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saltybeaver
Guest
broke my atenna on the way home sunday .just wondering if I rigged it back to gether if it would still work as good ? am I just wasting my time ?
Charter Tofino
Well-Known Member
salty your almost breakin as much as im losing[xx(]
Kildonan
Well-Known Member
What kind of an antenna is it? Fiberglass? If that's the case and it's snapped in 2, I would NOT use it. The antenna is tuned to the frequency you transmit on and that's based on a length of wire that is specific to a certain frequency range. If you've broken that wire inside a fiberglass antenna, it's no longer tuned for your transceiver. You could do damage to the transmitter if you use it to transmit a signal.
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blueorca
Guest
Further to Kildonan's reply, if you snip off even one inch on a stainless, you are almost guaranteed to damage the transmiter portion of your radio.
Loss of reception for incoming signals are not damage inducing to your receiver but the transmiter will get toasted when keying up on a mismatched antenae.
Loss of reception for incoming signals are not damage inducing to your receiver but the transmiter will get toasted when keying up on a mismatched antenae.
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battaglino
Guest
I broke one off at the base 4 years ago I used that steel putty and it has worked fine. I did not damage the internal wires if they are broken you are done. I did go out last year and purchased a new one just in case it never hurts to have a spare.
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saltybeaver
Guest
Kelly I have almost lost interst in fishing because somthing goes worng every time .
It is a fiberglass atenna but there is no wire in side ?????
It is a fiberglass atenna but there is no wire in side ?????
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reel easy
Guest
Salty, when he says wire, he means the antenna cord itself, it runs up the length. Mine broke at the base area, just epoxy it together and it should be fine, if it broke where I think.
Kildonan
Well-Known Member
Salty, the wire wrapped inside that fiberglass antenna could be real fine, I guarantee you it's there even if you cannot see it. If you want to know for sure if your antenna's pooched, wheel your boat up to a communications company that sells and installs VHF radios. Make sure your radio is all hooked up in your boat and tell them you would like an SWR (standing wave ratio) test on your antenna. This will tell if there are problems and whether you need an new one or not. The general rule of thumb for a VHF radio is that an SWR of 2.0:1 is acceptable, anything higher I would say is problematic.
I could bore you with details of the science of it but... I can already here everyone yawning.
Take it to the shop and get it checked out, I would think they will test it for free. If it's messed up, replace the antenna.
I could bore you with details of the science of it but... I can already here everyone yawning.
Take it to the shop and get it checked out, I would think they will test it for free. If it's messed up, replace the antenna.
A new antenna is about 40 bux, I don't think I'd really risk what could be a potential lifeline on a boat if you are in trouble.
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saltybeaver
Guest
ya I seen the copper wire in the atenna .time for a new one
