5 watts with a FT817, should be fun, first time mobile. 20 M dipole, 40 M dipole with open wire feeders, 15 M hamstick, tuned multi band vertical. 73 WB2HLM http://wb2hlm.wix.com/mypage
totally excellent!! won't expect to hear you from the Left Coast. Best DX!! you are right to run dipoles over fresh water; verticals get no enhancement over fresh water.
Cool, how did it work out over the weekend? I have a Macgregor 25 as well, I'm planning on operating /MM for the first time next week.
Dipoles are the best way to go. The 40 M fed with tuned feeders had the best signal on 40, 20, 15. The 20 M dipole fed with coax worked better at night for some reason. The location, an Upstate NY lake shielded on three sides by close-in mountains really put me in a "radio hole." I still managed 25 FD contacts and lots of neat QSO's before FD. I love my MacGregor 25; perfect for lake sailing: swing keel, pop-top, great sail area, room for new sailors and still fun for old timers like me make it a great lake boat. For antennas while mobile I'd still go with the coax dipole; no grounding problems. In salt water, a copper plate, trailing copper wire, etc. all work well and I have used them for blue water sailing, but in fresh water, getting good grounding is a problem. While fixed, I'd go with a longer center fed, open wire line dipole system to have more versatility. I hauled mine up on the main halyard and stood it off from the mast by hanging it from a 18" piece of PVC pipe. The other end held up the 20 M dipole. There is an inexpensive grounding system that I haven't tried, but have heard get good reports about: the KISS-SSB system. Gordon West has a good article on salt water grounding too. I ran a 26 foot long old piece of RG-8 around the perimeter of the boat to act as a ground for the two vertical ham-stacks I tried. I also tied the ground lug of my antenna tuner to this "ground." It did not improve my signals at all and the dipoles outperformed the ham-stick verticals day and night. I will keep a mount on the stern rail for the ham-sticks but I think a dipole arrangement of them off the stern would be a better "mobile" antenna. Keep me posted on your MacGregor travels and also look at the MacGregor Owners Forum. 73, Bill WB2HLM.
