advice on antenna

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de784

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I want to pick up a 800mhz trunk tower apx 60 miles north of me is this possible to do with a yagi and how high off the ground would be reasonable
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btritch

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Maybe....but don't count on it..

Hmmm....Possibly if it's WAY up there but still, 800 mhz trunking, 60 miles away, That'd be PUSHING IT I'd say, Trunk Systems are made for a small area and not a very far range, Our local utility company's I can get out of town and loose..It's possible with a directional yagi antenna and if it's way up there high in the air but I'd say the odds are like 1 in a million, It'd be pushing it at 60 miles with or without a directional antenna, It's hard for me to pick up regular conventional frequencies 50 miles away, Let alone Trunk Frequencies, I'd say try it and see but I'd bet it didn't work and if it did not real great....like I said, 60 miles is really pushing it..
 

de784

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antenna

Thanks what is limit on a yagi antenna 20 miles or so?
 

btritch

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mmmmm....I don't have one so I'm not real sure BUT I do know they're supposed to be as good as or better than the st 2 scantenna and I have one of those and I'm hearing 60 or so miles on conventional frequencies.. So I'm not sure.. Maybe someone else that has one will chime in and know..
 

af5rn

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60 miles on 800 is about the outer limits of an inexpensive yagi. And that's assuming you have clear terrain between you and the system. There is no "reasonable" height. The higher, the better. I'd say you have about 4 to 1 odds against you of being able to get the system strong enough to decode it unless you get a SERIOUS professional yagi, but it's worth a try. I'd sure be interested in hearing your results.
 

zz0468

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de784 said:
Thanks what is limit on a yagi antenna 20 miles or so?

There is no "limit" per se, based simply on antenna type. There are lots of other factors involved that are as important, if not more so, than what the receive antenna is. 800 MHz systems are frequently coverage restricted BY DESIGN. There are a number of reasons for doing this,, but the bottom line is, 60 miles away could be well outside the design coverage area and there probably isn't much signal to work with.

The best thing you can do is attempt to receive it with whatever antenna you have already. If you can hear it at all, a yagi might help. If there's nothing... then there's nothing. BTW, there ARE formulas out there to determine the necessary height above ground for unobstructed paths, but they require knowledge of the height of both antennas. Google will help there. For a 60 mile path, you may well be pushing 100' to make it usable - assuming there's enough signal going out your way.
 

thewenk

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de784 said:
I want to pick up a 800mhz trunk tower apx 60 miles north of me is this possible to do with a yagi and how high off the ground would be reasonable
Thanks
I've used the Wilson 301111 yagi (at 20 ft) to receive 775 Mhz Digital and it worked well at 50 miles even though it is a 800 MHz antenna. But, having said that, I still need a preamp to receive reliably on 700 MHz at 50 miles from a mountaintop transmitter, even with a custom 775 MHz tuned yagi that I now use. As has been said previously, it depends on a number of factors as to how well you can receive at greater distances.
Dave
 
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At that distance simple path loss is an issue; but co-channel and adjacent interference become an issue also. In other words a Yagi may help pick up the distant station but will be of little help on strong local (to you) co/adjacent interference.
 

N1BHH

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Depending on the number of elements and the propagation characteristics at any given time, you could receive hundreds of miles away. Other things to consider are height and line of sight, could you get an antenna 100 feet up, or only 30? There are so many variables, and weather plays into that, too. If you are on a hill and everything is below you, you have a better chance than being in a bowl, then you will have severe limitations to overcome.
 
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