TECHNICAL VHF ANTENNAS

The range and effectiveness of your yacht's radio communication depends on the dimensions, position and quality of your VHF antenna.  

- Sam Fortescue

When Guglielmo Marconi began sending radio messages between coastal radio stations and ships at sea in 1897, there were plenty who predicted the technology would have very limited scope. Yet, just four years later, Marconi succeeded in transmitting a radio signal across the Atlantic Ocean, from Cornwall to Newfoundland, an experiment that required an extraordinary 500fttall antenna held up in a gale by an enormous kite. Today, a better understanding of the physics behind radio waves, along with huge leaps in technology, mean that the equipment now needed for yacht comms has been successfully miniaturised without sacrificing too much performance. A quality radio set with a good antenna setup can send and receive VHF signals over line-of-sight distances of 50 miles, even further in favourable conditions.

And the antenna is still absolutely key, as Ian Lockyer of radio set manufacturer Icom UK explains: ‘Even the best marine radios in the world will not perform to their optimum if connected to the wrong antenna. Much as the tyres of a sports car are the only contact point with the ground, providing the necessary grip and traction, a radio’s only contact point with the outside world is its antenna. It needs a well-matched antenna to allow the efficient conversion of electrical energy into radio waves.’

Just as worn tyres will undermine a car’s performance, an unsuitable antenna or poor-quality cabling will hamstring your radio.