I am captain on a tug boat I use a vhf all day every day. My radios usually fail because either the microphone button wore out or the wires in the mic wire broke. I use both ICOM and Standard Horizon both function identical, I prefer the older ones with actual knobs instead of buttons. I swear by Morad antennas because they last. The fiberglass powerboat style ones break quickly. The vibration causes the wires inside to break. Plus the sun will delaminate them. I used a metal whip 3db sailboat style antenna for my ais which held up well. Also if you have a DSC equipped radio take the time to wire it to a GPS so it has time and position. I will stop beeping at you. That's about all I can pass on from my wheelhouse. Thanks for the video.

Excellent coverage of a much misunderstood topic. Also coax looses more power if it gets deformed, pinched, flattened, bent too tight, looped excessively. Technical stuff: Some antennas work with a ground plane like the 3db quarter wave whip. Their pattern suffers without a good ground plane, which is another piece of the system not always addressed on boats. Some antennas work without a ground plane, like the 6db design you prefer. For people who want deeper understanding, buy the ARRL Antenna handbook as a place to start.

Really good information clearly told. In the late 70’s and early 80’s our fishing club used CB radios in addition to our VHF radios on our skiffs. One of my friends blew an outdrive about a mile east of Bimini. He tried to call for help on his CB and go a response from someone who said where’s Bimini. My friend said it’s 55 miles east of Miami. The other person said he was just outside of Knoxville, TN and could not help. My friend said his 21’ skiff back to Florida using his Bimini top as a sail.

Nice one Clark! Very informative. Love you guys! One thing I would have touched on and is generally overlooked is the twisting/shielding and routing of the power wires. A large percentage of you will say it doesn't matter because its DC, however I would have to disagree based on experience. Remember that day when you were so proud of your new car stereo install and it sounded so good ….until you started your car. There was a terrible whine that was proportional to the rpm of the engine...You had to fix this using an EMI filter. I am a design engineer in aerospace and defense (specifically designing automated test systems for electronic..."things that are critical to your survival"). Collective data would support twisting of the power wires as the default go-to if cost and weight do not prohibit its use. When in doubt twist them and shield them. Two reasons....1. Reduced susceptibility to noise from other magnetic fields. 2. Reduced magnetic radiation from loads that are switching. Additionally, the routing of these wires is even more critical. Its generally a bad idea to run power wires to your radio in parallel with wires going to your bilge pumps, transducers, stereo speaker wires, shore power lines, etc. I'm guessing there is a filter circuit on the power input side of a quality radio, but to cut costs in a Chinese radio I wouldn't be surprised if it didn't exist at all. Scenario: Your sinking and the bilge pumps are now running full bore, and an inductive interference is now coupled to your radio when your calling for Mayday. All they hear at the other end is a whining bilge pump with some guy garbled underneath all the noise. Greetings from Clearwater!

I served in the australian navy as a comms operator and found this explanation and advice excellent for general sailors. by the way for cable connections we covered them in impregnated cotton wrap which would last for years preventing water penetration. very difficult to remove though.

Great video, I am a ham and the info in this video is spot on. Good equipment, good connections, water,proofing to keep corrosion down. Understanding db, antenna placement. Good stuff for the layman to adhere to.

Love your stories! As a beginner sailor, I started to get some nice stories to tell too, until now, mainly what goes wrong. I'll check my VHF cables and antenna, thanx so much for sharing your expertise.

Some pointers: I’d recommend going to 1/2” RF cable instead, it has lower loss, and has a solid corrugated copper shield, which means a hole in the outer sheath won’t wick water into the cable. You’ll need to add two more connectors and move to a thinner cable at both ends, but if you use N-type connectors the loss in the connectors will be less than the loss of the RG-213. There’s also other options that are a bit more flexible, but they are a lot more expensive. For connectors, I recommend first taping the joint with self-vulcanizing tape (silicone if you can find it), and then taping over it with 3M Super 88 electrical tape (this is the stuff you want, there’s nothing like it), this is how we do radio systems for critical infrastructure.

Good job. One thing when running coax is to avoid very sharp bends. If your bend is too sharp the inner wire can migrate through the insulation and touch the outer wire over time causing a dead short. Also worth mentioning that super cheap tv coax is 75 ohm and should be avoided. SWR meters really come into their own when tuning an antenna.

Love the tech talk and story sandwich. The stories brought a lot of life to something that might have, otherwise, been a little more difficult to see the applicability behind.

Clark, you and Emily are both good teachers and I love hearing your stories. 😇🤩

Excellent advice Clark. The last boat that owned me was a 34' Tolly. Icom VHF, 10 gage power wire, with 6 4700 mfd 35 volt caps parallel at the entry point. Shakespeare 1/2 wave 17' antenna, RG8X coax, soldered PL239's, fold down mount like yours. 60 mile range most days.

