radios, antenas and their range..... mine stinks!

fishmanbh · Jan-31-2008, 12:04 AM

ok. i seem to receive clearly, some,but not all boats, from long distances. radio checks from anyone further than a couple of miles are unanswered. does anyone know if it is my radio or antena? both maybe?

sdjfish · Jan-31-2008, 07:51 AM

Check your antenna connector on the back of the radio first. Some connectors are soldered and some are held together by pinching force supplied by a backing nut, they suck. Soldered connections are best. Check for corrosion, an indication that moisture is at work on your metal and making problems. Make sure that the antenna is firmly screwed down on the mount and not loose. One other thing is to make a voltage check right at the radio when you’re transmitting, there will be some voltage drop when you push the PTT button but it should be close to 12 volts DC. This test should be done by someone familiar with electronics for best results. Or it could be the radio or antenna, start with the cheep stuff first!

Gil Marlin · Jan-31-2008, 08:56 AM

VHF Marine Antenna Fundamentals

BabyGiant · Jan-31-2008, 11:23 AM

Brian- What antenna and radio are you using and how old are they? Also did you install them yourself? How is the power to the radio set up? Straight wire from battery or are you running it through a switch panel? What gauge wire are you using to power and how far from the battery? Also how many times, if any, has the power or ground wire been cut and butt connected? Also how high up is the antenna mounted?

Here's my set up and it works great.
Radio: ICOM M402
Antenna: Shakespeare 5225XT 8'
Soderless Connector

I been able to clearly communicate with other skippers well over 60
miles away, consistently.