here is the adapter
https://www.morad.com/collections/acces ... 3922562213

 

[thataway]

Is there any real benefit to having two separate Hot Rods (156Mhz and 162Mhz), one dedicated to VHF and the other to an AIS B/SO transceiver, vs. buying a 159MHz Hot Rod and using a splitter to share the antenna?

You will get better reception and transmission if you use the specific antennas. The SWR is specific for the ranges. The 156 is tuned for all of the marine frequencies which range from 156 to 158 mHZ.

The 162, is AIS specific (only 2 channels in that freq. range.).If. you are just receiving then a standard antenna (I56 mhz) will be fine. If you have an AIS transceiver, then get the separate antenna.

CC Rider:

I think Bob may have meant that the antenna comes with a short adapter cable to go from the bottom antenna connector (PL259?) to a small UHF connector. Then, all I need to solder is a new UHF connector on the cable that I feed through the arch tubes...correct?

As you can see in the photo below:

RG8X Coax Cable, 15 ft., with PL-259 connector on one end and FME/PL-259 other end. The smaller end with the FME connector allows the cable to more easily be pulled through the boat. The PL-259 w/FME is then screwed onto the cable. Our VHF and UHF antennas connect to the PL-259, as do most all marine radios.

These cables come in length from 9 to 100 feet. Select the length you need. I ran the cable thru a standard 1 1/4" tubing, stuffed full of other cables, and to the radio in a length of 20 feet for the C Dory 25, with radar arch on the aft end of pilot house.