How's your Nasa Navtex aerial?

celandine

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How\'s your Nasa Navtex aerial?

I lightly brushed my arm against the plastic pod of my Nasa Navtex aerial at which point it snapped clean off. Not surprising when you look at its 2mm thick plastic bracket that has obviously gone brittle with exposure to the elements. I looked round the yard, and the first other one I found was lashed to the push-pit with tape, having snapped in the same place. You can imagine how much more mellow I felt about it on returning a few days later to find that it had also filled with rain water where it had hung upside down (factory fitted gland at base not tight) I had the earlier whip-type aerial a few years back, with the box on its base full of electronics. Had to junk that because, yes, you guessed it - it filled with rain water. I suppose you get what you pay for.

Mick
 

Shanty

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Re: How\'s your Nasa Navtex aerial?

Did the same to my Navtex aerial a few months ago. So, I found a scrap of stainless steel plate, and a couple of U bolts and made a replacement base.

The plate is held horizontally on top of the pushpit by the U bolts. The aerial (minus the remains of the oroiginal bracket) is screwed onto the top of the plate. Much neater & stronger than the original.

Dunno who designed the official NASA bracket - local primary school maybe?
 

chas

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Re: How\'s your Nasa Naivetés aerial?

Yes, I know the problem. I stuck my bracket together with superglue and it seems to be holding.
 

0tilio

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Re: How\'s your Nasa Navtex aerial?

Really?
I thought the signal must be amplyfied before been feeded to the Navtex.
I get a very poor reception (meaning a sort of sumerian writing at the display) and was thinking on the purchase of a new aerial. If a wire wrapped to the backstay will do the work.....
This is my first post at YBW and may be I've outraged quite a few etiquette and good manners norms of this website. My apologies if it were so and best wishes to all.
 

0tilio

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Re: How\'s your Nasa Navtex aerial?

What for are then "the box on its base full of electronics" my aerial carries and nickmariner points too?
Nasa advertising policies?
 

doug748

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Re: How\'s your Nasa Navtex aerial?

Good question. I sent mine back for repair, I will be miffed if all I needed to do was attach it ot the backstay!
 

iangrant

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Re: How\'s your Nasa Navtex aerial?

Honest gov - the inductive connection is better than the active aerial...well it worked better on my last boat - I wont comment on the contents of the navtex aerial maybe Tome may

Ian

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Phoenix of Hamble

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Re: How\'s your Nasa Navtex aerial?

MickMariner was talking about a whip antenna with "the box on its base full of electronics"..... thats probably to amplify the signal....

I'm pretty sure that the stubby white ones are passive...... (I don't however claim 100% certainty)

I took a decca one (Navstar 2000D) apart and I don't remember seeing any electronics in there... I'm assuming they are pretty similar....
 

jerryat

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Re: How\'s your Nasa Navtex aerial?

Hi,

Odd coincidence as I opened up my Nasa Whip type Navtex aerial only yesterday as I was getting no info on the unit itself. To my amazement it was in absolutely perfect condition!! /forums/images/graemlins/smile.gif And this, after sitting on a short mast fixed to the pulpit for the last 14 years and well over 40K miles. I'm very impressed, as I'm definitely not a Nasa fan, and wouldn't have any of their other stuff on board.

Odd also, as I'd bought a second hand aerial as a spare before we set off cruising, and took that down to the boat expecting to use it as the replacement. It's back with the rest of the spares again now.

The fault turned out to be a broken centre core of the co-axial cable caused by my bending it too much during the 17 month refit I've just completed. All fine again now. /forums/images/graemlins/smile.gif /forums/images/graemlins/smile.gif

NAS is correct, the whip version is an active antenna.

Hope you get yours sorted ok.

Cheers Jerry
 

DJE

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Re: How\'s your Nasa Navtex aerial?

I just put a single frequencey active antenna on the "For Sale" forum. I've been using it with a Silva S15 but I sent it back and got a proper radio.
 

iangrant

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Re: How\'s your Nasa Navtex aerial?

The active aerial I may have got confused with is the one that comes with the NASA target HF reciever, although I think it is the same beast?

Ian
 

Cantata

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Re: How\'s your Nasa Navtex aerial?

They are fragile, Mick, I broke ours during the winter. I did think about fabricating a s/s replacement, but in the end I bought another plastic one from NASA - costs a fiver, needs a bit of soldering to fit it of course. Now I've moved the aerial to a place where I won't kick it climbing aboard when the boat is laid up.
 
G

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Re: How\'s your Nasa Navtex aerial?

Mine is pushed into the corner of the main cabin .... base down in corner of divan bunk, whip going up into the toe-rail space .... cable coiled under the bunk cushion.
Never gets touched, had it 5 yrs now - never used the bracket - still in perfect order.
Why put it outside to fill up with rain water ? Its a low freq signal and doesn't need to up high outside like a VHF etc. Even the instructions say it - well at least they used to !
 

dk

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Re: How\'s your Nasa Navtex aerial?

Mine is mounted in the cabinet behind the instrument itself - just under the deck. This way it doesn't get kicked or filled with water. Works perfectly as it is low freq radio, not like GPS antennae.
 

Andrew_Fanner

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Re: How\'s your Nasa Navtex aerial?

Now that's a useful bit of information. I'll experiment mounting the stub in the saloon, about 1m from the display and next to a window.

I have a changeover switch to select between the aerials. Now being a fallible mortal I'll forget when to flip the switch to get the other stuff. Can I use a coax splitter to acept both feeds at once? They come at differing times IIRC.
 
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