[Public-List] Ham radio installation

[Paul Wilson]

Hi Tim,

Yes, as mentioned, the most common RF grounding system is a wide copper
strap from the auto-tuner to the engine block, and maybe to a bronze
thru-hull as well. The engine acts as a capacitance sink, and offers some
connection to sea water through the raw water system and so forth. Although
if you think about it, radios operate just fine from motor vehicles, and
they are separated from the earth by tires. An adequate RF ground is
provided by the chassis and sheet metal bodywork.

Common sailboat HF band antennas are insulated backstays (essentially a
random wire) and fiberglass-encased whips mounted on the stern.

If you're an ARRL member, the July 2009 issue of *QST* can be accessed
on-line, and the cover story gives a good overview of ham operations from a
sailing vessel.

Another article, from August 1977, has an intriguing set-up. The author
used masthead-mounted whips, and the standing rigging as ground plane
radials for HF operating. He fabricated a car for the mainsail track, and
hauled the whip up on the main halyard. The bracket is angled to clear the
backstay and topping lift. He used tuned whips for operating on the HF
bands and reported good SWR without using a tuner (transmatch). Intriguing
to me at least, because it requires no "major surgery" to the boat and
investment in a lot of new specialized equipment.

This setup might be good for raw-chewing at anchor, but serious off-shore
HF communications on the ham or marine SSB frequencies require either the
insulated backstay or the stern-mounted whip with an autotuner.

All that said, the extent of my operating experience on board is
raw-chewing on the local VHF repeaters with a handheld. :)

73 de KI4PW,

Paul, #129 Slainte

On Thu, Mar 25, 2021 at 4:13 PM Tim Peek via Public-List <
public-list at lists.alberg30.org> wrote:

> I am planning to instal a ham radio into my boat. I think playing around
> on HF frees would be interesting and give me people to talk to. I sail a
> lot by myself. Now I am not going drill through my hull, or alter it. Does
> anyone have any experience on installing the ground for the antenna or a
> system like this on their boat?
>
> Thank you!
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