VHF Installation

[SD/Will]

I have been told to keep the antenna away from my other electronics, but what about the radio itself? Seems it should be somwhere on the drivers console. I only want to do this one time. any advice would be appreciated.

Thanks SD/Will

[Sluggo / NY]

Will, I suppose it's best to seperate both the cable and radio from other devices if possible to avoid interference. Although mine are pretty close and I have no problem. One tip I'll offer that I learned the hard way..Don't hook the power to a shared terminal block (or buss-bar). Go direct to a battery! I did this and it took me two radios and a smart technician to figure out why I could receive well but transmit poorly! Good Fishing, Sluggo

[Hans]

The main thing is to keep the antenna away from other electronics.

Also try to keep the DC wiring in a separate bundle from power to other electronics, and when you run the antenna feedline (coax) have it cross all DC wires and transducer feeds at 90-degree angles as much as possible.

Hans

[SD/Will]

Thanks guys!

SD/Will

[hank]

When you say to keep the antenna away from other electronics, what's a good distance? Thanks for any replies. Hank

[Phil T.]

The editors of TrailerBoats magazine destroyed a number of gps receivers by having them within 4' of a marine radio antenna. When they transmitted, they fried the circuitry in the gps antenna.
At least they admitted their error.

[Hans]

As far as possible. Certainly no closer than 2-meters (about 6 feet).

Hans

[Homer]

OK, it's not killing me, but it's ticking me off. I mounted my radio antenna *three* feet away from my GPS. When I key the mic, my 350a turns itself off then back on. I may not be frying the circuitry, but I'm sure giving it a shock treatment. I had thought that the problem was caused by the fact that the GPS and radio antenna cables run along side of each other for a while, and that I could cure it by insulating and separating them. Now it looks like that may not help.

If I truly need four feet, my only options are to remount the antenna on the port side (not easy), or shut off my GPS whenever I need to transmit on the radio.

[Sluggo / NY]

Homer, Look at my reply above. That was another problem I had until I seperated the power sources. Try wiring your radio direct to the battery and I'll bet your problem goes away. Most of these devices have a protective "low power" shut off and keying the mike draws enough off the circuit to shut off your finder. Good Fishing, Sluggo

[Homer]

Nope, I had the units on separate batteries. As of now, the GPS runs from the main electrical system, and the radio runs off a separate auxilliary battery. I remember reading something (maybe from you) that said switching was better, i.e. run the GPS off of its own battery. Maybe that, and separating the antenna wires, will help.