Salty John Metz VHF Antenna

I suppose PL259s get used because they are cheap and robust and they work, even though they have higher losses than most other types of connector. Really there are better options for anything above about 30MHz, but the PL259 seems to persist.

I expect that most installations are affected far more by poor quality or cheap coax than they are by the connector though. I'd rather use something like M&P Ultraflex 10 with PL259s than any RG-58 with N connectors.
 
I suppose PL259s get used because they are cheap and robust and they work, even though they have higher losses than most other types of connector. Really there are better options for anything above about 30MHz, but the PL259 seems to persist.

I expect that most installations are affected far more by poor quality or cheap coax than they are by the connector though. I'd rather use something like M&P Ultraflex 10 with PL259s than any RG-58 with N connectors.

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I would agree about poor coax causing losses because I have measured it.
I used to use gold plated pl259s . I did not know they were inferior. I never measured them. I have certainly seen really crappier connections. Can you tell me why pl259s are not good, please? What is the science behind the losses of them? I thought they had plenty of metal and surface area for good connectivity- but I am no expert. What are better ( just out of interest…. I have no skin in the game any longer and no boat - I am supposed to be the gardener now.
 
OCuea said:
I suppose PL259s get used because they are cheap and robust and they work, even though they have higher losses than most other types of connector. Really there are better options for anything above about 30MHz, but the PL259 seems to persist.

I expect that most installations are affected far more by poor quality or cheap coax than they are by the connector though. I'd rather use something like M&P Ultraflex 10 with PL259s than any RG-58 with N connectors.

________\\\\___________
I would agree about poor coax causing losses because I have measured it.
I used to use gold plated pl259s . I did not know they were inferior. I never measured them. I have certainly seen really crappier connections. Can you tell me why pl259s are not good, please? What is the science behind the losses of them? I thought they had plenty of metal and surface area for good connectivity- but I am no expert. What are better ( just out of interest…. I have no skin in the game any longer and no boat - I am supposed to be the gardener now.
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The PL259 is literally a shielded jack plug of the type found in audio or school science labs. The tolerance allows an impedance of 30-70 ohms, so you can almost guarantee an impedance mismatch with a 50 ohm system - and any mismatch causes power to be reflected.
 
PabloPicasso said:
Says this a discontinued item 😡

Anyone know if it's still available, and if so, where?
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They have an ais version that is cheaper...I wonder is it likely to be just as good in the real world.(Presumably It is tuned to the ais channel which afaik means it will probably be a few cms shorter...

There is a UK guy who claims to be the UK and European distributer. His pl259s are 29 stg (maybe for 2,) as against 6 euros from Messi and Pauloni and his coax is about 3 times their price...( Sorry, I won't advertise for him)

They seem to be available in Canada for the equivalent of 100 euros...might be worth a try to buy from there..for non UK based..
 
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Rappey said:
Back in 82' when cb radio (27 mHz) was polular many were obsessed about getting a 1:1 swr or close. Who could contact someone over the greatest distance was another. Many of the antennas had ajustable tips enabling fine tuning. A few mm could move the swr a noticable amount.
A vhf marine antenna is usually set for 156 mHz (ch 16) giving a half wave length of 95.1cm
Ais antenna (162mHz) is 88.1cm. I wonder what range difference 7cm makes as many use their radio antenna for ais.
My coax is 10.8mm. Certainly not for everyone. 3 times the power output at the antenna and probably 3 times more reception compared to rg58.
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Apparently the bandwidth of a plain whip antenna is about 5%-10% of the centre frequency - that is, about 8-16 MHz. That plus matching components in the base should provide enough flexibility to cover all the marine VHF bands.
 
Salt John's web pages had a section describing coax size and connectors. He also gave next best options becuase the good cable was 10mm OD which would not fit in many masts. He extolled the properties of a certain type of self amalgamating tape to seal the mast head coaxial to antenna plug. I bought two antennas from him, one as a spare and the self amalgamating tape. The antenna has been up for over 12 years and has survived many storms and has worked flawlessly, now with AIS as well. I had a similar style to the Shakespear and the base came way from top when I unscrewed the nut leaving behind a light brown material that was breaking up.

Practical Sailor tested various antennas and while the Metz came out well, there was not much difference between the various models, so price may not reflect capability.
 
RunAgroundHard said:
Salt John's web pages had a section describing coax size and connectors. He also gave next best options becuase the good cable was 10mm OD which would not fit in many masts. He extolled the properties of a certain type of self amalgamating tape to seal the mast head coaxial to antenna plug. I bought two antennas from him, one as a spare and the self amalgamating tape. The antenna has been up for over 12 years and has survived many storms and has worked flawlessly, now with AIS as well. I had a similar style to the Shakespear and the base came way from top when I unscrewed the nut leaving behind a light brown material that was breaking up.

Practical Sailor tested various antennas and while the Metz came out well, there was not much difference between the various models, so price may not reflect capability.
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6mm cable from the likes of Messi and Paolini or Nevada will outperform the 10mm cheap stuff, providing you follow guidance on minimum bend radius.
 
I have a metz from Salty John purchased for my Blue Water Criuse that never happened.

It was tested and has then been stored in my garage ever since in optimism of cruising the world.

In other words, stored dry, since new. A short length of John’s cable is attached and self amalgamating tape surrounds it.
It has a bracket.

I tested its VSWR compared to my boat’s anntenna and hand held antennas.

It outperformed all. The Metz gave the best performance by far.

Using good co-ax is important.

So I do not know why PBO did not find it better; the US Coastguard choose Metz.

I also have the VSWR meter, but do not know it’s location in my storage racks.

I am uk based.

I could put the Metz in the For Sale section?

I do not know it’s value, now-a-days.

To package it for international postage would require me to locate a cardboard tube.

Sounds easy?

Not for me.

But I do wish to sell it along with a host of other high quality items that I know I will no longer find a use for alas.
 
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