Larry, What was the reasoning against connecting the handheld to a masthead antenna? I've been thinking of doing this myself. ~ John Tyner M-15 #412 "Chimpanzee" -----Original Message----- From: montgomery_boats-bounces+tynerjr=md.metrocast.net@mailman.xmission.com [mailto:montgomery_boats-bounces+tynerjr=md.metrocast.net@mailman.xmissi on.com]On Behalf Of Larry E Yake Sent: Thursday, March 29, 2007 11:53 PM To: montgomery_boats@mailman.xmission.com; nwpotters@yahoogroups.com Subject: M_Boats: VHF boost I found something in the latest issue of Sail mag that is actually of use to small boat sailors like us. In the "Ask Sail" section a skipper inquired about improving the range of his handheld VHF with a masthead antenna. Their expert (Gordon West) basically shot that down, but added the following: "A better way to improve a handheld's performance is to get a longer antenna for it. Your local marine radio store (or go to www.hamradio.com) should sell 24-inch-long flexible antennas with an SMA connector. Get one for the 2-meter band, which is close enough in frequency to the marine VHF band. Mounting one of these antennas should give you twice the range that you'll get from the standard handheld antenna." I don't think I would want a 24" antenna on my radio all the time, but it would be nice to have one to screw on when you need the extra range. Larry Yake M17 #200 CornDog "In a power boat you get there faster. In a sailboat you're already there." _______________________________________________ http://mailman.xmission.com/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/montgomery_boats