"But how far can you get on the less than 9 watts you will have left after using a cable with that much loss?"
Pretty darn far! In the "old" days, I used to mess with the old "packset" (pre handheld) radios that were available at the time. I had one GE, pre "PortaMobil" that was rated at 250 milliwatta output on 150Mc that I converted to 2M. I used to talk consistently and reliably from my home on the SF Peninsula to a station in Sacramento, about 98 miles away. The packset was connected to my base antenna but that had about 80 feet of RG8 from my shop to the tower. I was high and the path had little or no obstruction but it is still not an over-water path. It doesn't take much power under those conditions. If it were me, unless I had a VERY large powerboat, I would stick with a marine handheld with both NiCd and Alkaline batteries available. Tom DGN --- In [email protected], "Vernon Densler" <m...@...> wrote: > > But how far can you get on the less than 9 watts you will have left after > using a cable with that much loss? > > > > From: [email protected] > [mailto:[email protected]] On Behalf Of Eric Lowell > Sent: Tuesday, November 24, 2009 12:39 PM > To: [email protected] > Subject: Re: [Repeater-Builder] Best coax for marine use > > > > > > The only issue I would have with Heliax is the possiblity of cracked and > broken solid conductors due to vibration and repeated flexing. If I were the > vessel owner, I'd use a good grade (Belden or equivalent) of RG-8 (X if you > want). There are not a lot of terrain features out there. I'd think you could > talk quite a ways on 25 watts at 70 feet HAAT. 75-100 miles? > > > > GL, Eric > > > Eric Lowell > Eastern Maine Electronics Inc. > 48 Loon Road > Wesley ME 04686 > eme....@... > www.satnetmaine.com > > > > _____ > > From: Vernon Densler <m...@...> > To: [email protected] > Sent: Tue, November 24, 2009 11:17:45 AM > Subject: [Repeater-Builder] Best coax for marine use > > > > I have been in a big discussion with the guys on my boat list about the right > coax for running up the mast for VHF marine radio. > > > > Keeping in mind that we are talking about a 70â or so run going up the > center of an aluminum mast, in a salt water environment, and the radio is > limited to 25 watts. > > Also keep in mind that when off shore this is a life line and the best > possible send and receive is needed in an emergency situation. > > > > So given the criteria what is the best possible coax to use knowing that > thickness matters and bend radiuses may be tight? Others on the list are > saying âjust grab any old 8X type cable and you will be fineâ. I say use > something with very low loss and suggested small heliax. > > > > Any suggestions? > > > > Vern > > s/v Nirvelli > > KI4ONW >
