VHF poor performance
Submitted by Cruise Control on Wed, 2014-08-13 16:37
I recently installed a Lowrance VHF hooked up to a new 2.4m Pacific aerial. When I was in Coral Bay the performance of this unit was so bad I thought that the install must of been bad. I checked all connections and they looked good. I could pick up sea rescue loud and clear when departing the ramp but by the time I got to the North passage it was breaking up badly and once outside nothing. Boat to boat I reckon the range was no more than 3km max.
I can't believe that a new radio could be that piss-weak. Could anything else be affecting the TX/RX ability or should it just be deep-sixed and replaced with better quality ?
cheers
scotto
Posts: 2471
Date Joined: 21/04/08
I had a brand new aerial
Had a brand new (farkin) GME aerial that was faulty straight out of the packet once.
Id be cross checkin the unit and aerial first.
scotto
Posts: 2471
Date Joined: 21/04/08
I had a brand new aerial
Had a brand new (farkin) GME aerial that was faulty straight out of the packet once.
Id be cross checkin the unit and aerial first.
Paul G
Posts: 5215
Date Joined: 12/12/07
Not sure I would think the
Not sure I would think the aerial is at falt, I just installed a new aerial to my vhf and got whitfords sea rescue from home .I can pick up all the perth rescue groups from the Abrolhos loud and clear .
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Chongy
Posts: 88
Date Joined: 04/11/09
There should be a button
There should be a button on the top of your hand piece that says hi/lo and that's the power rating. If you push it in on the display screen up the top close to the left hand side it will change between hi and lo. Some channels will only let you be on low like bridge coms channel but if you just hold the the button in when you are talking it will stay on high. Hope that works for ya
carnarvonite
Posts: 8673
Date Joined: 24/07/07
Transmit
The hi/lo button only affects the power you transmit on, 5 watts on low and 25 on high, it doesn't have any effect on receiving the signal
Rob H
Posts: 5807
Date Joined: 18/01/12
was the VHF new? My one will
was the VHF new? My one will get similar to Pauls, receive from the Abrolhos but transmitting to Gero a little more hit and miss.
There is very little in the way of user adjustable parameters on a VHF, depending where you got the aeriel you could tow the boat there and borrow one to try, just plug it in and make a test call, else go to a a radio tech. Should be able to test it?
Give a man a mask, and he'll show you his true face...
The older you get the more you realize that no one has a f++king clue what they're doing.
Everyone's just winging it.
Rosie
Posts: 159
Date Joined: 13/01/13
Get the VSWR checked.
Take your boat to a two way radio tech and ask for a "VSWR check"(Stands for Voltage Standing Wave Ratio).
Involves measuring the radios output and checks the amount of reflected power back from the antenna. A badly tuned antenna will cause a poor transmission distance and reduced receiving sensitivity.
Seek & Deploy
sarcasm0
Posts: 1396
Date Joined: 25/06/09
Do you rake your antennas?
Eg are they 90 degrees to the water or do they follow the line of a t-top or canopy?
If raked this can drastically change performance.
Bryan
sea-kem
Posts: 15026
Date Joined: 30/11/09
Hopefully you didn't try to
Hopefully you didn't try to transmit at any stage without the aerial attached, that kills the units. New unit still under warranty if faulty?
Love the West!
NORUN NOFUN
Posts: 1035
Date Joined: 15/08/11
Excuse the ignorance, why
Excuse the ignorance, why does it kill the unit when transmitting without aerial?
sea-kem
Posts: 15026
Date Joined: 30/11/09
From what I've been told by
From what I've been told by my boat mech and a few articles I have read it will damage the transmitter, not the reciever. Something to do with excess voltage throught the diodes. I'm sure someone more radio savvy will know.
Love the West!
Rosie
Posts: 159
Date Joined: 13/01/13
Yes... The transmitter is
Yes... The transmitter is designed to transmit into a measured load (the antenna). When you transmit without a load (no antenna) or into a short circuit (bad termination or squashed cable) you'll fry the output stage of the transmitter.
