Lurch77
Petty Officer 2nd Class
- Joined
- Apr 10, 2013
- Messages
- 129
This is a pontoon specific radio question, so I hope the moderators will allow this here.
I boat on the waters of Green Bay (Lake Michigan), where we can be miles from the next closest boater or land. I have decided on a decent VHF radio model, but I am still a bit confused about the right antenna. I've done research and read about the different heights and gain and such. I am pretty sure I want to go with an 8' antenna because of the distance my signal will need to travel. Then I started reading about how boats have a lack of grounding field or some such thing that can reduce the signal, and antenna placement can be critical. I originally planned on mounting the antenna in front of the windshield on the console, but realize now that's not a good idea, both for performance, and for bimini top clearance. So where and how do I mount this thing? I've seen some people mention the forward rail. But I cannot find any square tube ratcheting mounts. Or am I on the completely wrong track to begin with?
I boat on the waters of Green Bay (Lake Michigan), where we can be miles from the next closest boater or land. I have decided on a decent VHF radio model, but I am still a bit confused about the right antenna. I've done research and read about the different heights and gain and such. I am pretty sure I want to go with an 8' antenna because of the distance my signal will need to travel. Then I started reading about how boats have a lack of grounding field or some such thing that can reduce the signal, and antenna placement can be critical. I originally planned on mounting the antenna in front of the windshield on the console, but realize now that's not a good idea, both for performance, and for bimini top clearance. So where and how do I mount this thing? I've seen some people mention the forward rail. But I cannot find any square tube ratcheting mounts. Or am I on the completely wrong track to begin with?