Navtex Reception - Solved

[TonyS]

Like many on this forum I managed to break my NASA Navtex aerial attached to to the pushpit rail. I did a search as I had never been satisfied with reception and have never got a signal in a marina. Starpilot (10.07.2006) suggested connecting the lead to a mast stay. I hooked up a length of wire, while in the marina, to the bottom V section of the backstay tensioner. I immediately got signals from the French station in the Chanel de Four and Niton! I have since removed the old aerial parts and the wiring. The new wire goes from the bolt head on the metal pad inside the hull that the tensioner shackle is attached to. It works perfectly. I rang NASA and they confirmed that the backstay is often a better aerial than their active stub type.

 

[Richard10002]

I wonder if it would work for VHF and WiFi?

 

[Strathglass]

NO,
The length of the backstay would be many wavelengths long and even if a matching device was fitted to save the VHF transmitter output stages, the aerial would be very directional.
In fact the main direction of the radiation/reception would be virtually parallel to the backstay ie vertically upwards and downwards.

Iain

 

[TonyS]

The VHF aerial has also to be high to gain line of sight distance.

 

[Birdseye]

[ QUOTE ]
I wonder if it would work for VHF and WiFi?

[/ QUOTE ] Much less likely - the navtex transmissions are high strength at low frequency so its a bit like receiveing long wave radio 4. WiFi is giga whatsits and low strength.

Plus wifi transmits, and whilst you might not do any harm trying to receive, you could well do a nasty when it tried to transmit.