Using end fed all band longwire for TV antenna

[CapnJon]

On the west end of the U.P. and tired of being forced to watch Duluth television stations on cable or satellite by the FCC and their wonderful "Orphan County" discrimination.
Have to order the pl259 to tv coax adapter, but was wondering if my 20-80 meter longwire would work to pick up Rhinelander, Marquette or even Wausau stations.
1,750 feet up and end fed is at a 5° down slope angle 25 feet up.

 

[belvdr]

1750 ft up?

It may work, but an amplified TV antenna works best for me.

 

[FrensicPic]

Try it and see what happens.

 

[n9mxq]

I've hooked my USB-TV stick to my end fed.. Got the same channels I get with an indoor panel antenna.. My end fed is about 30 feet up, strung east to west.. It was a neat experiment, but that was about it..

 

[woodtrol]

My two cents-- around here in rural indiana, people used small towers with heights proportional to how far away they were from the broadcast station. 40-50' for about 75 to 100 mi. some had a rotor motor that would change the antenna direction if they were about equal distant to the stations in different cities. most also used signal boosters both to amplify the weak signal and to offset cable loss.

I'm gonna guess your results are going to be less than great. I had the best results with an amplified tv antenna as high as possible, connected to one tv. using good 75 ohm cable. keep in mind the tv frequencies are much higher than what your antenna is tuned.

 

[WB5UOM]

But but but... you have to have a HD Tv antenna or it wont work. lol

 

[Blackswan73]

Digital HDTV. 😆
B.S.

 

[Blackswan73]

Over the years I have come to the conclusion that understanding antennas is 25% science and 75% black magic. I learned this 60 years ago, when I discovered a wire clipped to my bed springs out performed a commercial sloper
B.S.

 

[AC9KH]

Have to order the pl259 to tv coax adapter, but was wondering if my 20-80 meter longwire would work to pick up Rhinelander, Marquette or even Wausau stations.

It may pick up some TV signals. Long wire antennas several wavelengths long tend to be highly directional with line-of-sight signals so I'm going to say it depends on the orientation of the wire. You may have to experiment with it to see if it will pick up your desired stations. Broadcast TV is horizontally polarized, so keep that in mind when placing your antenna.

 

[CapnJon]

1750 ft up?

It may work, but an amplified TV antenna works best for me.

Elevation at 1,750 and my longwire is 25' off the ground.
I was just seeing if it would work for winter. I have 5 tower sections to put up in the Spring.

 

[CapnJon]

I've hooked my USB-TV stick to my end fed.. Got the same channels I get with an indoor panel antenna.. My end fed is about 30 feet up, strung east to west.. It was a neat experiment, but that was about it..

That's what I figured. Was worth a try.

 

[vagrant]

@CapnJon - Not sure how "long" your wire antenna is, but it will be friendly with AM and FM radio broadcast signals. Thus, better to use an antenna tuned to the frequencies you wish to receive. Still, why not try it but just keep the potential interference in mind. Have fun!

 

[CapnJon]

@CapnJon - Not sure how "long" your wire antenna is, but it will be friendly with AM and FM radio broadcast signals. Thus, better to use an antenna tuned to the frequencies you wish to receive. Still, why not try it but just keep the potential interference in mind. Have fun!

It's 120 feet w/ end fed balun. I use it for my Kenwood for SWL.