"ameijers" wrote in
:


"a.t." wrote in message
om...
I was wondering if it would be possible to get an antenna that would
pick up a network station in a town about 140 miles from the
transmitter. This is also in a mountainous area of Virginia. The rest
of the channels would be arriving from a town about 50 miles to the
north. I am trying to set up an antenna to get the networks and not
have to get cable. Would it even be remotely possible to recieve such
a signal? Thanks in advnace.

Throw enough money at it, you can do almost anything. A tall, tall
tower, with a very directional antenna and a rotator, you MAY be able
to bring it in, at least part of the time. As a kid, I used to DX
distant city TV stations when it got cloudy, and the signal would
bounce on the cloud layers. (one night I got several Tennesee stations
clear as a bell in Bloominton, IN.) But unless you happen to be on a
tall ridgetop, a tower tall enough may be more expensive than several
years of satellite service.

Suggest asking your question over on the rec.radio.amateur.antenna
group. They may not like a non-HAM question, but they actually know
what they are talking about over there, unlike me. Alternative- are
there any (non-radio-shack) antenna companies in your area? Cable TV
has made most of the yellow page ads for them go away, but whatever
company in your area that sells antenna towers (look under 2-way
radios) may still have an old-timer around that remembers when tall TV
antennas on rural homes were dirt-common.

aem sends....

Back in the 1950s in NE Misissippi, folks routinely received broadcasts
from stations in Memphis, TN, 109 miles away. The quality of the
reception varied from almost perfect to almost non-existent, depending on
the height of the tower and quality of parts. My aunt and uncle had a 35
ft. tower and excellent antenna with rotator. Their reception was almost
always very good.

--
Wayne in Phoenix

If there's a nit to pick, some nitwit will pick it.