Other Equipment

What are the antenna requirements of a VHF telephony coast, maritime utility or ship station?

Answer

The shore or on-board antenna must be vertically polarized.

Marine VHF coast, utility and ship antennas must be vertically polarized for reliable ground-wave communication over seawater.

Source: FCC Element 1 question pool, 1D

Not the answer

  • The antenna must be capable of being energized by an output in excess of 100 watts.
  • The horizontally-polarized antenna must be positioned so as not to cause excessive interference to other stations.
  • The antenna array must be type-accepted for 30-200 MHz operation by the FCC.

Practice this

The FCC Element 3 (General Radiotelephone) exam is 100 questions and takes 75 correct — 75% — to pass. Element 1, the other half of the licence, is 24 questions and takes 18 correct. The app’s page carries a free ten-question test drawn from the same bank, marked as you go.

Take the free practice test