EXCELLENT video! I've been a Ham radio operator since 1978 or so (and have been using radio even longer), and I used to sail quite a bit, plus I spent six years in the US Navy working on RDF systems at sea. You covered all the good points in a way that anybody should be able to understand, whether they had any experience or training in the field or not. Your stories are on point and not too long; vital to the topic! The only triviality I can think of is the 3dB vs 6dB graphics: I know this is anal and probably more trouble than it's really worth, but I've tried to train people in a variety of situations...I think many people would be caught by the 2D illustration. I'm sure a 3D toroid image, especially if it moved with the boat, would have gone into people's brains like gangbusters. Perhaps pointing out that the illustrations represented a "doughnut shape" would have helped. Perhaps a bit more on weatherproofing those cables? I used ScotchKote, I think it was called, after packing the fittings with silicon grease (that's what dielectric grease normally is; other greases--even petroleum jelly--will degrade insulation materials), and then wrapping the whole fitting in self-vulcanized tape (several types available at hardware stores, in the electrical or even plumbing sections), and finally covering with a good abrasion-resistant tape and smearing the whole mess with goo such as EPDM or even outdoor silicon window caulk. Yes, it's money, but after spending so much on a cable, I want that cable to last. I'm glad I stumbled onto this video, even though you're not actually "building" a radio itself, but rather building a radio system. Liked and subscribed!

You guys simply rock! I love all the actual break down of the how tos. Whether it’s Clark doing a vid like this, or Emily doing the cooking and canning food prep, this is an absolute gem of a channel!

The stories take time ...and while initially seem like unnecessary, are in fact reminders that some items on the boat are critical for survival, if not your own, someone else...there is nothing more depressing than to be aware of a distress situation and the feeling of helplessness if you are not able to help...while being able to help makes for a better life and my belief that good Karma will be returned many times more than expected, so thank you Clark for the stories, they fill out the purpose of a life well lived...congrats!

EXCELLENT job done on the topic . As a technician in the Royal Australian Navy and now as a Ham radio trainer I fully agree with everything covered here. Cheers

Awesome video, Clark! I for one would like to put my vote in for the video to track down where the power drains are!

Good video. I listened because I'm installing a radio for the first time. But, I have to say... The stories were my favorite part! Thank you for the video.

Great video! I've been refitting an old Hughes 38 and the radios were installed with soldered alligator clips! So I've been trying to figure how to install a good radio set up. This really helped!

Looove your story Clarck, and information your sharing. Simply fantastic. Appreciate you. Much love from Ventura Ca...

This is one of the best, most informative, and well presented videos I’ve ever seen! Many thanks for sharing your experience, knowledge, and wisdom!

Love this Clark! Full on geek out and brilliant stories too. Thanks for sharing. Good reminder that sometimes having the best gear is about being able to help in general, not just whatever your own use case might be.

Hi, I’m a ham radio operator and we have a saying: $1 for the transceiver, 10 for the antenna! The antenna cable is important as the frequency and length increase. For example, at identical length, power and cable, in HF (10 M) the loss will be "low" compared to VHF (even more in UHF). The loss increases with frequency. I do not share completely your analysis on the quality of the RTX. There are significant differences, some have better filters, protections, frequency stability, reception sensitivity, functions, etc.. And some are sometimes equipped with a DSP system, very useful on weak signals. Ok, it’s not vital but it’s important. If we consider VHF as a safety equipment, we should not skimp and choose the best at the best price. Have a nice day. Nice video and good info 👍

VHF theoretical range. 1.23 x the square root of your mast height above the water's surface in feet. Versus 1.18 for line of sight. So, yup, up the mast she goes! Also, some thought given for grounding of some sort for lightning strike:) ie the outside of the pl-259 to the mast. Great video!

Having SWR properly adjusted reduce the heat on your power transistors in your radio. SWR is really important. Regarding coaxial cables, you also get them UV treated (and people need to know to NOT get the non UV protected ones). Personally I like to use High gain metal antennas, they've lasted a long time for me. Also a shorter whip (black thin ones) are good as a backup mounted away from the mast in case of demasting. Obviously not as good as an antenna in the mast, but in an emergency you would like to have all the bells and whistles. Having satellite is of course a choice, but I am not doing a crossing without it. Thank you so much for the video and have a great day! 😊

Very good. Missing is at least a mention of installing a dedicated cheap GPS antenna powered by the same circuit, a $30 part, that when combined with obtaining and programming an MMSI number gives your vhf radio the ability in the USA to send your gps location to authorized after pressing distress button. So many people fail to set this up, mentioning the importance in your video would contribute to awareness. The coast guard can better respond when they are convinced you know exactly where you are, and it helps novice boaters better succeed with the radio when the skipper is incapacitated. In addition products like the MOB1 can be setup to work with your vhf radio to alert crew if you fall out of boat. See if you can edit and include early on when you describe the install process involves antenna and power wire. Dan, marine electronics writer, practical sailor magazine.

100% buy the 8' antennae! He's right. I cannot believe the reception I get now compared to the shorty on a 21 footer (Shakespeare too, IMO). Appreciate your videos, big help!

Love this. The little things make all the difference. Most people don't worry about the little things until it is too late. You want your safety equipment available and ready before the emergency happens!

Hey Clark, thanks for this info. I’m not a boater (yet), but I’m finding our all I can before we take the leap into boating. You and Emily are interesting and fun, but mostly informative. So thanks from Southern UK in 2022.

