VHF Antenna?

[Sutty]

I bought a VHF radio for my boat so I could go on the great lakes. I need to get an antenna. I have poked around online but since I really don't know what I want I am not sure what to order. Is there anywhere around here I could go buy one and get a little help picking it out?

Thanks

[DinkADunk]

Gander Mountain and Cabela's have them - depends what you mean by local . If at all possible go with an 8' antenna as the 3' ones don't have enough reach (unless you're mounting it on a sailboat mast). The Shakespear 5102 is a good outfit, if you want to save some money try the 5206-C. You may wish to go with the metal instead of plastic mount. It's also good to borow a Shakespeare ART-3 to test your rig once you get it setup - it's nice to know that your SWR is decent and that you're actually transmitting.

[PerchJerker]

Boat U.S. or West Marine are also good places to try. I agree on the 8 footer vs. the 3 or 4 footers, especially if you're going to be on the Great Lakes.

Have you looked on Shakespeare's webpage, they used to have a lot of good general and background info on vhf, antennas, etc.