Help with am/fm aerial for glass boat

[Why-ting]

Hey guys im trying to find a short am fm aerial for my lowrance sonic hub. I have a standard automotive aerial but signal in very week. After some googling ive found that most of the shorter aerials need to be grounded to atleast a 0.5m2 metalic material. since i own a glass bass boat i dont have any metal areas on the boat and being flat casting decks all round the boat i dont want an aerial that will be over 700mm high as it will probably get in the way when casting around stucture. The shortest aerial ive been able to find has been 1.2m that doesnt need to be grounded. so if anyone knows of a product or solution to my problem any help would be much appreciated.

Thanks Nick

[thylacene]

I bought a "hot rod" aerial off eBay, and havea it mounted under the gunnels (glass boat) sikaflexed to the side of the hull, works fine for FM to 30k offshore, the raido is nothing special, one of the cheapy round marine units, mounted in a piece of HDPE cut to shape and jammed in the side pocket. Cost me all of $20 odd dollars.

Like this http://www.ebay.com.au/itm/Hot-Rod-C...ht_8864wt_1256

Hope this helps, try a search for "aerial hotrod" on eBay the one I bought was from hong kong, but it appears someone is importing them these days, there are shorter ones advertised that can be attached to a windscreen also.

No casting interrence at all.

Cheers

Thy

[finga]

Oi Nick.
You haven't been around for ages.
How have you been?
How's that mad mate of yours in Darwin? Is he still there?

Cheers then
Scott

[Noelm]

the GME antenna is (I think) only 600 high, and it comes with a folding base (like the VHF ones) it works equaly as well when still folded down! and does not require any ground, there is also a lot of cheap "rubber ducky" ones that will work, AM/FM does not require anything too sophisticated, as you are not transmitting, only receiving.

[murf]

http://www.zcg.com.au/am-fm-radio-re...nas.htm#ma1100

Folding Mount: Model MA1100, 90 cm
Standing 90 cm tall, the MA1100 antenna with folding mount will significantly improve your AM and FM radio reception. No metal ground plane is necessary for effective performance.

The versatile MM1 folding swivel base supplied makes the MA1100 model a perfect choice for mounting to any flat surface and at any angle desired using four screws or bolts.

5 metres of RG58 low loss stranded cable side exits from the mount ferrule. A solderless "easy fit" car radio connector is supplied.

For those who prefer the ultimate in quality, durability and strength, the antenna is also available with the MM2 folding mount which is constructed entirely from stainless steel. The order code is MA1100SS.

cheers Murf