Good job! Pro tips (33 years as a radio tech/engineer) - unless you have the capability to align your marine radio to specs, plan to replace every 3 years...they drift off from alignment over time and all marine radios i have seem are commercial grade construction and engineering. Even the $500 stuff, if you want a 5-10 year lifecycle/reliability you will spend >$1,000 - voltage when tested at the radio when transmitting at full power should never get below 11.5 volts...if so is it battery or wiring? Fix it - take your time and build the connectors properly! A cannot count how many times a poorly made connector was the problem! - use butyl tape compressed with good electrical tape (super 33 or super 88) to seal connectors exposed to elements). - this is your lifeline, take it seriously, make sure the departure to return ratio is 1:1

Ham and retired FCC technical wonk here; Great video. Some comments: •72 ohm cable is used in the video industry and looks very similar. DON'T USE IT regardless of how little you may have to pay for it. It is labels as 72 ohm •I suggest a second radio in the cockpit with a low antenna nearby independent of the mast antenna for short range regular use and a backup for the main radio. Height really matters so the range will be limited, but adequate for most uses for talking to boats or marinas you can see visually. Since the required cable to connect antenna to radio is a few few, cable loss is not very important so use any cable that has good physical qualities such as waterproof and sun resistance. Having an independent power source for this radio would be helpful but may be difficult in practice •I disagree with the discussion around 23:00 about low gain/high gain antennas. I suggest only using low gain antennas on masts so in emergencies you don't have to worry about heel. •VHF radio propagation is quirky and depends on thermal inversions. Sometimes in Chesapeake Bay we can suddenly hear boats from Long Island Sound. Don't be surprised. It happens intermittently •If you are a ham, the 2m ham band is close to the VHF marine band. You can put in a spdt coax switch on the antenna and share it between you ham radio and marine radio • As stated around 20:00, an SWR meter is a good check on the cable system and antenna are working well. Considering borrowing one or asking a radio tech to do this check from time to time. They case under $50 but could be hard to store for voyages.

Full disclosure: I was trained in the Navy to repair comm equipment (though not to OPERATE it ;-) , I hold a Extra Class Amateur Radio license and have operated VHF for most of the time I’ve been a ham (since 1993). Kudos on a great video, especially for the less electronics-technically inclined sailor. Would really enjoy a video on your ham gear & setup, experiences with it, if you use Pactor for email while at sea (Winlink or Seamail?), etc. General and, hopefully, kibbitzing comments: 1. DC power connection to radio - clean, solid connections through properly sized wire is an absolute imperative. Recommend using a wire voltage drop table to properly size the wire between the battery and the radio to ensure that the radio gets 12 volts and above. Use the current that the radio is spec’d to draw on TRANSMIT. Radios tend to get very cranky when the supply voltage drops below 12Vdc. Note re supply power: As marine VHF radios us FM modulation, for a given power setting modulation (one’s voice into the microphone) has no effect on output RF power. Simply keying the radio is enough to measure the voltage at the radio dc power terminals/connections 2. Coax: Agree 100%: RG-58 SUCKS for VHF. Loss over a short length ( a few feet isn’t enough to lose any sleep over, but from the nav station to the antenna, LMR-400 ULTAFLX (Times Microwave) is an excellent choice. Recommend the ULTRAFLX over standard LMR-400 as the former has a stranded center conductor to give the cable flexibility vs, the solid center conductor of the latter that makes for some pretty stiff cable. For some reason, West Marine doesn’t offer LMR-400 ULTRAFLX but it is readily available from amateur radio equipment suppliers. 3. RF connections: ESPECIALLY in salt water environments, use self-fusing rubber electrical tape (e.g., Scotch Tape 70 or 3Mself-amalgamating tape) to wrap the connection from the connector toward and down the cable. Add a second wrap of electrical tape over the first to protect it from UV and salt-air. If wrapping a PL259-SO239 barrel-PL259, start several inches from one of the PL259. 4. RF cable water intrusion from experience (30 min point in the video): for my money where my life might depend on my radio, if any water invades coax, esp where one end of the cable is up in the air, I would not depend on it. I strongly recommend replacing the entire length. Compared to the cost of lots of boater stuff, at about $2.30/ft, replacing a length is cheap insurance. 5. Antenna height: height = range. Open air (no obstructions) NOMINAL range in miles can be calculated as 1.42 x square root H1 + H2 where H is the heights of the station antennas in feet. >However

Ham radio guy here. Great job and video. The one point I would also stress is that the loss in the coax and the gain of the antenna BOTH affect your ability to RECEIVE just as much as it does on transmitting. If your Effective Radiated Power is one fourth due to the small antenna and coax, you receive one fourth as much signal as well. I tell the new ham operators that want to get a 65 or 70 watt mobile (we are allowed RIDICULOUS power...) to put the extra dollars into the antenna. (We use dual band VHF/UHF antennas, there are many types from 17" to over 5', more IS MORE. Base dual band antennas go to 17')

Seriously, this channel really differentiates. You really pack a punch by making really intrinsic knowledge easily understood and accessible. The two of you are amazing. Keep up the good work!!!

I love this. Rocket surgery lol 😂 but covering why and how it works. Understanding makes all the difference in my opinion. Thanks Clark ☺️

You guys are amazing! I appreciate and value the info you guys contribute to the cruising life. This was a great episode and the stories were the icing!

I live 300 miles from the nearest ocean and haven't been on a boat in probably 26 years, but I still found this interesting as a radio nerd.

Nice video. I used a really good cable to replace my coax up the mast and did all the right stuff. It was a new antenna too. Struggled with it all th way down to El Salvador. Range was like 3 miles. I had even replaced connectors and soldered them at the bottom of the mast, even used gold plated connectors. I used a swr meter on it and it always pointed me too the mast base connection. I finally stripped it back, cut off the connects, and soldered the core leads together. Liquid electrical taped it, electrical taped it, amalgamated taped it heat shrieked it, and took the shielding braid and soldered and sealed all that and sealed the whole thing. My tested range was 28 miles with the 3db antenna. We were good with that. 22 years later I added an AIS and auto splitter and our range went down considerably, and the AIS especially. Turns out AIS frequencies are just above marine VHF and we were getting a lot of reflection. I bought a 4db combo vhf AIS antenna and all my problems went away. Interestingly enough my range increased to about 60 miles now confirmed by San Diego Coast Guard. That higher db antenna helped and I think the antenna switch has a booster built in.

