On Sun, 28 Nov 2004 19:10:51 -0500, James wrote:

Bill Turner wrote:
On Sun, 28 Nov 2004 16:01:33 -0600, Cecil Moore
wrote:


Let's see, would I rather switch knife switches at my operating
position or go outside in a Texas Thunder Storm to attach the
pigtails? At my age, I could develop pneumonia or catch the flu
(no flu shot this year). Pneumonia and/or flu is not simple or
cheap. Think I'll stick with my Ladder-Line Length Selector. :-)


__________________________________________________ _______

You misunderstand. On a sailboat, the pigtails for selecting L-networks
could (and should) be inside the boat, right under the eyepad for the
antenna.

Pneumonia not required.

--
Bill W6WRT


No possible way that could be accomodated with any degree of safety or
convenience at all Bill.

On a sailboat, the conventional way to run a long piece of wire is up
the mast at the stern. Either a wire or an insultated backstay is used.
The backstay is the guy wire at the back of the boat holding the mast
up. Insulators can be cut into the backstay allowing it to be used as an
antenna. I don't care for that much as it seems possible for the
backstay insulators to fail (even though the manufacturers claim
otherwise), leading to a dismasting. People die that way. So I run a
simple copper wire up the back between the 2 backstays.

At the stern of most sailboats, there are exterior storage lockers. A
very heavy stainless steel "chain plate" is attached to the hull at the
stern, and the back stay (or in my case stays, as I have two) are
attached to those chain plates. My chain plates are right on the transom
which is typical of most sailboats. That's RIGHT at the back of the
boat. There is a stern locker nearby for storage of stuff you want to
use in the cockpit. That is a typical layout for most sailboats. Then,
heading forward there is a cockpit area, then the companionway down into
the cabin. Below the cockpit is engine, and no living space. The
livingspace typically begins at the companionway.

Typically, the radio is located at the nav station, which is midship in
the cabin, in my case about 15 feet from the stern locker where the
tuner is located. My boat is quite typical of most sailboats. There is
no living space in the vicinity of the transom nor is there living space
under the cockpit. Some sailboats feature a center cockpit, in which
case a large master stateroom is usually under the back of the boat.
That's not where a radio belongs either. It belongs at the nav station.

In other words, in order to use pigtails "right under the antenna" as
you suggest I would have to go outside of the cabin by climbing up the
companionway, walk to the very back of the boat (a place you do not want
to be when in heavy weather), open a stern locker, get down on my hands
and knees and fiddle with the pigtails whilst pitching about as if in a
washing machine of the spin cycle. Then go (stagger really) back inside
to use the radio. Switch bands? Do the whole thing again. By the way in
heavy weather, leaving the cabin also entails strapping on a heavy
safety harness, possibly foul weather wear, and then attaching the
safety harness to a line that is attached to the boat, before exiting
the cabin. As you can surely appreciate, pigtails or any other
mechanical connections to be messed with would simply not work in the
environmnent.

Simply put, the only practical solution on a sailboat is a tuner. That
is why I have never yet (in over 25 years of serious messing with boats
and countless sea miles under my keel) seen a ham or marine SSB equipped
boat without a tuner.

It is the ONLY practical solution.


Aman James! The autotuner is the bet thing since sliced bread for a
boat.

73
Gary K4FMX