need a 500mile antenna

brotherhood

SatelliteGuys Pro
Original poster
Sep 29, 2004
397
1
97w/55n
hi guys
i now its a crazy question but is there a antenna that does 500mile range?
living about 500 miles to the closes city
thanks
 
Not a chance. 500 miles means the curvature of the earth would require a VERY tall tower. Like miles high. Lower frequencies used to be able to be unreliably picked up via troposheric skip, but most broadcasting is on UHF these days, and skip is very rare there.

I would guess you are stuck with satellite as an only option.
 
RF signals are basically Line Of Sight. TV reception beyond about 65 miles is luck. That's when the curvature of the earth already kicks in, no matter how good the equipment. 500 miles is impossible.
 
Where are you, on a raft in the Gulf of Mexico?

There is nowhere in the CONUS that is 500 miles away from OTA TV signals.
 
Radio shack used to sell an UHF antenna that was about 9' long. I could go about 125 miles with it, that is probably the limit of what one could realistically do.
 
Radio shack used to sell an UHF antenna that was about 9' long. I could go about 125 miles with it, that is probably the limit of what one could realistically do.

I still have one of them :) We had one at the cabin where there were only translator stations for the nets and they were 25 miles away or so. I wouldnt say it got 125 miles....Radio Shack was known to "fudge" the numbers. Maybe in the desert or flatlands of Texas (or treeless North Dakota) but not on a normal terrain ;)
 
I still have one of them :) We had one at the cabin where there were only translator stations for the nets and they were 25 miles away or so. I wouldnt say it got 125 miles....Radio Shack was known to "fudge" the numbers. Maybe in the desert or flatlands of Texas (or treeless North Dakota) but not on a normal terrain ;)

Well from my gently rolling hills of Wichita Falls TX, I can receive Dallas and OKC easily with it, Abilene most of the time (under 140 by air)....