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Resting Good, Running Bad
by Roger McAfee
I have a short antenna. When my boat is at rest I get good VHF reception, but when I’m running (I have a fast planing hull) the reception breaks up. I’ve checked for loose wires, but they’re fine. What can I do?
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The problem may be with the way your antenna is set up. When the boat is at rest your antenna is probably perpendicular to the water surface. The radio waves are distributed fairly evenly from the antenna. It is likely that when you’re under way your bow rides higher than when the boat is at rest. This will cause the antenna to radiate the signal well up into the air forward and into the water behind. You might want to look at a longer, more powerful antenna and adjust the antenna angle.
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This article first appeared in the February 1, 2010 issue of Sea Magazine. All or parts of the information contained in this article might be outdated. |
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