Quote:
Originally Posted by paulsherwin
75 miles is a very big distance for FM, even with a good external aerial and a big transmitter. Isn't there a closer transmitter you can use?
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Around 20 years ago when I lived in Hereford I enjoyed Saga Radio from Birmingham (even though I was well under the target age-range back then). This was transmitted from Sutton Coldfield, around 60 miles away with Birmingham and the Malvern Hills in between. According to Wikipedia the current station on that frequency (Smooth Radio) is only 11kw but I think Saga was higher, maybe around 50kw.
At that distance, with a 5 element roof aerial pointing in the appropriate direction and a 12db booster in the loft, I could get good clean mono most of the time (apart from heavy rain or thick fog) and reasonably clean stereo if conditions were favourable (which was not very often, and relied on the programme material to mask the slight hiss).
I think under the circumstances I was lucky it was that good for the power, distance and terrain.
This does suggest 75 miles with 250kw and favourable terrain could be a bit better, but probably not much. I doubt you will ever get good clean strong reception from that distance, and will have to accept some compromise if it is the best transmitter for your location.