Just back from the annual MYC cruise. It was a great time as usual with lots of activities for the whole family. One thing that I did notice however is the rather poor performance of VHF radios in the fleet. I would estimate that close to half the radios in the fleet were not working well. Here is a list of the kinds of problems that I was hearing.

1. Radios that were transmitting significant interference on every transmission. Sometimes this was so bad that you could not make our what was being said. This could be attributable to a number of factors.
   • Interference coming from a cell phone or other source of RF (radio frequency) on board. This could be an poor quality LED light, a florescent light, and alternator or another radio. Tracking down RFI (radio frequency interference) usually requires a technician who has knowledge and experience. It is not an exact science and sometimes it is trial and error. Someone who is a Radio Amateur (Ham) should be able to help.
   • Sometimes special filters are required to remove the interference.;
2. Radio signals are not propagating as they should. A good working radio should be able to operate well over about 12 miles. VHF is considered line of site so land masses inbetween you and the one your are calling will diminish your range. Having your antenna as high as possible will make a difference. Doing a radio check with Halifax Coast guard radio is something you should do a couple of times a season. They have radio receivers on some high points around our rivers and you should always be able to reach them and get a good signal report. Here is what a call should be structured like: Halifax Coast Guard Radio, this is Sailing Vessel Tevah for a qualitative radio check. They can be busy so you may have to wait bit and if they don’t answer try calling in the form Halifax Coast Guard Radio (3X) this is: SV Tevah (3X) They should give you a report with two number. 5 by 5 is and excellent report. The numbers represent Readability and Strength. If you are in the river system any thing less than 5X5 would indicate you have an issue with your power output or your audio system.
3. Another cause of poor propagation is a poor SWR. SWR is a measure of how much power goes out from your antenna compared to how much is reflected back and returned to your radio. Many things can cause this; a bad ground in one of the connectors, a short in a cable, a missing antenna element or a bad antenna etc. The first step is to run a test with an SWR meter and get the initial value. Next is doing a physical inspection of all connections. I often begin the test as close as i can get to the antenna and they work back toward the radio. Prior to stepping a mast I will always do a test with a small portable radio to determine if the line up the mast and the antenna are working well. Once the mast is stepped it is too late!
4. Poor Quality Audio: It is not only the power of your radio that is important. When you speak into your microphone you should be generating good clear audio. If it is muffled or low in level there may be a problem in your audio circuit. This could be as simple as water in your microphone. (This happened to me last week. ) This was a brand new radio too! A quick fix is to tap your mike, face down on a hard surface and then blow into the mike hole. That worked for me. Some radios have a feature that will emit a loud sound that will vibrate all the water from both the speaker and the mic. This could also be caused by a bad microphone element. I have dealt with those as well.
5. It is also prudent to have a second radio and a second antenna at the ready.