Hi Michael, Dallas, Peter and others interested in this topic... That J Pole design you posted looks good Michael, but probably is most suitable as a shore rig wouldn't you think? But I guess you could hang it off a paddle or similar. Obviously these antennas should be vertical. I am not sure if everyone realises that VHF transmissions assume vertical antennae, and that includes the rubber duckys. Forget those TV shows where you see cops whispering into their handhelds with the antennae in the horizontal...!!! On that topic, the Shakespeare Antenna website used to have an audio link where you could listen to the difference between one of their whip antenna working on a yacht rolling around at sea, compared with another type of whip antenna which did not have the capability to receive signals as efficiently off the vertical. Interesting comparison. Back to the J Pole, I would carry it as a rig to use at a camp site where I could hoist it high and where corrosion problems wouldn't be as much an issue. It would be interesting to trial it against the coax stripback. Cheers, PeterR, Wollongong. *************************************************************************** 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/ ***************************************************************************
Radio signals are polarized. O you want your receiver and transmitter in the same plane. Thus if you are talking a station running a vertical antenna, like a whip or vertical beam, then you want your antenna to be in a vertical plane. The twin lead J-pole is useful for hanging from a tree at a camp site and not at all designed for use on the water. If you require better signals from the water, there are more effective and efficient "rubber duckies" made my Diamond and others, that will significantly enhance communications., but they are much bigger than the standard and may not have a compatible connector. cu *************************************************************************** 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/ ***************************************************************************
Peter Rattenbury wrote: > > Hi Michael, Dallas, Peter and others interested in this topic... > > That J Pole design you posted looks good Michael, but probably is most > suitable as a shore rig wouldn't you think? But I guess you could hang it > off a paddle or similar. Obviously these antennas should be vertical. I am > not sure if everyone realises that VHF transmissions assume vertical > antennae, and that includes the rubber duckys. Forget those TV shows > where you see cops whispering into their handhelds with the antennae in the > horizontal...!!! Actually the antenna will work horizontal, just not as well. There are lots of time when I need to wear a handheld radio on my belt. With the antenna against my body performance is very poor. I put a 90 degree BNC between the antenna and radio so the antenna sticks out at 90 degrees to my body (also horizontal) and performance is 'much' better. For the j pole and coax antenna it will work best if vertical. > On that topic, the Shakespeare Antenna website used to have an audio link > where you could listen to the difference between one of their whip antenna > working on a yacht rolling around at sea, compared with another type of > whip antenna which did not have the capability to receive signals as > efficiently off the vertical. Interesting comparison. Yep, there is a reason why the high gain antennas for power boats are not good on sailboats. The gain comes from making the signal go toward the horizon and not up. If you tilt an antenna like this the signal may get a lot weaker in the direction you want. > Back to the J Pole, I would carry it as a rig to use at a camp site where > I could hoist it high and where corrosion problems wouldn't be as much an > issue. It would be interesting to trial it against the coax stripback. Theoretically they should be the same. In my experience the j pole is a little more forgiving of construction mistakes (dimensions). If you go to a ham radio store and buy a 1/2 wave or 5/8 wave antenna for a 2 meter radio (148 mhz) it will work great on your marine VHF handheld out performing the rubber duck by a large margin. The problem is that it is easier to break and has to be extended to full length of about 40" or 50" for best use. michael N6CHV *************************************************************************** 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/ ***************************************************************************
This archive was generated by hypermail 2.4.0 : Thu Aug 21 2025 - 16:33:37 PDT