which vhf aerial is best

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mj81

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Hi, I am dropping the mast on my 10m yacht in 2 weeks to have the rigging replaced and plan to fit a new VHF aerial (with windex) while the mast is down. I looking at either V-Tronix VHF Antenna w/ Hawk Wind Indicator or Supergain Black Swan VHF Antenna.
Interested in thoughts on either or recommendation of others.
 
I'd recommend the Metz - changed to one instead of the Vitronix - no improvement in reception but quite a gain in transmit (coupled with an elderly ICOM 410)
 
Flica said:
I'd recommend the Metz - changed to one instead of the Vitronix - no improvement in reception but quite a gain in transmit (coupled with an elderly ICOM 410)
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another vote for metz and also use the bigger diameter coax that salty john provides: not so easy to run than the very light stuff that comes with others but better IMHO
 
chubby said:
another vote for metz and also use the bigger diameter coax that salty john provides: not so easy to run than the very light stuff that comes with others but better IMHO
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I felt so too when I installed it when my mast was down on the Seine. Courtesy of Salty John of this parish too! No connection. But do mouse it, don’t just drop or push the cable through the mast: you don’t want it tangling with any halyards in there...
 
I have been chatting to Carol at SaltyJohn. Not found her very helpful however.

What Metz do i need to put at the top of my mast? I was going to get the Metz 114 with 10m cable, but she replied she thought i wanted the antenna for the mast like the 114 is no good for that. so now im confused. I will likely buy elswhere as im not impressed with lack of help from the website and email plus all they take is paypal or at a push bank transfer after an invoice has been arranged. also would a Glomex from force4 be not as good as a metz?
 
UK-WOOZY said:
I have been chatting to Carol at SaltyJohn. Not found her very helpful however.

What Metz do i need to put at the top of my mast? I was going to get the Metz 114 with 10m cable, but she replied she thought i wanted the antenna for the mast like the 114 is no good for that. so now im confused. I will likely buy elswhere as im not impressed with lack of help from the website and email plus all they take is paypal or at a push bank transfer after an invoice has been arranged. also would a Glomex from force4 be not as good as a metz?
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Easily confused? The Metz 114 comes with a standard 1" x 14tpi thread ideal for attaching to rail or plate mounts. The normal masthead Metz Manta aerial attaches to a supplied bracket and is £40 cheaper but you will have to source the cable and connectors which SaltyJohn will be happy to supply.
 
We've given you as much information as we can. We've recommended the Metz Manta for your masthead application. We've said you need to measure the cable length from the masthead antenna to the radio. You can decide on the cable size based on the length of cable. For up to 10m you can use RG58 but for longer runs we recommend RG8X.
All this has been conveyed to you but you just come back and say you have a 34' mast. This does not tell us how far it is to the radio or how you intend to get the cable through the deck. You said you had a mounting bracket "like what we sell". That tells us nothing - we sell many mounting brackets. Are you comfortable fitting the PL259s or do you prefer a mechanical no-solder connector? Without the right information we can't help you.

In thirteen years of running this business we have never had anyone tell us we don't provide enough information or support.
 
On the basis of this thread I just renewed my aerial, cable, windex, connectors etc via Salty John. It could not have been easier. I even got a friendly email late on Sunday night to say it would all be in the post the following day. That is good service.
 
Salty John said:
We've given you as much information as we can. We've recommended the Metz Manta for your masthead application. We've said you need to measure the cable length from the masthead antenna to the radio. You can decide on the cable size based on the length of cable. For up to 10m you can use RG58 but for longer runs we recommend RG8X.
All this has been conveyed to you but you just come back and say you have a 34' mast. This does not tell us how far it is to the radio or how you intend to get the cable through the deck. You said you had a mounting bracket "like what we sell". That tells us nothing - we sell many mounting brackets. Are you comfortable fitting the PL259s or do you prefer a mechanical no-solder connector? Without the right information we can't help you.

In thirteen years of running this business we have never had anyone tell us we don't provide enough information or support.
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Sometimes it is difficult to help people. I deal with lots of customer emails from people like uk woozy. I don't think they mean to be rude or light on detail, it's just the way they seem to operate on email/online (just look at the responses on this thread). I'm sure face to face they are perfectly capable of holding a decent conversation, but by god they are hard to deal with, and help, on email.
 
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