VHF Radio advice please

[Laundryman]

On approach to Yarmouth IoW from the east, I am having difficulty reaching the berthing master boats until very close in. I know they only have hand held radios so their range is limited but I seem unable to reach them until in sight. I have a fixed cobra dsc radio with mast head antenna and a fixed cobra disc radio mounted at the wheel with a push pit mounted antenna. Neither receive a legible response until maybe 2 miles range. If I only had one radio I would consider that faulty but my 2 fixed sets and 2 handhelds all have the same difficulty. Any ideas please?

 

[[70521]]

Sounds pretty normal. The staff will be wandering about the marina with all those boats "shielding" the signal. VHF is a line of sight signal.

 

[MikeCC]

Agree with Sandy, the limitation is in their kit/location. 2 miles out sounds fair from handhelds with stuff in the way.

Do a radio check with Coastwatch on Ch65 next time you're out to be sure.

 

[Sticky Fingers]

Why call at 2 miles? I call them up when I'm by the pier. If you need to call them earlier best to use a phone and ring the marina office.

 

[penfold]

Handheld to handheld you're doing well to get 4-5 cables, never mind 2 miles.

 

[Sticky Fingers]

Handheld to handheld you're doing well to get 4-5 cables, never mind 2 miles.

Yep. And by using a fixed VHF at 2 miles it’s likely that Beaulieu will hear too. Ch 68.

 

[Refueler]

Handheld to handheld you're doing well to get 4-5 cables, never mind 2 miles.

Depends on the HH .....

My Cobras are only 2W .... so they are short range and must be no obstructions and clear Line of sight. I have a pair ... so another on board has one ... we have had no trouble keeping in touch over reasonable distance considering the 2W limitation .. in fact I often use one to contact HM's instead of using the main for entry / departure etc.

I even used to carry one for use in Ship To Ship Cargo work ... worked fine.

My Cobra 55 main DSC was good enough for asking Port HM to allow me to sail in when engine had failed ... I was well offshore .. no idea about its replacement 77 GPS / DSC unit. But I expect similar good performance.

I wonder how many reports of poor range are more to do with who is called - not picking up Mic to reply ... rather than not received.

 

[William_H]

As said a hand held especially close to the body can have limited range. Another point of significance is antenna polarisation. Your VHF sets are set up[ as normal for vertical polarisation. ie antenna sticks up vertically. (as different from TV antenna usually horizontal polarisation though not always) There is a large loss of signal if hand held antenna is not held vertical. ie matching the polarisation of the other antenna. Some people seem to think it is stylish to hold radio out sideways with antenna horizontal. ol'will

 

[Sea-Fever]

If you are approaching from the East and they are buried in the harbour then not only is the signal having to travel through the town to get to you but the harbour wall in the East side is high due to the ferry terminal and you.may have a ferry sat there as well for good measure. All in all less than ideal for VHF propagation.

 

[Sticky Fingers]

If you are approaching from the East and they are buried in the harbour then not only is the signal having to travel through the town to get to you but the harbour wall in the East side is high due to the ferry terminal and you.may have a ferry sat there as well for good measure. All in all less than ideal for VHF propagation.

If it’s busy it can all change in a few minutes. They won’t allocate a berth if you’re nor physically there. Two miles out is too soon IMHO.