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Mr. Sandman · 12-14-2011, 08:15 AM

I have a couple questions concerning antennas.

VHF: I am going to replace one and add a second radio this year. what is the way to go for a cabin top mounted VHF antenna. I know taller is better and I know about gain but can/should you mount a 14' antenna on the roof? I was thinking about a couple 8'ers with 6db gain. But I would get a little more distance with a 14'er. But do these need support midway or can they be base mounted like the 6 and 8'ers. I think the formula for range is something like sqrt(height in feet above water) * 1.42 = range in miles
or something like that so we are talking in the 5-7 mile range.

There is a guy who fishes near me who has amazing strength and range. I can hear this guy clear as day 25 miles away, and I can't figure out what he has. I have even spoken to him (saw him in west marine one day) and asked him directly. He says it is his antenna...I think he has is radio jacked up and is pumping out more that 25 watts...

Cell phone antennas. Exactly how do these work? I see cell phone antennas that can boost your rangeon the water to 20-40 miles in some cases. Do the cell phones need to be directly plugged in to the antenna or is there some magic going on between the roof mounted device and the phone locally that boosts the range somehow?

12-14-2011, 08:15 AM	#1
Mr. Sandman Registered User iTrader: (0) Join Date: Sep 2001 Posts: 7,649	Antennas. I have a couple questions concerning antennas. VHF: I am going to replace one and add a second radio this year. what is the way to go for a cabin top mounted VHF antenna. I know taller is better and I know about gain but can/should you mount a 14' antenna on the roof? I was thinking about a couple 8'ers with 6db gain. But I would get a little more distance with a 14'er. But do these need support midway or can they be base mounted like the 6 and 8'ers. I think the formula for range is something like sqrt(height in feet above water) * 1.42 = range in miles or something like that so we are talking in the 5-7 mile range. There is a guy who fishes near me who has amazing strength and range. I can hear this guy clear as day 25 miles away, and I can't figure out what he has. I have even spoken to him (saw him in west marine one day) and asked him directly. He says it is his antenna...I think he has is radio jacked up and is pumping out more that 25 watts... Cell phone antennas. Exactly how do these work? I see cell phone antennas that can boost your rangeon the water to 20-40 miles in some cases. Do the cell phones need to be directly plugged in to the antenna or is there some magic going on between the roof mounted device and the phone locally that boosts the range somehow?