Compatibility of GPS Antenna for Vesper WatchMate

[fredct]

I have a now obsolete Vesper AIS Watchmate 850. Works well, no complaint. I use an external antenna that came with the system originally.



During an unrelated repair, the cable connecting the antenna to the unit got nicked. Not in a spot where we could add a splice.


So I am looking a simply replacing the entire antenna, all the way to the Vesper unit. With Garmin taking over, backward compatibility is not straight forward to figure out.


My specific question: can I use the Vesper external GPS antenna for Cortex hub (V1 and M1)?

[SailingHarmonie]

(Almost) All gps antennas are interchangeable. If the coax fitting fits, they work. In a very few cases what looks like a gps antenna is not a passive antenna but an active receiver. These are connected by simple wires, not coax cables.

A generic gps antenna is so cheap and easy to source, it makes no sense not to try it.

[KUTA]

I'm in the same situation, need the GPS antenna for my Vesper XB8000. There was an antenna Vesper GPA 901 but that is no longer available, it is not to be found online and is not produced any longer. The XB8000 manual state the any other gps antenna wont work and will most likely damage the AIS unit !I wonder if someone have been able to come up with a replacement for the GPA 901 antenna.

[donradcliffe]

The old vesper antenna I had received 5 volts through the coax. I just spit the one from my Garmin GPS and didn't have to mount a second antenna. But that was years ago.

[fredct]

Update: I ended up splicing the antenna back in using an additional coax connector. Works fine. I cannot see how a replacement antenna would "break" the Watchmate. Seems self serving.


I did find that ICOM makes a AIS unit very similar to the Watchmate. That will be my go to if all fails.

[CatLove]

The 850 user manual states the external optional GPS antenna is an active type and requires 3.3V for its LNA power.