Radio and Antenna problem

rick1954 · Post by **rick1954** » Tue Feb 05, 2008 1:03 pm

I have been investigating this radio problem I had at the end of last season .It seams to me that the radio is functioning properly and the antenna is into some mal-function. That art of antenna design is one of the ancient and forbidden things. The only information you can gather is basic with no engineering data and most if it is "assuming you already know" material.
As it sits now, I can transmit only around 9/10th of a mile, this is not good. I was using a Shakespear 5206-C antenna. After taking it apart it was designed with some lame attempt to make what they seem to think a J-pole antenna is.
Can some one help me with what would be a very good antenna to use that I do not have to sell the boat to purchase. We had a problem with the engin last season, and the people we were with could not receive from us.

prowlersfish · Post by **prowlersfish** » Tue Feb 05, 2008 10:42 pm

You should have no proplem with Shakespear 5206-C yours may have gone bad as most will over time .I can get about 20-25 miles on mine , I have more expenseve ant. hooked up to a better raido ( and a shorter cable ) that only works a liltle better . rember VHF works line of sight
so the higher the better . both of mine are on the fly bridge hard top so there pretty high . if you can't mount it on a top you may want to get a extension pole I like shakspear, but I here Digtal make a good one .

a liltle info here

http://www.marinewiz.com/Articles.asp?ID=127

rick1954 · Post by **rick1954** » Wed Feb 06, 2008 7:43 am

This antenna and Radio came with the boat when I purchased it. Both were in there box unopened, the antenna However, had an end installed. In speaking to Shakespear, no end should have been on the antenna. So, some one worked with it and done something to it. The components of the antenna were never tampered with the shrink wrap around the actual antenna section is original. But something is bad with it, I have a massive amount of reflective power.
I am not sure how old the antenna is, I can say it looks brand-new, the radio is a Pulstar 780 that is not made any longer, but all indications say it is working proper. My line of sight cal for my boat was, 12'x1.42 sq = 4.12 miles to the horizon best case. So depending on the other boat if the antenna height were the same, I should have transmitted around 8 miles. I am getting 9/10th of a mile.
The best radio still only puts out 25 watt max, I am sure it is a match problem, I will have the VSWR meter today and will be doing some tests. As I said, the components of this 5206-C antenna are very cheep and flimsy at best, the fiberglass whip is good. I will be changing the components one by one to check for a better match and let everyone know

Danny Bailey · Post by **Danny Bailey** » Wed Feb 06, 2008 8:15 am

Rick,
Bite the bullet and go get you a good antenna. Most times you get what you pay for and a VHF antenna is one of the best examples. A while back West Marine had a cutaway in the local store of a $39 Shakespeare and the $100 Shakespeare. Like you said the cheap antenna had cheap components. The last antenna I had go bad was a $250 Shakespeare but it had been on the boat working for 25 years. I replaced it with a $100 Shakespeare. When you divide cost by life the 'cheap' antennas are not cheap at all. Shop the internet for the best deal on a quality antenna....West Marine's prices have become ridiculous.
Danny

rick1954 · Post by **rick1954** » Wed Feb 06, 2008 9:17 am

Dan,
Oh yeah, I am already on that page with the new antenna. When my boat stopped dead in the water, and no one with me answered my call on the radio, that was a serious bad feeling. I was able to limber back the 30 plus miles at around 1100 rpm at best. I will never be in that position again. Some one with the name Shakespear should not sell junk in this application or at least publish warnings about use. I assumed everything was proper because of receiving the equipment from the owner whom was a good friend that passed away.
I still want to know what is wrong with the antenna I guess I am anal that way LOL. I have the meter coming today that I will use inline with the new system that will give me the performance of the radio/antenna at all times on the boat during use. B.T.W. I will not be purchasing a Shakespear brand antenna

JuiceClark · Post by **JuiceClark** » Wed Feb 06, 2008 10:53 am

While you're spending your sweet money, consider one of those antennas for a cell phone. I put a 4' cell-phone antenna on my bridge hard-top with a plug on the bridge. Now I'm able to call from 7 or so miles out. You can get the expensive kind with a booster that work from WAY out there.

