Hello all,
I bought my
current boat last Aug and it has too many antennas on the top of the
mast. The prior owner didn't know what they were all for either. There's a spare whip that looks just like a
VHF whip. The cable at the
mast step has no clear label, just a letter to match the cable it connects to in the
hull. Today I finally chased the cable to a dead end behind the nav console and found it labeled there as "DSC Antenna". It has a connector just like
VHF, but it's a skinny cable more like a TV coax, not a fat VHF cable. I couldn't find a marking on it but will look harder next time.
Did
DSC start out way back when with a dedicated
antenna and I have a remnant? More importantly did I just get lucky and I can use this mount and cable to put a dedicated
AIS antenna up there instead?
While on the subject the mast also has a short
fiberglass old cell antenna. This one was labeled clearly and I found the same dead end behind the nav station. This cable seems identical to a at VHF cable, with same connectors. Maybe this cable can be used for
AIS?
So in reality I have two unused antennas and
cables in the mast at the moment. I'd be thrilled if one could be converted to AIS, leaving one spare. Any chance the spare will be useful for a sat
phone antenna some day? I don't know how they are cabled.
Nice to have choices - I hope one works. As we all know it's unusual to find a positive surprise out of old
gear.
Make my day?
JR