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I am hooking up the myriad of electronics that came with my boat so I can venture well out of sight of land. First order the VHF radio. No luck getting a signal with the antenna hooked up (some limited signal w/o the antenna, just the extension wire to the antenna). Found that the antenna signal to ground reads almost zero ohms. No problem I think, I have 3 more to use (for the rest of this season - sort out which one I want to really use for what in the off season). I check each of the others. short, short, short. Ok...now I wonder am I doing somthing wrong?

Question to any radio folks. I am led to believe that the resistance between the signal and the ground sheaf on a VHF radion should be infinite as in open. Is that true?

If In have 4 anntennas, all shorted, what is the most likly source....cable or actual antenna? (Don't know the common failure modes for radio antennas.) I find it hard to belive that 4 antennas could all fail at once.

Should I just plan to buy new antennas becasue these things just go over time?

If you think its an antenna issue check your connections first. Most of the time we see issues with the PL259 connector not being soldered correctly. If it is done correclty there shouldn't be any continuity between the sheild and the core wire. (or the center pin of the connector and the housing)
If you have continuity go ahead and chop the connector off and check the coax itself. If there are any splices in the coax have a close look at them as well.
Lastly (or maybe first) check the VHF, maybe a friend has the same one or an antenna you know is good. Hook it up and test it. It'd be a shame to replace antennas only to find its the VHF.
Good Luck. Hope it helps

Check with what KR told you first. If you really want your VHF to work further out you have to upgrade to a larger antenna. Shakespeare makes a 19 footer and some guys are using a 23 footer that yields the best gain figure if 10.5dbi. It is available at Boater's World. The large antennas will require a guy point (Standoff) about 4-6 feet from the bottom and works real well with 1/2 tower and full tower boats. Dave K