View Full Version : kaz
i never need to reach farther than wheelers to garden and my friends with the short 4 ft steel antennas are happy with their performance. fact is there are not to many 4 fters out there. what brand and model did you like in your tests.i need a new one for a new boat so i want a good one. i can understand the erie and great lakers wanting the 8 ft but here in minn. we don"t have that big of water except for your lake.
brianj
03-18-2002, 04:57 AM
I had a shakespeare little giant on my boat last year and I was really happy with it. I live 3 miles west of Warroad and could talk to people fishing in Buffalo Bay.
This antenna sold for $89 at Cabelas last year. They list one in their master catalog but it is not the same one. The one I had was the same diameter at the bottom as the 8 ft.
Coach
03-18-2002, 05:28 AM
#1 rated small antenna by two independent tests including Power Boat Report was the Gam Model SS-2 which is a 6 gain and is just a bit longer then 3ft. This antenna outprformed all other 3 and 4ft. antennas including the Shakespears. It performed right with the 8 ft Shakespear Galaxy. All tests were conducted with antennas mounted at the same hight. I installed this antenna on a folding rachet mount and cut and spiced the cable under the gunnel of the boat. When I go to big water such as Erie I diconnect the 4ft. antenna and install an 8ft Shakespear Galaxy which I carry in the rod locker of my 21ft Sylvan Pro Select. To change antennas takes less than 5 min. Works good for me. Coach
Sounds like a neat idea! Just curious though, If The shorter antenna performs "right with" the Shakspere Galaxy, why do you change over?
I don't mean this in a sarcastic way!!!! I am just wondering why/what benifits do you get when switching over to the longer antenna? I never thought about putting in a splice and switching antenna's. I can see that this idea has some potential merits.
Hawg: I use the Maxrad base loaded with the NMO base. I get them at Mobile Radio in Golden Valley MN. They screw on and off with only a flat washer like attachment on the boat. You do need to cut the element down to match the SWR to the place you put it on the boat, but otherwise they are easy to install. If there is a Two-way radio shop in Warroad then they can get one for you. I'm down in Florida now, but will be back in the Twin Cities around the first of April, and if you need more info or help, then sent me an "E" at ddkaitz@msn.com
Also WAITING FOR SPRING....Kaz
Spongebob
03-18-2002, 07:46 AM
IMO, whenever another connection or splice is added to any type of coax, the loss can be equal to or even surpass any gain. Be extra careful when splicing or using any type of adaptor or spliter. The antenna is only as good as the cable that carries the signal to the base unit. When in doubt, have someone that works with rf every day help you out. Good luck,
Sponge
Coach
03-18-2002, 10:11 AM
I can change antennas if I need any extra distance. Edd, the gentleman I spoke to at Gams told me that I should not see hardly any drop in performance. He said that with an 8ft. antenna that they only signal out using the top three ft or so of length and that the first half of length is used as mast. I added a 1ft. extension before the antenna. Have talked from Vermillion to Cedar Point Marina in Sandusky. I was told that if you use good connectors and do it right that any drop in performance would be minimal. Coach
BlackSilver
03-18-2002, 10:43 AM
> He said that with an 8ft. antenna that they only signal
> out using the top three ft or so of length and that the
> first half of length is used as mast.
He's either:
1) ignorant :* ;
or
2) lying x(
The 8' models (like from Shakespeare) are colinear arrays of two antennas separated by a phasing network, all encased in a fiberglass sheath. (That's why they're roughly twice as tall as a quaterwave or base loaded 5/8-wave.)
SET the hook!!!
Hans/MN
jigmeister
03-21-2002, 04:06 AM
Watch out or you will get put on the back burner like us?
bob oh
03-21-2002, 08:06 AM
Hans, isn't it true that VHF radio signals are flat -=- ie line-of-sight and that a taller antenna (everything else being equal) would have to reach further than a shorter antenna??
Water Dog
03-21-2002, 06:05 PM
Oh boy , now I will get flamed again for speaking the truth .
On the Great lakes we need all the range we can get , so most skippers use premium 8ft antennas and figure out a way to mount them high and make sure the antenna is checked by a good radio man for peak performance .
A good radio is only as good as the antenna and instalation .
If your boat design can mount a premium 8 ft antenna you will find the extra height to be worth the effort .
Why do you think most FM radio and cell phone antenna towers are so high and built on the highest locations ?
BlackSilver
03-21-2002, 06:42 PM
That's precisely correct. Further, the "8 footers" such as the Shakespeare, are actually 2 antennas which phase the signals in a manner which 'flattens' the signal in such a manner that it takes the energy which normally radiates upwards and sends it out toward the horizon (not up into the clouds), thus increasing the apparent power of your transmitter by as much as 4 times, making a 25W transmitter seem to be as strong as a 100W transmitter.
Regards,
Hans, Master Chief Radioman, US Navy
SET the hook!!!
Hans/MN