cheapo:
http://cgi.ebay.com/WILSON-MARINE-CELL- ... dZViewItem

big $:
http://cgi.ebay.com/L-K-DIGITAL-50dB-PO ... dZViewItem

Tony

rick1954 · Post by **rick1954** » Wed Feb 06, 2008 11:24 am

Okey, I am throwing in the towel on this one. The meter just came in ups. I attach the little bugger I am reading 1.2 VSWR that is less than 4% loss this is very good. The radio is putting out around 20 watts, what the heck could be wrong, with reading like that everything should work well .

raymond workman · Post by **raymond workman** » Wed Feb 06, 2008 6:08 pm

It might not have been you having radio problems that day .The other boat may have had their squalch turned down and didnt here you.

prowlersfish · Post by **prowlersfish** » Wed Feb 06, 2008 6:34 pm

Most new antenna proplems are the conector that has been put on poorly or like Raymond say the other guy raido ( or music turned up )

Eddie-O · Post by **Eddie-O** » Thu Feb 07, 2008 12:01 am

I had the same problem on my old boat the problem was the antenna was mounted to close to the bimini frame with the bimini up could not transmit but when I lowerd the bimini it would transmit ok dont know if this is your problem but its worth a try
Eddie-O

rick1954 · Post by **rick1954** » Thu Feb 07, 2008 7:36 am

Good point on the Bimini top Eddie-o, yeah, you donâ€™t want to have the antenna around metal. because it will diminish the output by some %. Another thing is as the coaxial get older, the dielectric breakdown of the plastic inside the cable will load down the resistance just like a dummy load and block the power going to the antenna. This of corse happens over time, none the less it happens.
Okey, the radio is removed from the boat along with the antenna. Testing the radio attached to the antenna with the meter all looks well. So I used a scanner to monitor chan 72 along and my cell. A friend of mine would key-up every 15 sec sayingâ€ testâ€. Line of sight from the point of the antenna with no abstractions would have been 1.5 miles or so. At 9/10 of a mile everything is dead, the scanner lost the radio.
Conclusion, I am going to purchase a new radio along with the best antenna I can get in the 8ft range and put this one to bed. It is not worth the effort and nothing makes sense. I am sure that I could solve the problem if I were to hook the radio to a spectrum analyzer. (This is not going to happen) Thank you all for your input this is a wonderful forum that I look forward to viewing every day.

Coralkong · Post by **Coralkong** » Sun Feb 10, 2008 9:11 pm

While I admire your work with the SWR meter, et al....

I think you hit the nail precisely on the head.
For $400 or so (say $500 for what I want..lol), you can buy a whole new setup that is guaranteed to work.
IMHO, not worth the work to try to figure out who's to blame.
Just buy a new one and KNOW it works right.

So, IMHO, good call.

rick1954 · Post by **rick1954** » Mon Feb 11, 2008 9:30 am

Mike,
How the heck are you, I knew that name from some place. You are the one that turned me on to this forum, there are some very smart people on it. I am from Ricks rehab, ring a bell LOL, good to hear from ya Coralkong.

Coralkong · Post by **Coralkong** » Mon Feb 11, 2008 8:19 pm

And you as well, Rick...
I was wondering what happened to you!

rick1954 · Post by **rick1954** » Tue Feb 12, 2008 7:35 am

Still out here, finished to boat all but the air and a few other things, around July I acquired another house and spent the summer re-modeling that. Never got out much but when we did we had a wonderful time. If you look upâ€ Posring a picâ€ on the forum, you will se a pic of Seascape, it is not a good pic but nun the less you can get an idea.
I had a problem with the engin at the end of the season, best I could get was around 1100 rpm down hill LOL. At same time the people I was with could not hear me calling on the radio. The radio thing is a no brainier but this engin thing is a pain in my butt. The tank was cleaned, giving me the opportunity to put down the new teak deck as you know. The filters were new and large, the filter in the carb was clean, if I tried to go above the 1100 rpm the engin would quit as if out of gas. I think it is the fuel pump causing me the prob but not sure. My plane is to install two electric pumps and do away with the mechanical one. I would place two in series with valves, if one goes bad, I have another to put in line. What do you think?

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Radio and Antenna problem

Radio and Antenna problem

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