Thank you, very informative, going to upgrade my coax cable and cut to length after seeing that chart with the gains. Yes, I installed the free cable wire (cheap stuff) that came with the antenna and wound all the extra cable up.

good explanation off yout old skool radio lessen over a marine VHF, like that .

When comparing antennas also be aware that they are rated as either dBi or dBd - dBd is already 2.15 dBi Your long contacts are due to tropospheric ducting - there will be a huge dead spot between the skip jumps Ducting is amazing you can make 2000km+ contacts on VHF - obviously much more common on the 2m amateur band as they spend lots of time actually trying to make the contacts. The 8' antennas are great as they are a proper 1/2 wave dipole so are not relying on a variable quality (if any) ground plane - you might be interested in the DIY dipole that's easy to make & rig especially in those time where you have to take your mast-top one down Radio propagation is a fascinating thing ...

On my dad's boat, we had the VHF on a double throw switch, with the second connection going to a 5 amp-hour sealed lead acid battery. It was charged by a 5 watt solar panel trickle charger. It was nice knowing that we had a completely independent electrical system for emergencies. Fortunately we never needed to use it.

Who knew? You don't know what you don't know. Thanks AGAIN for a very good presentation on some very important kit.

love the stories tie it in

When I was a kid my step dad had a Cat 27 we sailed in the SoCal Channel Islands. So My stepdad ran a dedicated marine battery just for the radio. It took running a wire from the alternator but it was worth it. We even used a diode / capacitor bundle to make sure it would always get full voltage. Also we definitely did have an illegal radio for emergency use. You only need to type in Marine Radio in Google and the very first sponsored result is a 100Watt Chinese made generic unit. I am not telling you to buy one, but I am just saying… We only had it sitting there, we never did use it. But if there had been a genuine emergency we would switch the power and antenna to the emergency use only rig. In that situation you want the good low noise wire. We really only did this all because we were taking my friends out every other weekend. A boatful of 11yr old cub scouts is nothing to gamble on… Edit: wrap the wire in aluminum or copper tape to prevent even more signal loss. We do this with electric guitar wiring to help reduce buzz and noise…

Great video Clark. I always enjoy the technical part of the videos, but I think we all learn so much from your stories and even (if any) mistakes, so please continue to give us stories. One thing, on checking for voltage drop on the circuit feeding the radio while it's on and transmitting, if the spade connectors are aren't easy to access with the voltmeter, for some it might be helpful to make a temporary "T" splice to plug in and allow access with the meter leads. Cheers

Great video! Clark, I am an amateur radio operator (KF0BPN) and the principles you talk about are the most crucial. 1) Nominal voltage to the radio. 2) Use bigger DC wire than what is recommended or as big of gauge (AWG) as you can make work. 3) Get the antenna as high as possible and in the clear. Height is might. 4) Buy quality feedline (coax cable). Absolutely spend more money here because this is what will suck your power out of the transceiver. a. If you really want to geek out, check out Times Microwave cable loss calculator. Additional thoughts: 1) Use a Type N connector at the antenna mount. Add Coax moisture proof sealing tape as extra insurance. a. Advantages: slightly less loss than PL-259 and are more watertight. 2) Coax moisture proof sealing tape on the PL-259 connector at the transceiver. One correction about your reference to DB. DB by itself doesn’t mean anything. It needs to be in relation to a reference antenna. Normally there are two references used: isotropic radiator (dBi) or standard dipole (dBd). Found your channel while doing some Marine HF radio research. Love the stories! Keep it up. Thank you, sir.

First , people try to power too many things straight to the battery, go from battery to a fuse box, with the right size wire, , then power the radio , with the right size wire , this also provides power for more accessories. thanks for the vid

The double female your talking about is a PL-258 just treaded at each end with no tread in the middle. A barrel connector you can get at different lengths and is treaded the whole length which you can mount as a feed through with a nut on each side of per say a wall or what ever..Also never ever coil the coax up it will cause inductance and alot of weird stuff. Just leave aliilte extra (1.5 to 2 ft) near your antenna and radio incase you need to change out the PL-259. I use a Tram 3db antenna with about 15ft of RG -58 coax mounted on the aluminum awning which is the highest point on my 20ft Sun tracker fishing barge pontoon boat. Also I strongly suggest to check the SWR of your antenna. If the coax or antenna is bad, it could very well destroy your radio with extended use of the radio Mike N2JVE Niverville, N.Y.

I shared this in an online discussion, I can't remember where, but it was appreciated.

great information ℹ️ , love 💕 the story. Watching your videos from Kentucky “The Bluegrass State “. USA 🇺🇸

I,am ham radio in Qc north Montreal va2 and ve2 you make a good thing to help the cata family ,73 man I like your videoes ,I,am not a good thecnician ,but i can discute in french for most of the time but understand english , 73 again

Once again the tutorials are great. I have some knowledge of this through HAM and CB radios on land but it's nice to know how to set up the VHF for offshore use! I just bought my first sailboat and am beginning the learning process in freshwater here in my home state of South Carolina. I dream of doing what you guys are doing when I retire. Keep the videos going, great job and I appreciate it.

