Attwood Powerbase antenna and light mount, solving problems simply

Panbo covers a lot of high technology, complex products. Often that coverage runs thousands of words to explain the technology. Attwood’s Powerbase isn’t that kind of product. Put simply, this is an electrically actuated antenna mount that raises and lowers your antenna or running light at the touch of a button. It does one thing and it does it well.

Attwood offers the roughly $380 Powerbase in two styles: one for antennas with a 1-inch 14 mount and the other for their line of LightArmor LED running lights.

Panboat lives in a rack storage facility. The 8-foot VHF antenna must be folded down in order for the boat to fit both in the covered wash slips and its rack. Unfortunately, Panboat‘s VHF antenna mount is located in a difficult location to access safely. It’s just above the helm station and with the windshield and front seating blocking access from the front, the best access is on the side. Unfortunately, those side walks are narrow and it’s a bit of a walk from either forward or aft to the antenna’s mounting position. The result was that I often left the antenna down rather than dealing with raising and lowering it. It’s no secret that a horizontally polarized antenna laid down has a pretty poor radiating pattern, unless you’re trying to communicate with airplanes.

Electrification and easy control saves the day

Fortunately, I’m not the first person to have dealt with challenges raising and lowering my VHF antenna. Attwood’s PowerBase is meant to address just such a problem. It electrically raises and lowers the antenna (or an all around running light) at the touch of a button. The movement is nearly silent and thus far, has been entirely reliable.

I am using an electronic switch that defaults to off each time the power is removed and re-applied. This means that if the antenna is up and I turn off power, the antenna remains up. The moment I turn the batteries back on, the antenna folds down. I’ve found this setup works well and means that at the start of each day, I know the antenna is down. I’ve gotten in the habit of hitting the switch to raise the antenna each time I turn the radio on.

I mentioned previously that the system works well, as long as you remember to use it. Unfortuantely, I have the attention span of a flea and have managed, on surprisingly numerous occasions, to back under the covered slips with the antenna raised. I’m pleased to report that so far I haven’t done any damage to anything other than the rubber antenna tip. The PowerBase seems quite robust and stands up to the abuse my forgetfulness delivers with aplomb.

PowerBase does have a breakaway feature to prevent damage to the light or antenna if you hit an obstruction. I’ve broken off my fair share of antennas using traditional ratchet mounts that don’t breakaway, so I appreciate the safeguard. However, be warned, the base uses a shear pin and if you break it, you will need to replace it to restore function. Additionally, if the base detects any obstruction in trying to raise, it stops and returns to the retracted position. An LED connected to the base’s indicator leads — in my case the LED around the switch — blinks to indicate faults, obstructions, and base status.

The PowerBase can be manually locked into either the raised or lowered position by removing the bolt that secures the cover and removing the shear pin. The arm can then be positioned in either the raised or lowered position and hte pin and cover replaced. The PowerBase can be mounted so the antenna folds forward or back, simply by flipping the base 180 degrees.

Final thoughts

In light of the antenna mounting location on Panboat, the PowerBase is a no brainer. As I’ve recently demonstrated, I am not always as steady on my feet as I might like. So, anything that keeps me from perching precariously on the side of the boat is well worth it. And, at under $400, I think of the PowerBase as cheap insurance.