VHF Radio to old antenna

A

alley cat

Active Member
Any Radio techs on this site ?
Changed out my old VHF as it had packed it in , left the old antenna on.
Now my question , do you need to tune the antenna to the set ?
Right now I have lots of volume when receiving but when transmitting my buddies can only hear me faintly even if they are only 1/2 mile away.
All the contacts were cleaned and had any old corroded spots removed , nice and bright shiny metal to metal ; so what could be the problem , thought I would ask this forum before going to the $60 per hr lads.

Cheers

AL
 
If your old antenna was tuned properly for your old VHF, it should be fine for the new one. However, if there are issues with the antenna and/or coax cable, you would be best suited to test what's called the SWR (Standing Wave Ratio). You could probably get that done at either Muir Communications or Victoria Marine Electric in Victoria.

I would offer to test it for you but I don't have a test meter that's suitable for VHF.
 
Talked to my dad ,he's an old radio guy.Make sure the coax cable is not in a loop under the dash,everything clean,which you have done.He says not worth the time to horse around with the aerial,if it was not working before with the old radio and not working now with the new one,good chance that its pooched.Assuming that its a brand new radio.DAN
 
Since you are having no problem receiving, but very faint transmitting I would be inclined to check out your mike. You did not say if it was a new or used unit. If new see if your supplier will allow you to try another mike, if used see someone who has the same unit and will let you try their mike. A friend tore the wiring on his and you could not see any damage until we checked it out. Received great and static and faint on send.
Antenna tuning is normally done to provide best location on boat for send and receive signal.
 
Sorry ..............the unit is brand new and the mike has been taken apart by several people and was seen to be OK to their satisfaction , there is a loop under the dash in the coaxial cable , just unloped it and will try it out tomorrow.

AL
 
Another thing to check is the antenna. If it's a fiberglass antenna, it should have a hollow core with a wire running through it. If it gets banged around alot, the wire tends to break and limit your transmitting signal.
 
In general if you hear ok, you should be able to be heard better than 1/2 mile away. Ask whoever is listening to you if you quiet their set and there just is not any audio, or if you are noisy and are just breaking the squelch.

Quiet and no audio will indicate a problem with your microphone or with the audio circuits in the transmitter. Noisy indicates that your power is low or the antenna is not working well. If the antenna is not working well (mistuned, bad coax, bad connectors, etc.)) it will shut down the transmit power.

Stick your set on someone else's antenna that is known to work. If your set works well, then the problem is your antenna or voltage to the set. If it doesn't work on the other antenna it is your set.

I have to ask, are you running the motor when the set is operating? Are you sure the power leads to the radio are good and that it is getting good voltage? Are you sure the battery voltage is around 13 to 14 volts? Are the leads from the battery to the radio of sufficient size wire? If there is a problem, the voltage can fall during transmit because it draws more power and the output power will drop too nothing causing you not to be heard.

My betting is that either your antenna, coax or connectors are bad or the voltage is low. But, it could be many other things.

Antennas for marine use do not need tuning. Loops in the coax are generally not a problem.

Where are you located? If up near Qualicum I could put some test equipment on and see where the problem might be.
 
Checked the voltage thats OK (13.2 volts on the meter), on the other sets it is quiet and the signal is very faint , they can hardly hear me with the motor running , we tried with the motor off and then to ensure power hooked a power pack to it and the results are the same, the antenna is solid wire not fiberglass with a core .

I am in Crofton , and am going to try the set in another boat tomorrow and see if our neighbour about 1/4 mile away receives it loud and clear.

Must admit I forgot to try another set we know is good and eliminate either the aerial or the unit , thanks for the head duster on that , should have tried that first.

AL
 
No EagleCraft my 649 tickets aren't that lucky yet. Something with a cuddy and a bit more size for going off shore. It will be a winter project coming soon.

ps It will be with a VHF that doesn't go tick tick tick on the higher channels. ;)

Cheers ME
 
Uncoiled the co-ax and transmitted , no change.
Changed sets , transmitted ...all OK
Put original set back on line and changed the mike(other one fit) transmitted , no change in signal strength.
Took set to shop , transmitter plug defective , corroded inside base !
Warranty covered it , got new set went back and tried it all OK .

AL
 
Uncoiled the co-ax and transmitted , no change.
Changed sets , transmitted ...all OK
Put original set back on line and changed the mike(other one fit) transmitted , no change in signal strength.
Took set to shop , transmitter plug defective , corroded inside base !
Warranty covered it , got new set went back and tried it all OK .

AL
 
Thanks everyone for the input , a pleasure to chat with you all ,a good example I believe on how this site can work and be useful and allow us to work together.

Regards

AL
 
Thanks everyone for the input , a pleasure to chat with you all ,a good example I believe on how this site can work and be useful and allow us to work together.

Regards

AL
 
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