That was incredible. This may not be in your wheelhouse, but here I go anyway: I'm getting ready to install a VHF package on my 22' bay boat(power boat). I'm mostly in shore, however, I will make about 3 trips/year near offshore for snapper in the Gulf of Mexico. The farthest I would be is 30 miles offshore. Unfortunately, my boat does not have a T-top. I will be mounting my antenna on top of the console rail. The antenna tip would only be about 10' in height off of the water. Here's the equipment that I have chosen: Standard Horizon GX 1850, paired with Shakespeare 6400 Phase III antenna(4'). This would be integrated into my Garmin 942xs via NMEA2K. I need an antenna that is removable for the 95% of my inshore fishing. That's why I chose this setup. Do you have any other advise? Thanks!

New camera? This reminds me of my radio / radar / tube classes in engineering school back all those years ago. Had to make a field strength meter, tune antennas, all that kinda stuff. Haven't used it in 30+ years. Great vid as always1

Fantastic, especially the table of comparison of different wires and antennae, thanks!

GREAT ADVICE, thank you! I just found your channel because KZfaq recommended your boat electrics playlist when I ordered a new set of buses on Amazon (my $200 eBay sailboat has a short somewhere). Weird times we live in, but anyway, it was really helpful and I shared it with my brother, who lives in the Keys, and is always helping friends troubleshoot their 12v systems. He said it’s an awesome playlist and has favorited your channel to pass on to others. THANK YOU!

This vid was just perfect and has helped me immensely. Big wip for the rib it is then with quality cable. Thank you. In cb terms we used to adjust swr by adjusting length of aerial I presume not needed with vhf. 👍👍👍

Thank you for all this good information. We bought a new (to us) boat that the radio appeared to work to the surveyor when the mast was down and in a barn. But in sailing her, we could hear on the radio but not transmit. I thought I would have to replace the radio, but after listening to this I will now first check the antenna wire. Thank you!

I never use the bell and I always see new videos from my subscribed channels on the youtube home page. Watching this one because it was on my youtube homepage without bell selected. I never share videos unless it's something important I want friends and family to know about on facebook. I don't think any of them are interested in sailing. If I was part of a group I might share videos on the group topic but I'm not part of any groups at the moment. But I do comment and hit the like button! This comment is really just to add a comment. lol

Valuable content. Thanks for sharing. You’re one of the first engineers I heard that doesn’t talk like an engineer.

Very imformative and precise. Thank you very much. Safe voyage :)

An HF version of this video will be awesome. Particularly HF Antenna options on a boat.

Hello Emily & Clark.. Ive been watching since you 1st got together but I seldom comment. First, THANK YOU for the very interesting content and your knowledge. (I have to chuckle that Emily is filming and quiet behind the camera). Sure appreciate that you both keep life simple and explain clearly. (I built a dink too..thanks Emily) I'm refitting my Tartan 37 and your videos are my guiding light. Fair winds.

Thanks. Enjoyed your video. I’m having issues with a factory installed VHF (2019) and your video has given me plenty to think about. I already use a very common Australian VHF marine antenna (8 ft , 3db, GME brand). One thing I’ve noticed with the Shakespeare antenna is that the supplied cable is RG58 and hard wired into the base. If you were to upgrade to the 213 cable you would have to “join” it to the supplied cable which is a shame. Mind you, I’m intending to install the radio no more than 3ft from the antenna under my hard top so that length of RG58 cable is not likely to present huge losses. The other downside to the hard wired antennas is the fact that you can’t unscrew them from the mount easily - upside is there is one less connection point at the mount - swings and roundabouts!

Great job to help others... There is always HF but that's a new bucket of worms.

A couple weeks ago I shared your how to use the radio video on a Facebook group for O'Day sailboats. Based on the comments there it looked like it was well received.

As a HAM operator we are allowed to us see much more power on our ham bands. I can use 2000W on the two meter band... On glass smooth waters you could bounce a signal off the moon. Not sure if I can use more power on the marine band but I will look into that!

What luck to come across your very informative video. I just bought a used Sailboat with mares tail wiring system, if you can use word system. As a Pilot I want things working RIGHT. Thank you for a great presentation. I am passing it on.

I do marine electronics work for a living. Everything you said was totally on point.

VHF is typically line of sight with the horizon at 21 miles, give or take antenna height. But, atmospherics also play a role. If we are at the peak of the sun cycle or other atmospherics, you can go exponentially further. Even if you don’t want to get licensed as a ham, it would do you good to read a technician study guide to get a good understanding of how he works. If you want ssb, you’ll need a general or higher level study guide i

Thanks SO much to both of you for giving us all these great tips and info! We are gathering and keeping them all for future installations and ventures..We are Alberta ranchers with a dream..building our own blue water 32 foot sailboat, in our shop, alongside our farm equipment.. We spend all our "free time" LOL( . when the cow herds and crops don't need our imminent attention ..like between midnight and 5 AM!!) ..on our boat. SV FORTUNE FOUND...We love her already and hope to splash her on the west coast of Canada in 2023. And then join you cruisers in some warmer climes!! You two are helping us to do it RIGHT from the START!! SO PLEASE BE AS DETAILED AS YOU CAN.. NEVER APOLOGIZE FOR THAT! We gobble this stuff up.. Cheers from Mac and Maggie.

Good info! As a HAM operator in can agree with all of this. Remember... To much, is just enough!

Awesome. I'm doing a GMRS install at my house. This all applies.

