VHF Antenna

Morad VHF+AIS Antenna upgrade

I upgraded Channel Surfing's VHF antenna to a Morad antenna. The difference it made, while not easy to quantify, was noticeably better, by a lot. My AIS reception was limited to 12nm or less before, today I'm seeing AIS targets out past 20 nautical miles.

The reception quality has improved for audio as well. We rely heavily on our VHF radio. I am always scanning the following VHF channels underway: 9, 13, 16, 22, 61, 68, 72. (I have my radio set to auto-scan these channels, constantly).

Channel 9 is the new hailing channel. VHF13 to talk to Bridge 37 requesting they open on my way to/from Dagmars, VHF16 for distress and hailing, VHF22 for US Coast Guard broadcasts. VHF61 to listen to Dagmars operations, VHF68 and VHF72 are recreational boater channels.

The parts list I purchased included the following:

159mhz (VHF-AIS) VHF Marine Antenna 6db gain (VHF-AIS) ($250)
M87 Stanchion/Thread Adapter in white ($48)
Coaxial Cable 25 ft (VHF or UHF) ($41)
V4 - 4 ft Stanchion in black ($59)

Total was $485 (which includes tax and shipping).

I've since made one change, I originally ordered a v5- 5ft Stanchion in white. I've since swapped out the white 5 foot extension for a 4 foot black extension. When you watch the video, you'll understand. :) Height wise, I think a 4' extension will work as good as a 5', and fits the boat better. I'm keeping the antenna in white.

The Morad antenna is a 4.5 foot antenna, which is shorter than the Shakespeare 5101 8 foot antenna. However, the Morad antenna is sitting up 4 feet higher off the boat. With VHF antennas, height is everything. It's the single most important factor to improve signal. Raising the base coil of the antenna to 4 feet, plus the tuning of the Morad antenna to 159mhz to support VHF 16 and AIS, made a huge difference in our VHF and AIS radio communications.

A friend of mine brought over a VSWR meter to measure the antennas.

Shakespeare 5101 tuned to 156mhz (VHF 16)