Hello All,
I live pretty close to the ocean and I wanted to setup a VHF radio on my porch to listen to the charter boat chatter offshore. According to google maps, im 2.5 miles from the ocean, there arent many tall building in between. Could an antenna like this be used to pick up VHF?
Sorry, no. That is a VHF television antenna. It receives frequencies between 174-230MHz. US and Canadian commercial and personal craft VHF marine radios operate between 156-167MHz. The TV antenna is outside the range of those frequencies.
Thanks for the quick reply, would have a recommendation on the best antenna to pick up marine VHF signals?
you could always buy a marine vertical and put it up…
or if you like tinkering… cut yourself two pieces of wire about 17.3" inches long
(choosing 162 as the center freq)… put a center connector between the two wires, hook up your coax and hang it vertical (half wave vertical dipole)…
An antenna intended for receive only is less critical than one used for transmitting. A good quality Discone antenna is an excellent wide-band receiving antenna.
I’ve tried to find the rule mentioned, but can’t, and it’s not in the faq.
Are links not allowed? This topic without the link makes little sense, so I’m confused as to what the antenna was he was talking about.
2 and half miles is close enough to get pretty decent reception on most antennas - although I too would suggest the dipole described above - they work pretty well and are a doddle to make!
The rules are here http://www.twowayradioforum.com/forum/showthread.php?t=2.
The link was to a product for sale. After removing the link, I responded to his post with an explanation of what the product was, partly to respond to the question and partly to help anyone else who read the thread later to be able to follow the discussion without the need for the link.
Links are allowed, as long as they do not violate the rules. For instance, the link K6CPO posted was perfectly fine, because it didn’t violate any of the rules.
Thanks Danny - I couldn’t find that page at all - but thanks for the link. Paul
They got me on that one a while back. I have to constantly remember that because this is the only radio forum I frequent that has that rule.
I’m Rick, but you’re welcome. 
What do you use for the home radio?
I’m hoping to setup a home radio station so my home can communicate with me while I am in the bay fishing
I’m looking for the least expensive but functional setup
In the UK this would be pretty much a non-starter for license reasons. Marine is also a band where illicit use rarely works because of the limited channels and the public nature.
You already have a marine radio in the boat I assume? I do know one guy locally who uses on of the UK hire channels that are just above marine band, and he removed his marine radio and swapped it for a multi-channel radio that he programmed the marine channels into, plus the extra one he uses to chat to home. It’s half legal, as he does have the ability to transmit on the hire channel, but he is using a non-type approved radio on marine band. However, as the display shows the usual channel numbers, not frequencies, I doubt anyone will notice. It just doesn’t have the new emergency buttons and data reporting - but loads of older real marine radios don’t either - his just has one extra channel that marine radios don’t.
In addition to the Discone antenna I mentioned before, an antenna designed for the 2 meter amateur band will work just fine also. I’m about five miles as the crow flies from San Diego Bay and all it’s commercial and Naval traffic and I can receive the marine VHF channels just fine on my 2 meter radio.