As I'm remembering from my Navy Electronics Technician "A" School (40+ years ago), you want to try and match your cable length to a multiple of the WAVELENGTH of your transmitting/receiving frequencies as part of the tuning process. Of course the antenna also needs to be tuned to that band as well. Trimming the cable to some multiple of 6 feet would give you the lowest SWR (over the entire band) for any given cable, assuming the connectors are good/tight and the antenna is properly tuned. Note: You can also trim to the half-wave if you're concerned about the loss over 3 feet of cable. Very informative, I agree with some of the other posters about using heliax instead of coaxial cable _IF_ you have a straight run or only gentle bends to minimize losses. Not all that useful in a marine environment except possibly for the run up the mast.

Your help is saving lives. You are amazing. You helped me. Thank you.

I have terrible range on my radio, and I suspect I know why. I replaced the cable with Times Microwave LMR-400 Ultraflex cable, and replaced the 3db antenna with a new Metz 3db. I picked Metz because they got great reviews and claimed the Coast Guard uses them. The radio is a new B&G V60-B, and I have a Si-tex AIS transponder with built in splitter. I'm certain I could benefit from a good 6db antenna and will be changing that soon, but I suspect the AIS is probably the main culprit. And of course I'm still using the microscopic cable to go from the radio to the AIS that was with the AIS. I think my best plan is to run a second cable and use the 3db for a dedicated AIS antenna, and take the LMR-400 cable with a new 6db antenna straight to the radio. Thanks for a great and informative video.

I LOVE THE STORIES!!! Also great info on the inner workings of the radio system, much appreciated!!

Another great video - thanks Clark! Being a retired commo guy in the military I appreciated your simple explanations

I like that you explain the technical side of marine VHF radio; such videos are seemingly rare right now on KZfaq. However, I don't think you placed enough emphasis on the concept of SWR. SWR is one of the most important concepts to ensure proper tuning of the antenna, the cable and the radio. The SWR should be between 1.0 and about 1.5. If it is not, then there's a problem. If it gets above ~3.0 or so, you'll damage the radio. Users should measure the SWR of new installations to ensure that everything is correct. Assuming that a marine antenna will automatically work with a marine radio is not good.

Excellent video. One other option for smaller center console boats is Digital Antenna’s 4' VHF it has 4.5dB gain. The 800 Series doesn't come with cable so you can use a high quality RG-213.

Great stuff. Well done. First time viewer from BlackBeard Country,,Beaufort,N.C..Hurricane Alley.,,,TharShe Blows!! Yo hoho & Anutter Bottle of Rum.! Have same Uniden rig, plus Hf.ssb gear. DiPoles and Verticles. Great vid Cap'n. May Your Vessle Sail smoothly. 73's.

Thanks! I will be checking out the radio installation after I buy our first sailboat in the coming year, and now I know what to plan for!

This is a damn good presentation! And yes, I’m a ham …

If you want to further minimize your cable loss switch from RG-213 to Times Microwave (brand) LMR-400. Same diameter but lower loss.

Good video. Spot on with the stats. Been a ham since the 70's. We talk a couple hundred miles routinely on 2 meter VHF (same band as marine freq. And I do check into the MMSN (Maritime Mobile Service Net) on 20 meters. I know how feel as you were telling the story. I was monitoring (14.300mhz) one night when there was a Mayday. Prior it was just general chat and weather. That net went from casual to all business in a drop of a hat. Net control was like Bill contact USCG, John see if there cargo ships in the area. Net reminded the ship have on floatation devices and got their GPS info. as I remember it, they were out of fuel and water and were out of range of his vhf radio. AS you said, that's what amateur radio operators do.

Clark, first and foremost, thank you for putting these instructional videos out there. I'm sure you get some choice commenters that make you wonder why you do it. Ignore them, you and Emily do good work! I had a couple of comments/questions focused on the cable choice section of the video. You emphasized buying quality cable and gave a couple of suggestions of what quality means (insulation/jacket being water proof and UV resistant, tined shielding, and proper size included) but don't provide specific brand examples aside from the Klotz graphic you put up (not sure if that was meant to be a recommendation or was just a convenient graphic to show the structure of the cable). I point this out because after a quick search for RG-213/U I find a number of suppliers (I'll provide links below) at varying price points. None of them appear to have tinned shielding. I also noted that the Klotz graphic you put up does not appear to have tinned shielding. Of note, I looked Klotz up and they are a German company and I doubt it would be cost effective for someone in the U.S. or the Carib to order from Germany. All of the cables I found appear to use some form of PVC material for the outer jacket, generally considered waterproof if not punctured or cut, but none of them specifically mentioned the jacket's UV resistance. Lastly diameters were listed at 13 AWG or about 10mm for most though Alpha Wire, sold by Mouser Electronics listed its outer diameter as .285" or 7.2mm. Interesting because I would think the diameter would have to be standard to work w/ the PL-259 connectors. I would also think on a boat that smaller diameter would be better for fishing wires - Do you have specific brands you know have quality jackets, proper sizing, and tinned shielding? - Do you have a favored supplier? - What are your thoughts on @sstorholm's comment concerning using 1/2" RF cable (not sure that is a standard one can search for) and N-type connectors? 1/2" sound pretty big for the tight spaces of boat use. But I have read that N-type connectors are better and easier to use to terminate cable ends than PL-259s...though he does note that you would still need to make thinner cable pigtails at either end which means you would need to make four PL-259 cable end connections vice two if you just use the RG-213 for the whole run. That sounds like more work and less sailing/beer drinking to me. Not sure of the cost benefit analysis there😉. - Do you use a separate antenna for AIS or do you use a splitter and share your VHF antenna? If you share, did you have any issues tuning your antenna for the broader spectrum? Those are my thoughts and questions. Again, thank you for the videos. I'm looking at adding AIS on our boat soon so this video was particularly useful as I prepare for that. Sorry for the novel, I'm isolating while I recover from COVID so I have too much time on my hands. Hope you all are having a great winter season down there...where ever you are now. DX Engineering (lowest price at $1.85/ft) - www.dxengineering.com/search?SortBy=BestKeywordMatch&SortOrder=Ascending&keyword=RG-213%2FU%20coax%20cable altex ($3.15/ft) - altex.com/products/rg213-u-coax-cable?variant=41534144479388 Mouser Electronics ($7.19 - $5.31/ft depending on amount purchased btwn 1 - 1000ft, manufacturer HUBER+SUHNER) - www.mouser.com/ProductDetail/HUBER%2bSUHNER/RG_213_-U?qs=byeeYqUIh0N3e2wrm4iTZQ%3D%3D Klotz ($319 for 50meters, smallest amount able to purchase and doesn't include shipping from Germany) - shop.klotz-ais.com/rg213-hb-e-online.html

