Shortwave Radio On My Sailboat

[Mekik]

Originally Posted by SoonerSailor

Try it without any 9:1 or 4:1 unun first, unless you don’t have a wide range antenna match/tuner.

Thank you Brian and SoonerSailor for the tips. I am aware of the rigging effects on the 20m band 1/2 wave dipol. My new ordered antenna analyzer has arrived. I will start with allowed lengths and hope to find the optimum wire length.
I will use my ATU.
Is it possible to use EFHW without any un-un (due to high empedances)?
Sinan Uluvar

[Brian.D]

An EFHW will require a 49:1 or 64:1 UNUN because of the high impedance of the halfwave endfed antenna. It is possible if you have a tuner that can meet that impedance, but you will have to check the manufacture specs. My turner will only go as high as 32:1 impedance match.

Using a random wire will score more bands than a EFHW antenna. Mostly the EFHW works in the specific ham bands it was designed for. Typically I see EFHW in the 66' (20M) or 132' (40M) lengths.

Give it a try and see what will work best for you.

[SoonerSailor]

The big advantage of an end fed half wave antenna is that it will be effective with minimal ground/counterpoise on its intended band. If you can match it. With a 9:1 unun your tuner can probably get a match. It won’t work well on other bands without an effective counterpoise/ground (though a 20m EFHW will work similarly on 10m). The most versatile antenna on a boat is one that is end fed, is not 1/2 wave on any desired band, and has an effective RF ground/counterpoise and is matched with a wide range ATU.
You can also raise a vertical centerfed 1/2 wave dipole that does not require a tuner when used on its designed for band. This works very well and doesn’t require a counterpoise. Lots of things to think about and potentially experiment with!

[SoonerSailor]

I should add that the other advantage of any 1/2 wave vertical antenna, be it end fed or a traditional center fed is it will have a nice fat low takeoff lobe of radiated power that is good for long distance communication. Antennas longer than 1/2 wave can have lobes in less desirable directions, while antennas shorter than 1/2 wave will show a bit less gain at the low angle.

[cburger]

Originally Posted by pendragon

I purchased a 857D Yaesu a few years ago, The're excellent radios.The problem was it could not transmit on HF marine bands , RX yes but Tx No
In order to open it up for marine bands also i needed to connect and disconnect a couple of small (read tiny)links inside the radio.
From then on I had a open Marine as well as a Ham radio in one. You'll need to google for the web link, as I forgot it. Good luck with the exam..

Passed Technician Exam and received license from FCC, studying for General hope to be ready to take test by end of March.

S/V Moon Dance has SEA 222 with a SEA antenna tuner, Kiss as counterpoise and will do Ham frequencies as well. When I first obtained Restricted Radio Operators license and ship station I unknowingly raised net control for the Cruisers Ne, 14300 MHz in Chippawa Falls, approximately 1200 miles away while the vessel was on the hard, thought that was pretty good.

Pendragon it would be appreciated if you could add a little more about your experiences with the Yaseu 857D.

[Brian.D]

Congrats and welcome to the Ham community!

On the 857D there are a series of pads on the main board. To open the radio for all band transmit one has to link one or two pads and that is it. On my 857D I used a silver paste pen I got from Ebay to do the linking. The pen is basically a PCB trace repair tool.

[cburger]

Originally Posted by Brian.D

Congrats and welcome to the Ham community!

On the 857D there are a series of pads on the main board. To open the radio for all band transmit one has to link one or two pads and that is it. On my 857D I used a silver paste pen I got from Ebay to do the linking. The pen is basically a PCB trace repair tool.

As I already have marine hi seas radio onboard would just use 857d for Ham Bands. Can you comment on your experience with the Yaseu, do you like the unit?

[Brian.D]

The 857D works fine. But personally I don't like it. It is ugly, has too many modes and software settings. The menu system is not intuitive. I pretty much like the simplicity of the older radios like the TS-50S, IC-707, or even the Alinco DX-77. My current boat radio is the IC-707.

My intent when my TS-50S gave up the ghost was to get the Alinco SR8T, but my wife surprised me with the 857D. So I keep it and use it.

Most of my hamming is done on 14300 and 7233.5 for SSB, WSPR and RMSExpress. So I really do not need all those fancy modes the 857D has. I just wish the big three would make simple HF rigs are do not require 40 hours of training just to turn it on.

[CarinaPDX]

Originally Posted by Brian.D

I just wish the big three would make simple HF rigs are do not require 40 hours of training just to turn it on.

Icom take note: the M802 is a great radio but the learning curve is steep. The training videos found here are very useful but take a lot of time to watch. It just shouldn't be that hard...

Greg

[Rough Magic]

Watching. My Tech license is 4 days old. Same goals. Good luck

[Mekik]

I want to give some info related to my try-out on my 36ft fiber sailboat.

I used 44' of wire with a 9:1 matchbox. I pulled the end of with a halyard near the top of the mast. The feed was at stern.
First I measured the SWR. It was more than 9. I connected the pre-prepared 2 counterpoises (1/4 WL) for 20 and 40 m.

I just laid them down on the deck, one port, the other on starboard side.

The results were good. SWR was below 1.5 at the first shot.

My noise level was high (probably due to being connected to land power and battery charger active.

My rig consists of a Kenwood TS50 and AT50. I tied the ground of the tuner to the keel.

In order to pinpoint the source of the high noise level, my next step is to try feeding the rig with utility battery of the boat with no power from land.

Thanks for the recommendations. I will try to give info about improvements.

Sinan Uluvar
TA3DO
S/Y Burulca

[SoonerSailor]

Siman - sounds good! Experimentation is the key.

[CSY Man]

Will this little radio pick up Marine wx forecast?

It is a Tecsun PL 380 with good reviews, but I don’t know much about this kind of radio...?
Good to have on a boat?
(A simple Navtex these days are $700, perhaps a small shortwave will do the same job?)

[stormalong]

Originally Posted by CSY Man

Will this little radio pick up Marine wx forecast?

It is a Tecsun PL 380 with good reviews, but I don’t know much about this kind of radio...?
Good to have on a boat?
(A simple Navtex these days are $700, perhaps a small shortwave will do the same job?)

Shortwave reception is more about the antenna than the radio. A bad antenna will make the best radio made deaf. Whereas a good antenna will make a mediocre shine.

[CSY Man]

Originally Posted by stormalong

Shortwave reception is more about the antenna than the radio. A bad antenna will make the best radio made deaf. Whereas a good antenna will make a mediocre shine.

So, does that make this radio useless?
Got a power boat now, don’t have access to a back stay, but not transmitting either, just need to get weather in the Bahamas.
How long of a whip antenna to make this little radio useful?