Testing VHF antennae

[spelchek]

Is there any way to test a VHF antennae ither than hooking a radio up to it and asking [VMR etc] for a radio test? Radio in the new boat doesn;t seem to be working but before I replace it, I'd like to ascertain that the problem isn't in the aerial itself.

Cheers!

[myusernam]

without specised gear you could take your radio into a repairer and get it functionally tested or pay the quote fee (usually fairly low) and if they come back with "nothing wrong with it" then you know it's the power or the antenna. Don't write off power. You can have enough power to make the radio functional, but as soon as you try and transmit get voltage drop and not put out squat. Check the fuse holder or better yet try hooking it up straight to the battery. If you have a multimeter and know how to use it then you could place it inline and measure the amps drawn by the set. so long as you are drawing over 5 amps (transmit and whistle into mike) then your power connection and the most likely point of failure in the radio are ok. Try testing with a mates boat.