2025-07-25, 04:41 PM
Just curious, are your halyards outside the mast also?
The issue is power. Even if you could get a VHF with some sort of remote control, a typical VHF running at 25 watts will draw several amps of current. That's not to mention the size of the box that it would all have to go in, up on the mast.
I suggest that if you can't get the antenna feedline inside your mast, that you look at options for running it cleanly on the outside of the mast. Your only other option would be to put the antenna at deck level, which would reduce your range considerably. GPS is not typically a problem anymore - you can have a GPS antenna below deck and still have a good signal to your GPS receiver.
The issue is power. Even if you could get a VHF with some sort of remote control, a typical VHF running at 25 watts will draw several amps of current. That's not to mention the size of the box that it would all have to go in, up on the mast.
I suggest that if you can't get the antenna feedline inside your mast, that you look at options for running it cleanly on the outside of the mast. Your only other option would be to put the antenna at deck level, which would reduce your range considerably. GPS is not typically a problem anymore - you can have a GPS antenna below deck and still have a good signal to your GPS receiver.