VHF/AIS Antennas
VHF & AIS Marine Antennas for Boats
High-gain VHF and AIS antennas for maximum range and reliability. Our collection features antennas from Glomex and other manufacturers in various lengths and mounting styles. Essential for VHF radios and AIS systems.
Professional Installation: Part of our AIS & VHF collection. Mount with Seaview platforms. Use antenna splitters to share between VHF and AIS. Install with VHF cables.
Antenna length, gain and cable loss
A longer VHF whip generally gives better range, but only if it can be mounted high and kept vertical: on a sailing yacht that usually means the masthead, on a powerboat a rail or arch mount with a shorter antenna often performs just as well in practice. AIS antennas are typically shorter and lower gain than VHF, reflecting the shorter range AIS is designed for, and the two should not simply be swapped for one another.
Cable choice matters as much as the antenna itself: signal loss increases with cable length, so a long run from a masthead antenna down to the radio needs a low-loss cable rather than a thinner, cheaper one, and every extra connector in the run adds a small amount of loss. Where deck space is tight, a splitter lets VHF and AIS share one antenna, though a dedicated antenna for each will usually perform better.