Amateur radio guys use this stuff called Coax-Seal to waterproof outdoor connections. It's a putty-like plastic that you wrap on like tape, but then mold to shape with your fingers. You can cover every nook and cranny, and it works for many years. You'd use that where your PL-259 on the end of your coax connects to the antenna, or on any outdoor cable splices.

Here is my story about Punta Abreojos. In 1971 or 1972 I was returning single-handedly from La Paz in my 32’ Cutter “Ne’ Libre” when I ran up on one of the sandbars just south of Punta Abreojos at Laguna San Ignacio. The weather had been super nasty for more than a week and I was tacking dead against the wind going north. I was doing about 20 miles each time on each leg before tacking and gaining maybe very few miles. This of course was before easily available GPS, and my dead reckoning was off. (I guess that’s why they call it dead reckoning). I had seen a light the night before which I assumed was Punta Abreojos but was probably just light from some ranch further south. The following day I saw some mountains which I assumed were the mountains just north of Punta Abreojos. (They turned out to be mountains way inshore south of the point) Even though I thought I was many miles offshore I apparently was not very far offshore at all. I never saw the low shore, even on that clear sunny windswept day. In reality, I was still way south of Punta Abreojos in the bay. Again, assuming I was miles offshore, and I had plotted a course parallel to the shore north off Punta Abreojos. That night, I ran up on a very low shore, bumping over two sandbars. It was pitch dark and my spreader light showed me in nothing but white water. I had no idea where I was but immediately set out both anchors. The tide was coming up as the boat was pounding deeper into the sand. It was not too long before all Portholes blew and the cabin began to flood. I decided to stay with the boat, and with the breakers getting bigger and bigger decided to climb the mast with my ditch bag tied to me. I almost made it to the spreaders when I slid back down and badly ripped my leg on one of the cleats. It also ripped one of the pockets in which I had some important papers, such as my old Seaman’s logbook from my Merchant Marine days, but luckily not my passport. I decided then to get away from the boat, not knowing how big the waves were going to get. I tied a long line around myself and when I jumped into the water. I almost broke my ankles. The water was maybe a foot deep. Spray and surf crashing all around me, I made it through the white water that swept me of my feet several times even though I never was over knee-deep until I reached dry land. That parallel to the shore rip current was just incredible. I could barely stand without getting my legs swept out from under me. I felt a great amount of relief when I saw some brush a few feet further up after I reached the beach. The next morning I saw my beautiful boat had almost pounded 3 or 4 feet into the sand. At low tide, I could easily walk around the boat in knee-deep water. The boat itself was full of diesel-coated water. I dove for anything I could rescue. At some point, I got most of the water out and somehow got that little Volvo started, but the shaft was bent. So that was that. I set up camp in the dunes that day and (I think?) since I had swallowed some diesel, I passed kidney stones that night. The pain made me pass out. I woke up to a clear blue sky windswept morning. After passing some blood I recovered somewhat, and I spend the next few days resting and improving my camp. There was debris from my boat for miles swept up onto the beach. I was making water in a pit filled with the succulent green plant material that I then covered a clear plastic sheet from my Ditch Bag. I placed a rock in the center and a pan under it, which made the condensation drip nicely into the pan. I felt secure since I additionally still had several gallon bottles of water that I had salvaged. A few days later I flew my spinnaker off the masthead when I saw some shrimp boats with their outriggers way offshore. Actually, I was quite content and comfortable as I had stopped passing blood, until several days later when they came to investigate. They send a party on a skiff and tried to get me back through the current and waves to get me aboard the shrimper. That is when I managed to step on a stingray walking in the surf, which promptly used its barb to hit me right above my little toe on my right foot. There was a black spot the size of a nickel on my foot for at least the next ten years. The attempt to return to the shrimper failed. We simply could not get through the rip current The pain was from the sting was excruciating but of course nothing like the pain of passing the kidney stone which was still throwing me off. It also did not help, that even though they did not know about me passing kidney stones, they kept asking me if my kidney area was hurting. There apparently is a type of stingray that is fatally poisonous and kidney failure is a symptom. Thankfully that was not the case, and to my surprise, I could quickly alleviate all pain by putting my feet next to the fire that they had built. In light of not being able to return to the boat that night, we all huddled around the fire. I was somewhat entertained by how these grown men were freaked out by the howling of Coyotes. It was very clear the next day that they wanted me off that beach so they could get my crap, especially my 12 Gauge. But I did not hold that against them. Anyway long story short, after a lot of back and forth with the Shrimp Boat owners in Mazatlán, Mexico City, the US consulate and the Coast Guard in San Diego who I later found out was busy flying a retired Admiral with a broken leg back from Cabo San Lucas in a Helicopter that I actually saw flying directly over me, but could not be bothered to stop off midway. I actually thought for a minute that the chopper was for me. Later that day, I was transferred to a motor yacht that was going south whose owner was an LAPD police captain and a real Jerk. He apparently was not amused for having to take a diesel-covered castaway onboard and even told me that he had been highly inconvenienced. But he had no problem putting me to work trying to fix his 40KW generator when he found out that I was a trained electrical machine builder. I was flat on my back in his engine room when his wife finally took pity on me and handed me a sandwich. I was just too happy to inform him that the generator was toast. Anyway, he dumped me and my sail bag full of crap off unceremoniously in Magdalena Bay, from which I made my way back to La Paz and the States. The News reports and TV stations had me and my whole family drowned, but by the time I got back that was old news and nobody bothered to set the record straight. That trip was to be a shakedown cruise, and I guess it did shake me out. Anyway… I knew even before all that, that my navigation skills were crap, but I never had a problem keeping a boat seaworthy unless I crash it onshore. I wanted to stay connected to the sea and I left a very successful real-estate career temporarily and decided to build four “Most Dangerous Catch” type Steel Fishing Boats, all of them still plowing the Bering Sea. I am proud of that. I would build Steel boats to this day, but I got shut down by 20% interest rates in 1982 and there was not a boatbuilding contract to be had. I played for a while with the idea of building steel cruising boats like some outfit in Canada was doing, but my new wife had enough of all those crazy ideas and strapped me back into the real estate harness. I paid my bills, sold my crane and everything else I could, let 20 people go, and threw a hundred thousand dollars worth of jigs and templates in the thrash. Broke my heart! During that time I owned a 45’ Sea Wolf Ketch in Oxnard and sailed the Channel Islands. That kept me sane, even though my wife would argue that. So… real life interfered, and now it’s too late for me. I spend my days watching everything that sails the sea, and dream of what could have been. Anyway, I follow everything you publish closely and I have nothing but respect and admiration for you both. I am amazed at your skills and common sense. All the best!

