[Paddlewise] Boosting handheld VHF range

I have an Apelco 510 5w. handheld VHF radio that I use on my sailboat.
No one can hear me even 3 miles away unless I climb onto my cabintop.

I can boost the range by using a 4' base-loaded s.s. whip antenna (3 db)
at the masthead, which is the standard solution.  However, the folks at
Raytheon told me that I would do almost as well by just mounting the
whip on the rail, because that would get me almost to the limit of what
5w will do with a 3db antenna.  Although Raytheon wouldn't quantify the
range, they felt that it would at least triple -- going from the rubber
ducky in the cockpit to the whip on the rail.

I am considering bringing the whip antenna along on a paddle, in the
belief that if I need greater range, switching to the whip (handheld or
on a stick) will greatly increase my range.  Anyone know if this will
work?

Ken Cooperstein


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