Why are marine VHF antennas important

Why Are Marine VHF Antennas Important?

High-quality marine VHF antennas are in demand for good reasons. There are numerous benefits to upgrading the antenna on your vessel, including:

Better Sound Quality

Having around the clock clear sound quality is vital for marine vessels, as communication is necessary at all times. You also never need to repeat yourself when transmitting to other ships or a harbour master when the sound is clear on the receiving end. 

Reduced Radio Interference

Radio interference is something most boat owners dread while out on the water. A good quality marine VHF antenna that is pre-tuned will help minimise unwanted radio interference. 

Better Performance

You may find that your marine radio communication set-up isn't delivering to your needs and that the signal quality is poor.  

Firstly, make sure that your antenna has a good connection to your radio and that you are using good quality cable and connections.  Secondly, consider whether a better quality antenna is needed.  Remember the bigger the better.  But only buy an antenna from a quality and recognised brand.  There are lot’s of poor quality designs on the market with questionable performance specifications.

Boaters normally mount radios within the legal limit of 25 watts and, depending on the height of the antenna, can reach communication distances as far as 60m/100km or more.  So for the marine radio user that needs that extra bit of distance, given the legal limit restrictions on a radio’s transmitting power, they will need a larger antenna to give them that extra few miles/km.

Perfect for Boating

The only main drawback of VHF antennas for marine radio communication is that they don't do well indoors where the signals need to penetrate through walls. However, this shouldn't matter for marine applications!

Enables Worldwide Communication

Marine VHF radio is a worldwide system of 2-way communication to enable you to communicate on the waters either vessel to vessel or vessel to shore.  It operates on VHF radio frequencies in the range of 156-164 MHz.  These are international marine bands and VHF marine antennas are designed to work at these specific frequencies.  

Transmitting power is limited to 25 Watts so the quality and performance of you VHF marine antenna is key.