[BC] sports audio feed

[Tom Spencer]

Mike McCarthy wrote:
>  For field to station use, the base station RX antenna with any gain will be HUGE!!!  A 4 bay cardioid leg mounted loop antenna will be around 130ft.  How many stations are going to spend upwards of $8K to buy and install a gain HF RPU antenna (before even factoring pattern, line and loading issues).

11m HF RPU would be roughly the same as the infamous CB antennas - and a 1/4 wave whip is ~108".  And I wasn't thinking in terms of a loop antenna, but verticals.  a 5/8 wave ground plane base antenna is about 20 - 25 ft tall, IIRC.

I did mention using a beam antenna at the base / studio, as well, and did acknowledge that such an install would be extra.

108" whips are usually fender or bumper-mounted, BTW - anyone who would put one on the roof of a VAN ought to have their head examined; it's not practical; definitely subject to damage from the sources cited.  My thought was to use the omnis to establish basic communications, and then aim the studio's beam in the correct direction to receive the wider-bandwidth RPU signal.  If the site(s) are semi-regular use, the rotor control could even be marked "Centerville HS"  "Westville Mall" or whatever.  I agree the HF would be the Big Guns - VHF and/or UHF for under 40 - 50 miles.  I've used UHF RPU as far out as 60 miles, but the receive antenna was about 850 feet up the side of the 1100' tower...  So yeah; if you have the height, by all means go with the VHF or UHF RPU.  
But 11m RPU is available, and a 60-foot tower with a three or five element beam on a rotor and a 5/8 omni above it might be less expensive - and will work further out.

-- 
Tom Spencer