Also, something to keep in mind. Try to keep your antenna cable as short as possible and don't coil excess cable up into tight loops.
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Rob H
Posts: 5807
Date Joined: 18/01/12
thread hijack-Rosie :-)
Rosie, sounds like your the gun on radios-I have a Sony stereo on my boat which is connected to the VHF antennae using a splitter.
I can barely pick up FM radio from Gero when at the islands (not good enough to listen to) and AM virtually not at all, thats 30 miles across water.
Yet a palm size $10 Jaycar am/fm radio with 6" aerial can.
What do I need to do to improve reception?
I never listen to AM ashore but over there its quite pleasant after the kids have crashed to turn the lights off, sit back with AM on quietly and suck back a coldy and contemplate life in general.
Give a man a mask, and he'll show you his true face...
The older you get the more you realize that no one has a f++king clue what they're doing.
Everyone's just winging it.
RobertMc
Posts: 326
Date Joined: 19/01/09
hey rob are you using a vhf
hey rob are you using a vhf antenna to pick up amfm?
Rob H
Posts: 5807
Date Joined: 18/01/12
yeah, using one of the
yeah, using one of the "purpose" made amfm/vhf splitters, Pacific I think.
Give a man a mask, and he'll show you his true face...
The older you get the more you realize that no one has a f++king clue what they're doing.
Everyone's just winging it.
RobertMc
Posts: 326
Date Joined: 19/01/09
ok, i didnt know you could
ok, i didnt know you could get them, i run a seperate antenna for my stereo and fish up t0 40nm off dawsville and never have had a problem picking up 96fm maybe it has something to do with using the vhf
Rob H
Posts: 5807
Date Joined: 18/01/12
these are the
these are the ones
https://www.whitworths.com.au/main_itemdetail.asp?cat=114&item=69960
Give a man a mask, and he'll show you his true face...
The older you get the more you realize that no one has a f++king clue what they're doing.
Everyone's just winging it.
Rig
Posts: 2925
Date Joined: 27/12/06
dont work
I dont know anybody that has one of those splitters that work, I have tried 2 different brands and all I ever seemed to get is bad performance on both antennas. Now I run run 3 dedicated antennas for steroe, vhf and 27meg no problems
Deleted
Posts: 6265
Date Joined: 26/04/14
That's interesting because
That's interesting because I've been told under no circumstances cut a aerials cable, can you let me no the benefits of shortening the cable as I have 2 bundles that look ugly
Cheers
NORUN NOFUN
Posts: 1035
Date Joined: 15/08/11
Thanks guys, I have just
Thanks guys, I have just installed a new vhf antenna and cable and have wound the excess cable up for no other reason than to tidy it up. Looks as though I will fix up and have learnt something new. Cheers
Brucesta
Posts: 1721
Date Joined: 29/05/09
the tighter you coil it you
the tighter you coil it you can introduce reflections back into your radio and also extra distance you can lose some transmit power but it's negligable considering we are talking 5m of coax not 30-40m but if it was higher grade RG-58 cable then it makes a difference if you can look at purchasing a antenna from ZGC Scalar or RF Industries if they suit you you will get better shielding than what say pacific or GME give you, it comes back to the VSWR test in the end. As for the splitter deal, your antenna is a VHF antenna, tuned for the 150-160MHz range. FM radio is at 88-108MHz so it's not too bad but not ideal. Am well that's a totally different kettle of fish, you're trying to recieve a signal that is between 500 and 1600KHz or 0.5-1.6MHz so very much less than ideal. for the sake of a few hunderd bucks mount the dedicated antenna for the stezza.
Mind you i have a splitter off my VHF and i don't have any isses with it, since it works well for both the VHF and the Stezza i haven't changed it but i'll be replacing that 2.4m whip with 2 news ones very shortly anyway
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