Antennas?????

[Deep C]

Saw another post about GPS Antennas... We have three units and three antennas... No big mystery there...

Where I do have a question is that I have four big mast antennas... We have a sssb that doesn't work and I'm gonna guess one is for that. That leaves three big masts... We only have two VHF sets... Don't know what goes to what. They're getting old and not so pretty. In our continuing quest to get this girl new new looking the boss wants to clean up that jungle. The ssb is a thing of the past so we will lose that one. He wants to lose another too. Then go with two pretty new ones. One for upstairs radio and one for helm radio.

Is there any problem in doing it like this?. Each radio with its own designated antenna???... I see couplers and all kinds of crap up in tower and behind helm that I could do without if we did it this way... Would cosmetically do a lot for the boat losing the two extra ones...

Planning on two 14' shakespeare 5230... Any comments?

[clt_capt]

I have 2 fixed VHFs on my boat - I installed them each on separate antennas - at the time I was told that using a coupler would cut my range, so I didn't use couplers.

I believe they are 5230s - On a good day I can pickup Jacksonville, Fl (USCG) but for day to day stuff they are fine for my normal 40 - 60 miles from MHC...

I'm guessing that the extra antenna may be for Analog Cell or AM/FM. Is there a built in Stereo? Does it work offshore? Was there a fixed mount Cell Phone?

[Deep C]

Nope... I think they had two linked together like it would improve something... Theres a stero but seperate antenna for it. Also have a tv antenna that doesn't pick up diddly. That might get changed. We got a new digital tv earlier this season that off rabbit ears picks up like 25 channels just sitting at the dock in palm beach... If I could get a better antenna than the rabbit ears I could see me getting enough hidden hd channels that we won't have to go dish...

[tomfrmnh]

How old is the SSB? I wonder if it might need two antenna's depending on which frequency range is being used. Just a thought. I am pretty sure that the new SSB's use only one.

[Deep C]

I'm thinking she's a 1996 "Sea"... Doa... Turns on but thats all... Never liked ssb any way... Could use her spot in the dash for an engine room tv or a ARDF...

[perfectscore]

i think it is smart to have two separate ant. But I would put command mics in the salon cabin and stateroom just to have more access and use of elctronics

[JD5652]

How old is the SSB? I wonder if it might need two antenna's depending on which frequency range is being used. Just a thought. I am pretty sure that the new SSB's use only one.

The new SSB's only use a single antenna and I'm pretty sure even the old SSB's only had one antenna.

i think it is smart to have two separate ant. But I would put command mics in the salon cabin and stateroom just to have more access and use of elctronics

I totally agree with Perfectscore here. Two separate radios with two separate antennas provide you with redundancy...... very key for safety. If you're redoing the radio configuration anyway.....I would also have the tech wire the two radios to two separate power sources. This provides you with complete VHF radio redundancy.

I have a single command mic for my primary VHF (ICOM 602) in the salon and it does work great. I think that have a new Command Mic IV that came out this year that even has more options than the older one I have.

My only other thought for the "extra" antenna would be for a loran....you got an old loran on that rig Deep?

[Deep C]

Nope... No loran... The two radios are powered from seperate sources. Even gps units are... I can kill the bridge and still have tower and vice versa. Have a command mic in the salon feeding from the main unit on bridge deck...

I really like the idea of less is more and cant wait to shelve the two antennas... That would give me an ability of mounting the two forward where they could be dropped to get under some marginal bridges...

[canyongear]

Deep, you may want to consider Sirius/XM satellite radio, sure beats CD's and clear as a bell offshore, antennae tiny bit bigger than a gps, same mounting hardware..da Boss will love for it.

[Deep C]

We've got it on one of the Contenders. Boss threatens to put it on this boat but I won't let it happen... One of my hot buttons is noise... Fish can only see so far but they can "hear" vibrations much further. I have seen fish spook from all kinds of silly stuff like salt water pump getting run or somebody's feet hitting the deck too hard when the fish raises... I can't say with certainty what rythms might raise or spook fish but I'm not willing to take a chance...
That being said, sharking I have had awesome results running a stereo...

I also have a second reason... I'm one of those guys who uses all senses aboard boat. My eyes looking for fish or hazzards. My nose sniffing for bait or the first hint of smoke. My ears are dedicated to listening for something starting to break or just not right. Whistling may as well be scraping fingernails on a chalk board as it triggers my reflexes into instantly start looking for alarms or worrying that a tranny is letting go... Clicking noises are to me a rigger clip letting go...