Jochen Grikschat brought up a question we discussed extensively a year or so ago- what's the best antenna for a VHF radio in a kayak? At the time I spoke with a number of RF engineering friends and came to the conclusion that it was a simple 1/4 wave vertical antenna placed as high as possible. While there are antennas that have higher gain, they acheive this by narrowing the beam, which could be a problem in a rolling boat. For Jochen's use I'd suggest, if practical, two antennas. The first would be a simple 1/4" wave marine fiberglass whip mounted flush on the deck at the rear on a spring mount. This would be the ultra-reliable, indestructable antenna that could survive rolls, impact and other abuse. The other would be a similar antenna mounted on as high as mast as he could erect- perhaps a sailing mast- for extended range. -- mike ------------------------- Michael Edelman mje_at_spamcop.net http://www.foldingkayaks.org http://www.findascope.com *************************************************************************** PaddleWise Paddling Mailing List - Any opinions or suggestions expressed here are solely those of the writer(s). You must assume the entire responsibility for reliance upon them. All postings copyright the author. Submissions: PaddleWise_at_PaddleWise.net Subscriptions: PaddleWise-request_at_PaddleWise.net Website: http://www.paddlewise.net/ ***************************************************************************Received on Thu Feb 15 2001 - 19:39:12 PST
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