Raymarine Ray215e manual Antenna Mounting Suggestions, Grounding

Installation 2-9

If the antenna RF connector is likely to be exposed to the marine environment, a protective coating of grease (Dow Corning DC-4 or similar) can be applied to the connector before connecting it to the radio. Any other extensions or adapters in the cable run should also be protected by silicon grease and then wrapped with a waterproofing tape.

2.4.5 Antenna Mounting Suggestions

The best radio in the world is useless without a quality antenna and good location. Mounting the VHF antenna properly is very important because it will directly affect the performance of your VHF radio. A VHF antenna designed for marine vessels should be used.

•Since VHF transmission is essentially Line-of-Sight, mount the antenna at the highest possible location on the vessel and free of obstruction to obtain maximum range.

•If you must extend the length of the coaxial cable between the antenna and the radio, use a coaxial cable designed for the least amount of power loss over the entire cable length.

•Remember to maintain the recommended minimum 3 feet between the radio and antenna.

2.4.6Grounding

While special grounding is not generally required for VHF radiotelephone installations, it is good marine practice to properly ground all electronic equipment to the ship's earth ground system. The RAY215E can be connected to ground by attaching a wire to one of the screws on the unit's rear panel and then to the nearest ship's earth ground connection point. The recommended wire to be used for such grounding is #10 AWG.