T&T: Aztrax TV System

[Jim Healy]

We have had the AzTrax TV Antenna installed for almost three years now.
Works great!  I prefer it over the Follow-Me solution for a several reasons.
When I first bought it, I liked the weather tightness of the wiring.  The
RJ-45 connectors on the Follow-Me didn't capture my imagination.  Second,
AzTrax comes with it's own antenna dish, which is metalized plastic.  It's
light weight and tough.  If you believe the manufacturer, it has a better
response curve than the DirecTV round dish, this because it has an oval
shape that extends the effective parabolic volume to accommodate any rolling
in seas or wakes.  I do know we have very little signal drop out from wind
and wakes.  We do have periodic dropout from heavy (t'stormy) clouds, but
that's not frequent or unique to this antenna.  Third, my boat has 2 70
gallon water tanks which are not symmetrically located in the hull.  So, as
we use water, the trim of the boat changes.  The antenna must be mounted so
the plane of it's base is parallel to the water.  The AzTrax uses a Magma
Grille mount.  This is a rail mount clamp that is very easy to level.  The
platform has a built-in bubble level which make it idiot-simple.  That
appeals to me.  It's also very easy to relocate.  The antenna, or course,
wants to point to the southwest.  Sometimes, if the wind is out of the
southwest, the antenna aim is through my mast (trawler) and flybridge
enclosure.  If the enclosure is wet with dew or rain, the signal strength
can be iffy, so I relocate the unit up to the flybridge where it's under
cover and signal strength is fine.  This last item is the most troublesome
thing most Follow-Me TV owners have told me about.  The system seems more
difficult (read: frustrating) to level.  One thing to know is, both systems
are affected by large local metal masses, such as metal bulkheads, metal
docks, metal ladders, etc.  Large metal masses will throw the fluxgate
compass off, and you'll have to search around for the satellite.  This
behavior is to be expected of the compass, of course, but it was
disconcerting to discover.  We did the Great Loop in 2007.  We had TV every
night, from Florida to Canada to the Georgian Bay and North Channel and all
the way through Lake Michigan and the River Systems.  
 
My net is, I'm very happy with my AzTrax choice!
 
Peg and Jim Healy aboard Sanctuary,
currently lying Horseshoe Bend, St. Marys City, MD