Whats the realistic range in our area of VHF with 8’ antennae on the Ttop to consistently reach USCG, SEATOW, etc? I understand sea conditions can have an impact if you are rolling around. Just trying to think about my communication equip.
typically line of sight but depending on atmospheric condition can get further.
Thanks,
Paul
GW 257 Advance
The “gain” of the antenna as well as the height has a lot to do with the range. Think of a large basketball representing the radiated area. The higher the gain the more the basketball is mashed down to look more like a pizza pan. But with this pizza pan effect, especially on a smaller boat, you can overshoot or undershoot the intended target because of the rocking of the boat. We can’t raise the height of your boat but the height of the USCG antenna in Charleston is over 100 feet. On a good day you should be able to reach them out to about 25 miles, but don’t trust VHF beyond 12 miles.
ZX
9 db gain in a 8 ft. On t-top I have talked with sea tow from the outcrop area. Spend your money on a good antenna. You really do get what you pay for.
Give a man a fish and he will eat for a day. Teach a man to fish and he will sit in a boat and drink beer all day. FISH 24/7---- 25 Grady w/ a couple of Gas Guzzling 175 Johnsons “O-SEA-D” the old “Havanadaydream”
quote:
Originally posted by HAVANADAYDREAM9 db gain in a 8 ft. On t-top I have talked with sea tow from the outcrop area. Spend your money on a good antenna. You really do get what you pay for.
Give a man a fish and he will eat for a day. Teach a man to fish and he will sit in a boat and drink beer all day. FISH 24/7---- 25 Grady w/ a couple of Gas Guzzling 175 Johnsons “O-SEA-D” the old “Havanadaydream”
but you’re probably too old to go offshore now, right?
T-storms in the summertime sometimes knock out the high rise VHF systems on land, and it helps to have the towing services in a SPOT messenger as a contact to send a tow-help message to for that reason. Knowing for sure where to dispatch their tow boat even while they can’t confirm over VHF is a huge advantage. This assuming you have a good enough anchor to hold your boat in place. It amazes me how many people have no such thing, but they spend so much money on other safety items.
Normal conditions’ range for a good icom and 8ft antenna on a center console with proper connections based on my experience:
20-25 miles for a center console with 8ft antenna to talk to a sporty. 10-15 miles for a center console to another center console.
60 miles for a center console to seatow/towboatUS
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Luke 8:22-25