Boat Radio

[Bigairdad]

I took delivery of an 03 Mobius yesterday and love the new boat. The factory radio has no external antenna. No radi reception. Has anyone else had this problem and should there be an external antenna on the tower?

[noneya]

You can just take a piece of co-ax cable and plug it into the antenna recept in the radio. Strip the middle part and connect it to a bolt for the tower or windshield.

[Retirement Fund]

Really???? Does that work with a VHF Radio as well (Marine Band CB)? If so you are my hero!!! Thanks!

[zabooda]

I've had good luck using standard antennas and running it up inside the gunwale and extended somewhat. Put the antenna through cable runs or tie wrap to the electical bundle. It's out of the way and can't be seen.

[noneya]

Havent done it myself yet, just got the boat back from storage, so I will be trying soon. I actually read about it off wakewoprld or wakeboarding.com. They were talking about VHF not CB. I'll post an update here later this week.

Hey, Guys.
The trick with the tower should be fine for radio reception, (i.e. AM/FM stereo)but in any case where you are transmitting (the radio has a microphone attached) you really want to have a proper antenna attached to the radio. The transmitter has to "look into" a properly matched antenna in order to function properly. This can be tricky, especially with fiberglass boats, due to grounding issues.

For VHF/CB etc. I would suggest that its best to seek local radio dealer advice and install. There can be issues related to interference with the electronics on the boat that are sometimes antenna related.

Hope this helps!

JR