with any 8' antenna you should get 8 to 10 miles if you have good connections. with a high grade antenna like the Shakespeare 5225 you should get 15+ miles out of it. I just have a cheap little radio and had a cheap antenna. I could do ok but felt it was what I was supposed to get. then I started reading about how important the antenna is. so I did some research and found out you needed a good antenna. I talked to others and a lot of them were using the 5225 antenna. they had the xt or xp models and was very happy with the performance. I elected to go with the Shakespeare 5399 9'6" antenna. I still have the cheap radio but I'm still able to talk to boats many miles away. i'll never buy another cheap antenna again. but even with a cheap antenna you should be able to talk farther than you are now.

I did have an antenna go bad on me once and I could only talk about 1/2 mile. if your connections are good you may have a bad antenna. I was broke down on erie when my radio quit working but I was still able to contact the coast guard. and they got me help.