VHF Radio - Handheld vs fixed mount

[D Rush]

Situation - This past winter/spring the antenna cable for my VHF radio was cut, at the base of the mast while my boat was in the yard. I didn't notice it until the yard was stepping the mast. Pressed for time I made the decision to step the mast without fixing antenna cable. I jury rigged an antenna on my stern pulpit, so I had a VHF radio. I haven't used the VHF radio since I launched JAZ'D (CD25). I powered it on a few times. Now the VHF radio just bit the dust, it was old.
I had access to a handheld VHF unit but now that's being used by it's owner on his boat.
I'm a daysailor this year. In the future I'd like to cruise from Hingham Bay and Boston Harbor to Cape Cod & the Islands and perhaps beyond.
(I'm determined to be at the CDSOA Northeast Fleet Rendezvous in 2009! I'm sure they're having fun at this years.)

Questions:
Should I replace the dead VHF radio with a handheld or a "fixed mount"?
Wattage difference Handheld 3-5 watts vs Fixed 25 watts - How does that translate into transmission distance?


I'm leaning toward handheld.
One less valuable on board the boat at the mooring.
My GPS is handheld and I take it home after each sail.
One less thing at the top of the mast.
One less cable inside the mast.
One less connector to feed thru the Mast Plate.

[Joe CD MS 300]

The handheld for daysailing is fine. If you intend to go cruising, both. How do you check the marine forcasts now?

[Warren Kaplan]

VHF is line of sight. The higher the antenna the greater the range (up to a point of course).

I have both a hand held and a fixed mount VHF aboard with the fixed mount's antenna at the mast head. There have been many times I could raise someone with the fixed mount radio that I could not reach with the hand held. These people were some distance away and I'm quite sure that the mast head antenna, way up there was the reason I could contact them and they could contact me.

So, if you sail any distance from shore, you might want to consider a setup that has the longest range possible in case you need to summon help or just need a longer range.

[D Rush]

I always have my a weather radio (not always on), cell phone, and Blackberry with me. Believe it or not I often have my work pager with me also (but that's another sad story).

Even with all this technology the weather causes excitement with my daysails. Sunday while I was sailing Hingham Bay with 4 others on board, the skies darken in the distance. I checked the weather radar via my Blackberry, no T-storms on the radar. I checked the weather radio but the batteries were dead. While my youngest son was putting fresh batteries in the weather radio, I heard the distant rumble of thunder. Not wanting to add too much excitement or danger to my wife's and youngest son's pleasant sail, they are not "big sailors or adventurers", we headed back to the mooring. Luckily we were only 5 minutes away from our mooring. After putting my wife, youngest son and my sister ashore, my oldest son (16 yrs) and I were rowing ashore when it started drizzling. Once ashore and on our front deck with a cold beverage, I checked the weather radar on my Blackberry. On the radar grahic, Hingham Bay was covered with one big red blob. The skies had darkened even more, the skies opened and it poured rain with lighting & thunder all around.
Total elapsed time was 15 minutes. I'm cautious about the weather. I should have the weather radio on all the time.

[Ron Brassord]

I mounted a fixed radio on the underside of the lazerette hatch on our CD 22 with a short antenna mounted on the stern rail. A good quality fixed is so cheap now, and they are weather proof. I find there is very little difference in performance between a mast antemma and a rail mount. Certainly the 25 watt power is by far more reliable than the handheld 5 watt.
Mounted under the hatch, it is out of the weather, and always ready to use without diving below. My ecno Horizon functions fine after 3 years .
Ron B CD22 COOT

[Andy Denmark]

Ron has the right idea, I think. On boat deliveries I use a 3 db gain Metz antenna on a bracket that mounts on a 1 " railing such as a stern pulpit. It has a 10 ft pigtail with a BNC (or SMA) connector that attaches directly to the handheld. The antenna bracket is the standard Metz L-shaped SS one and the mounting is hinged with a hand screw so that it is easily mounted and/or removed.

The 3 db gain is the secret here. VHF propogation is much more dependent on antenna gain and line of sight path than power. The standard "rubber duck" antenna on the top of most handheld VHF's is less efficient (< unity gain) than most dummy loads. Adding an efficient antenna remarkably increases the range of the system.

For the little use this radio gets I think this system might be an effective compromise for you with a minimal outlay of boat units.

FWIW
________
Vaporizer wholesale

[Lew Gresham]

Would this idea work on a handheld?

http://www.gamelectronicsinc.com/mike.p ... 120605.pdf

[Parfait's Provider]

Having a 25 watt output is better than a 9 dB antenna gain. Add a 6 dB antenna at the top of your mast and you have 15 dB over the handheld plus the more distant RF horizon.

I would and have gone for both. The handheld is handy, the fixed is powerful, and it has a remote mike that minimizes the exposure to the weather. You can even hook up your GPS to some VHFs so that they will transmit your position at the push of a button. That could be handy if you are disabled and your family has to call for help.

Initially, in your case, I would put a splice in the mast cable and check out the difference between the handheld with a rubber ducky and the handheld with a mast antenna. Look for weak weather stations as a good starting point. That should be convincing if the antenna is functional.