Forum Discussion
WyoTraveler
Dec 06, 2015Explorer
Although almost any hunk of wire would work for an antenna for mediocre radio wave reception the ideal solution is to cut the antenna to the proper length for the freq used. TV uses FM/VHF/UHF spectrum. Satelite radio uses 2.3 gigs. A 1/4 wave antenna for that freq would be approx 2.45 inches long for best reception. The FM/VHF/UHF spectrum is quite a bit lower than that therefore those antennas use a much longer antenna. You may be able to receive mediocre satelite radio on a random length of wire. I never tried it.
BTW: For clarity VHF is 30 to 300 mHz, UHF is 300 to 3000 mHz, the 2.3 gHz spectrum is 2300 mHz. Your car radio has a random wire for AM .550 to 1.6 mHz and actually does a pretty good job on FM in the VHF spectrum of 88 to 108 mHz.
BTW: For clarity VHF is 30 to 300 mHz, UHF is 300 to 3000 mHz, the 2.3 gHz spectrum is 2300 mHz. Your car radio has a random wire for AM .550 to 1.6 mHz and actually does a pretty good job on FM in the VHF spectrum of 88 to 108 mHz.
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