New Year Mod/Upgrade List?

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fnelowet
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Re: New Year Mod/Upgrade List?

Post by fnelowet »

Looks like you have trailering situation solved for sure, Tim. Looks rock-solid!

FYI, I used a Christmas gift card to buy a small, cheap, fixed 25W VHF to install this off-season so I could potentially get a warning the next time a 40,000 ton aircraft carrier sneaks up to within a mile of me on my starboard quarter! (Of course, re-evaluation of my lookout doctrine might also help :roll: )
P165 “Spirit”
Quantico, VA
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Brian N.
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Re: New Year Mod/Upgrade List?

Post by Brian N. »

Don't forget that the higher you can mount the antenna the better the signal. When I was more active in Ham Radio I had contacts hundreds and thousands of miles away on just 5 watts power. Part of the reason was the antenna. Part of your project I suppose will be running the coax for the antenna and the mount. I would be interested in where you decide to mount the radio as well and run the power. Keep us updated.
2008 P165
Long Island Sound
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Riggerdood
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Re: New Year Mod/Upgrade List?

Post by Riggerdood »

fnelowet wrote:
Thu Dec 29, 2022 6:20 am
Looks like you have trailering situation solved for sure, Tim. Looks rock-solid!

FYI, I used a Christmas gift card to buy a small, cheap, fixed 25W VHF to install this off-season so I could potentially get a warning the next time a 40,000 ton aircraft carrier sneaks up to within a mile of me on my starboard quarter! (Of course, re-evaluation of my lookout doctrine might also help :roll: )

Well, I towed 'er across the country with these supports, etc., and no issues, so I guess it's good?

Brian is right about the antenna. I went with the Shakespeare 5215 36" low profile. It came with a mounting bracket for the top of the mast. You'll probably need to drill an exit hole in the mast for the coax. I also had to bend the windex mast a little so it would clear the antenna. Once you've done all that and hooked up the radio, you'll know when those pesky carriers are sneaking up on you! ;~P
fnelowet
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Re: New Year Mod/Upgrade List?

Post by fnelowet »

Brian N. wrote:
Thu Dec 29, 2022 8:47 am
Don't forget that the higher you can mount the antenna the better the signal. When I was more active in Ham Radio I had contacts hundreds and thousands of miles away on just 5 watts power. Part of the reason was the antenna. Part of your project I suppose will be running the coax for the antenna and the mount. I would be interested in where you decide to mount the radio as well and run the power. Keep us updated.
Will do, Brian. My plan is to mount it at the top of the mast. There’s already an HDPE platform up there that Backyard Boats built for me for the wind sensor. I hope to be able to just modify that for the antenna. For the radio itself I need to get the boat back in my driveway to figure out where I want to mount it. It might even end up on a pivoting ram mount the way I think Ron has his chart plotter mounted. The devil’s in the details, and I’ll keep updating as things progress.
P165 “Spirit”
Quantico, VA
Winter_Hawk
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Re: New Year Mod/Upgrade List?

Post by Winter_Hawk »

Don't forget to leave a "drip loop" where the coax exits the mast and goes into the antenna. No matter how well you seal the exit hole, water will find a way to get into the mast. The drip loop, extending 3 or 4 inches below the hole will go a long way towards stopping that.
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Riggerdood
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Re: New Year Mod/Upgrade List?

Post by Riggerdood »

Winter_Hawk wrote:
Fri Jan 06, 2023 11:58 am
Don't forget to leave a "drip loop" where the coax exits the mast and goes into the antenna. No matter how well you seal the exit hole, water will find a way to get into the mast. The drip loop, extending 3 or 4 inches below the hole will go a long way towards stopping that.

This is a very good suggestion Winter Hawk. I did that on my install, but as a way to deal with a very short distance between exit hole and antenna base. Turns out it makes a great drip loop as well. I didn't even bother to try to seal the exit hole, as there are so many other ways that water can get into the mast.
fnelowet
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Re: New Year Mod/Upgrade List?

Post by fnelowet »

Riggerdood wrote:
Fri Jan 06, 2023 8:01 pm
Winter_Hawk wrote:
Fri Jan 06, 2023 11:58 am
Don't forget to leave a "drip loop" where the coax exits the mast and goes into the antenna. No matter how well you seal the exit hole, water will find a way to get into the mast. The drip loop, extending 3 or 4 inches below the hole will go a long way towards stopping that.

This is a very good suggestion Winter Hawk. I did that on my install, but as a way to deal with a very short distance between exit hole and antenna base. Turns out it makes a great drip loop as well. I didn't even bother to try to seal the exit hole, as there are so many other ways that water can get into the mast.
Guys, thanks so much for this advice! I hadn’t thought of that at all.
P165 “Spirit”
Quantico, VA
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