Navtex reception - yet again

Relax

Relax

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Still (still, still) can't get my Navtex to work properly.

Getting some reception - but not the ones I want. And yes I have used all the filters to get the correct info (I think.....??)

Will it make any difference if I earth the aerial - so how do I do this? /forums/images/graemlins/tongue.gif The keel is convenient and has an earth tag.
 
Where is your aerial?

Try relocating it, move it about the boat and see if any position favours another. Are you in a marina or on a mooring?
 
Its on the top of the pushpit at the moment - dunno where else it could easily go? Would there be any sense in using the shrouds as an aerial? Is this loony?

At the moment the boat is in the harbour - but its a fairly exposed location.

It seems to get the Dutch coastguard real good......?

BTW you have a technoprole here. /forums/images/graemlins/tongue.gif
 
I have a nasa and I got best reception for the short while I put it up at the top of the mast..

For last season I had it tie-wrapped to the cap shrouds as high as I could get it, that worked pretty well.

This year I have just fitted an antenna pole on the transom and is as yet untried due to the unit going back and forth to nasa as it has a fault which has thus far evaded repair. This is not nasa's fault, it is a particularly stubborn fault that comes back after an unknown time powered down.
 
Not wishing to harp on about this subject, there have been so many threads about the Nasa Navtex not receiving signals.

I originally had the bog standard Nasa Navtex,but got frustrated about it not receiving messages.

I upgraded to the Clipper series, which seemed to work much better.

But this year, for some unknown reason, it stopped receiving messages for several weeks.

As said in previous threads, I bit the bullet and bought a Furuno Navtex.

Can only say it eeceives so many messages (on auto) thats its almost too much information.

Also want to add that the Nasa presentation of messages is excellent. Imho they have a good product, but seem to have a c**p aerial.........

Just wonder whether you can use shroud for an aerial ??

Mj
 
I think Dogwatch is right - it's a case of trial and error.

When I was in Gibraltar last year, I had excellent reception on a bog standard Nasa model with the antenna on the pushpit. The boat next door to me, moored bows to like me and with the same model Nasa, was unable to receive anything. His antenna was mounted on the pushpit also! By moving his antenna around, coupled to a meter, he found better reception midships, and the best reception when the antenna was below decks in the saloon. Figure that out!

Other boats I know have no commercial antenna, just wired the aerial lead to chainplate bolt and used the shrouds.

I've now moved my antenna to a higher position on top of new pushpit gantry and get no signal - but that is perhaps because of my location.

Good luck. /forums/images/graemlins/ooo.gif
 
Earthing is a good idea especially with your continued problem. You need to earth the arial cable screen directly to the sea. I don't have a grounding plate or convenient keel bolt so have taken mine to the sacrificial anode. Keep the run as short as you can. Navtex reception seems more to do with the quality of the arial rather than its location. Avoid placing it near/alongside alloy poles or the like. Placing the arial high up may give better reception in a harbour or marina but may be a disadvantage at sea since during the day Navtex operates principally through ground wave propagation - hence low arials sometimes yielding surprising good results.
 
I know it's already been said, but after much messing about with antenna position, grounding, switching off anything I could think of that was causing interference trying a Nasa Clipper (not bad) and an ICS Nav 6 (awful) the only solution was to fit a Furuno. (Brilliant.)
 
Jonic's got a good point. The model you happen to have probably colours your experience and consequential advice. No matter how "correct" your set-up is, the Furuno does seem to be the top performer. But I do confess to a little bias!
 
It's not usually signal strength (lack of!) that kills these things, but noise - interference. A tranny radio will indicate what is about. Insulated stays or just a wire will act as a good aerial and it is wise to put a small capacitor in series with the lead as there is a voltage fed to the active aerial supplied with the set.
 
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