VHF def better range.

Just thought you may be interested to hear that when I had the 27meg in the boat , I tried to contact a mate 5.5 klms away on his unit (driveway to driveway) just to range test.

We both live in quite large dips in the land with plenty in the way , and it wasn't much of a surprise to get no signal at all.

No prob for the vhf.  It's a hell of a lot better.   Dunno about line of sight

 

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snappermiles's picture

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vhf range

Fri, 2012-11-02 06:35

its certainly better! i broke down a few months back bloody fuel pump. and i got sea rescue on the vhf from 22 mile out but only just!

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 Wrong - the 27meg signal

Fri, 2012-11-02 07:59

 Wrong - the 27meg signal would of been going straight over his head,

Try it at 30-40 km see which one works.

 -VHF are like small ripples on the water and die off quickly. (line of sight) subject to skip etc.

 - 27meg (cheap mans HF radio ) are more like swell lines and go for s lot longer.

Cheers Boomer

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black gen's picture

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22 mile out.....somewhere in

Fri, 2012-11-02 08:11

22 mile out.....somewhere in the 35-45km range..he said the vhf worked better,

i tend to agree....my vhf has way longer range then my 27meg....
 

get about 5-8kms at best on the water with a 27meg....not to mention the static

wangler's picture

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On a good day

Fri, 2012-11-02 08:32

I have heard Freo sea rescue from North of 2 rocks on 27mhz, and on a stormy day have heard from the base in the city to my driveway (14km north) on VHF

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carnarvonite's picture

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Lady Joyce wreck

Fri, 2012-11-02 08:33

At sea rescue here in Carnarvon, we usually have trouble reching boats at the Lady Joyce wreck, a distance of 10nm on 27meg but have no trouble with VHF.

The islands are some 27nm and are no trouble at all with VHF  but never with 27 meg, and yes, the aerials are mounted at the same height and free from obstruction in the direction we transmit to.

Gives a reason why we urge all owners up here to go straight to VHF and not even consider 27meg.

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Date Joined: 24/01/11

 27 meg radios are of lower

Fri, 2012-11-02 08:58

 27 meg radios are of lower frequency than VHF - meaning the wave lengths are longer and travel alot further but are less predictable in short range ( 20 -30NM is short range) this is the reason why they are trying to phase them out.

HF radio set on 2187 the lowest preset channel will easiley reach Coast radio perth from Jurien Bay

HF radio set on either 4207 or 6312 will reach Canberra (ACT) from Dampier (WA) on a good night. the reason i say night is because the Ionishphere compresses to a single layer at night and can have up to 4 during the day affecting 'bounce'.

The old 27meg radio falls between these two (2m - 4m) frequencys so you can see what distances where talking about here.

  - SO at a few miles your 27meg will work but futher out and the signal is going over your head. 

 

 Travelling between Barrow Is and Dampier - 72NM on good night (usually when there`s some moisture in the air) we can hear Barrow from Dampier and Vice verser this is due to "skip"

on the other hand some days trying to call Port of Dampier from 1 hour short of NW reefs 28 NM and we cant pick them up.

VHF is line of sight and anything more than 15 NM from the average amature boat to boat is not reliable.

 

Hope this clears thing up a bit - Now my head hurts-

Cheers Boomer 

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Bit of light reading for you

Fri, 2012-11-02 09:07

Bit of light reading for you guy`s with any doubts

Cheers Boomer


 

 

Figure 2 - A chart to show the relationship between the CB band and others. On the left the chart starts out with power line frequencies (60 Hz), AM Broadcast (1MHz), the CB band (27MHz) and goes all the way up through TV,FM Radio, Cellular Phone, Microwave to visible light frequencies. Lower frequencies have long wavelengths and high frequencies have short wavelengths.

 

 

 

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I believe we have a winner.

Fri, 2012-11-02 09:55

I believe we have a winner.

grayzeee's picture

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I'm not going to pretend to

Fri, 2012-11-02 10:13

I'm not going to pretend to understand your chart Boomer (the relationship between wavelength and broadcast range not shown)

But it sounds like you are saying 27 meg is less "predictable" in the ranges we need them for (20nm ish) and we'd be losing the signal overhead.

The clarity of the vhf signal at the rec boat ranges plus the fact that all shipping monitors vhf makes it the clear winner to me anyway

(I have had numerous try's at contacting a mate out at sea with dissapointing results every time on 27meg. they have been less than 10nm away , so completely agree with your predictability comment)

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Yes- 27meg`s are shit Ha ha,

Fri, 2012-11-02 10:15

Yes- 27meg`s are shit Ha ha, was definately not trying to mount a case for them.

On the rec boats VHF all the way

Cheers boomer 

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What would be the effective

Fri, 2012-11-02 11:50

What would be the effective range of a handheld 5watt vhf radio??

 

carnarvonite's picture

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Date Joined: 24/07/07

Arm

Fri, 2012-11-02 12:08

How strong is your arm and how far can you throw it?

If you are going to spend the money do yourself a favour, spend the bit extra and get a mounted set with a big antenna, even if you have to used a motor bike battery to power it.

 

Being 5 watts I'd expect about 4-5nm at best depending on conditions

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Date Joined: 08/08/12

Cheers, thought that would be

Mon, 2012-11-05 09:27

Cheers, thought that would be the case, not much more $ for a proper setup anyway. Adding a small Deep cycle for lights (& fridge) at some point soon so it will work out ok.