Great video. Just posted it to the cruisers forum

❣️ Love your stories ❣️ and a huge thanks for your expertise on that topic again 😊 Perfect add on to Emily‘s great vid 😍

Great story. Thank you

New subscriber here. Your videos are so helpful for me - thank you! Something to consider with voltage metering: you need to place a small load on the 12V (nominal) wires before you can trust your readings. Most meters have a very high input impedance in voltage mode (like 10MΩ), which is good for low level electronics, but not for what we do on a boat. You'll measure "ghost" voltages on the wires with the circuit breaker OFF with a standard high impedance meter due to capacitance between circuits. Meters for electricians with a low impedance mode (generally 3kΩ) will accurately read 0V with the breaker OFF. 3kΩ is high enough not to interfere with other measurements as it only draws an additional 4mA at 12V. These electrician meters also offer the standard high impedance mode, which is interesting to compare. I have many high end meters due to my prior life, but I'd recommend the Klein CL800 for bang for the buck accuracy and utility. Add the Fluke TL223 test leads if you really want a nice setup.

Hi Clark ,great vid on explaining how to get the best out of a marine vhf ,thank you..to answer your request ..often on FB discussions lead to refrigeration problems, battery ,aircon etc and when i decide to comment and add my 10 cents worth ,I often refer people to your channel because of your interesting detailed way of explaining the how too and why it works on your subjects you discussed . .thanks again to you and Emily for a great channel

Good video! I am a Ham and have been Radio enthusiast for decades, This was a great explanation of some of the finer points of a good install, and why things like a good power source are important as well as the basics of low loss coax and a good antenna are the true keys to a good install. The comment about not spending a lot on the radio itself was dead on. 25 watts is the Max any of them can illegal put out as mandated by the FCC, my advice would be, pick the radio with the best heat sink at the best price! and try to provide a place for radio that is protected from direct sunlight and rain. ... nice job!

Shared on patreon with The Prepared Mind. Shared because great info and stories of why you need to be prepared. If you think about a boat it's gotta have everything for life. So water, food, shelter, first aid/medications, means of defense, and a plan.

Hello Clark. Some of my viewers directed me to your video, as we both touched on the same VHF issue at about the same time. Fortunately, we said abut the same thing! :-) I come at it from a different perspective though. I am not looking for more range. Extended range is a nuisance in Europe, as you will pick up all of the local weather report announcements for areas you don't care about. That is very annoying for a solo sailor trying to take a 20 minute nap at 0300. My priority is clarity of reception/transmission rather than range. My hearing has degraded as I aged, so I really want reception to be as free of static buzz as possible. It may just be my perception, but I believe the reception is clearer with RG 8X I recently installed than with my previous RG58. Perception is reality. :-) Congrats on your very well-made video.

"So I switched over to ham radio.." 👏. Yes more stories, please 😊 73 de G2DXU

Great Video. Thanks

Hello I like Puerto peñasco, playa kino, I like too getting a boat but I am terrified of hitting rocks. Nice video thanks for helping people. Saludos