Reply to Norb W. about Raytheon Radio

[RJ]

Hi Norb, Are you using the 3' antena you spoke about? If so, how does the reception and transmission with this compare to an 8' unit? I am looking for a radio for a recent boat purchase and would love to get around all that antenna but don't want to sacrifice alot of range. Shed some light if you can. Thanks from Missoula,MT.
PS- good luck with Crestliner, I think both of you are great representatives to have on the water.

[Norb Wallock]

RJ
I personally like the Raytheon 3 foot stainless antenna from the standpoint of never worrying about that big ole 8 foot antenna. It can get in the way , it can be a pain putting it up and down and sooner or later your going to ding it up from forgeting to take it down as you go under a low bridge or something low. Of course the 8 footer can reach out a bit farther...its basicly the line of sight that the radio wave travels to..so the higher the antenna the better the reception and transmission. I tried the 8 footers, but, I am truely satisfied with the 3 footer..supriseingly it reaches out there quite well..I mount it on my passengers side of the boat on the highest part possible, I also use a mount that gets in up another 6 inches or so. It's kind of whippy and bends with whatever you go under, in fact I never put it down. It's a good piece of goods, but I couldn't tell you where to buy one...I am sponsored by Raytheon so they supply with me it. Did you check the website: www.raymarine.com

[cisco]

I have a Ratheon radio with 3 ft whip on my Tracker Targa and can get 4 to 6 miles transmission on Lake Michigan (vessel to vessel) and farther if I need to reach shore (e.g. Coast Guard). It is not what you'd get with a good glass 8 footer, but it makes a convenient compromise.

I bought the package (mount, ant., and radio) at Cabela's in Owatanna, MN.

[Rich S]

Hey Norb I was wondering how I could get my hands on some more strobe spinners. I have a feeing I will need more this year. You can E-Mail me at Valkaree@aol.com. Thanx for all the help.

[RJ]

Thanks for the feedback to all....

[FlyBoy]

Thanks to everyone here who replied, I too was curious about the 3 ft vs. 8 ft antenna's... I bought a 8' fiberglass with my raytheon, but it came with a 3' stainless antenna (free from Cabelas)... Here is what I'm thinking. The cable that comes out of the antenna needs to feed through the base, so changing antennas isn't really an option once you put the fitting on the end of the wire (can't feed it in and out of the base anymore). So what I am thinking of doing, is using putting a 'barrel' connector in the middle of the wire, so I can swap between the 2. I want to be able to put the 8' on for a Canada trip, but don't want to lug it around on my local trips. I do want to keep the radio handy for weather info on local lakes, so I'll use the 3' for that. The only problem I see is I may need to buy an extra mount, I would need (2) top halves of the mount to do this I believe.

Just what I'm thinking.

-John

[FlyBoy]

Thanks to everyone here who replied, I too was curious about the 3 ft vs. 8 ft antenna's... I bought a 8' fiberglass with my raytheon, but it came with a 3' stainless antenna (free from Cabelas)... Here is what I'm thinking. The cable that comes out of the antenna needs to feed through the base, so changing antennas isn't really an option once you put the fitting on the end of the wire (can't feed it in and out of the base anymore). So what I am thinking of doing, is using putting a 'barrel' connector in the middle of the wire, so I can swap between the 2. I want to be able to put the 8' on for a Canada trip, but don't want to lug it around on my local trips. I do want to keep the radio handy for weather info on local lakes, so I'll use the 3' for that. The only problem I see is I may need to buy an extra mount, I would need (2) top halves of the mount to do this I believe.

Just what I'm thinking.

-John

[FlyBoy]

I've always wondered how everyone managed to post more than on of the same message. I just found out. Sorry about that.

-John