VHF Aerial

[Thistle]

Yesterday I removed a flexible rubberised aerial from the caravan (I not a real caravanner - it's parked for the summer at the club where I do most of my sailing /forums/images/graemlins/wink.gif). It was originally sold as an FM aerial for a car radio but never worked well, probably because of poor reception in a remote valley.

My question is, would it be worth keeping this aerial on the boat for use in the event of a dismasting?

 

[Bergman]

in a word

No

Your better using one of the "standard" coathanger or stripped coax bothches.

Or of course a proper spare VHF antenna

 

[Oldhand]

The short answer is no. It will be a very poor impedance match for your VHF transmitter which will cause poor performance, overheating of the VHF output stage and the latter would probably be destroyed when you transmit. /forums/images/graemlins/frown.gif

 

[Thistle]

Many thanks. I rather thought that might be the case. Yet another raid on the piggy-bank and visit to the chandlers, I guess /forums/images/graemlins/frown.gif

 

[onenyala]

Anybody have thoughts on carrying a kite to deploy an emegency VHF ariel. They were used in WW2 in liferafts.

 

[itsonlymoney]

Quote
Anybody have thoughts on carrying a kite to deploy an emegency VHF ariel. They were used in WW2 in liferafts.

Originaly used by "Marconi" to receive the very first trans atlantic radio signal in around 1900.

Ian

 

[TrueBlue]

They were, but were for HF (41m band?) not VHF 'cos that sort of portable kit was not really available then.

 

[ShipsWoofy]

It might work, but would have to be a big powerful kite to lift the aerial and the coax. The HF aerial would have actually been the string I would have thought so no need to lift a heavy payload.

A helium balloon with an aerosol type filler might be a better option, maybe I should nip to the patent office.....

 

[Bergman]

Re: Beware

Many years ago a friend of mine used to useweather balloons to "fly" a huge vertical aerial for his amateur radio activities.

One night very late a woman walking down the street saw this object in the sky, strange wobbly shape and eerie amber flow (reflected from street lights)

Naturally she called the police and reported a UFO

Police response Oh yeah? but sent a 'bule to investigate.

He too saw the UFO and they were joined by 1 or 2 passers by.

Plod was not happy and called for reinforcements who appeared in the form of 4 'bules with big sticks.

At this point my friend, who knew nothing of all this activity started to retrieve his aerial.

The gathered crowd saw the UFO coming in to land and the cops (somewhat reluctantly) closed in to investigate.

My friends surprise can be imagined to suddenly find himself surrounded by large frightened bobbies wielding big sticks, and in his own garden too.

They spent ages trying to find something to arrest him for - the woman who originally called the cops ws never traced.

 

[ShipsWoofy]

Re: Beware

Brilliant!

I never understand the public sometimes. When there is an earthquake in this country, apparently the emergency telephone lines are jammed with people reporting it.

The ground shook
yes
well it did
Would you like police, fire or ambulance
dunno the ground shook I got scared
well ring the Samaritans then!