Quote:
Originally Posted by Electronic M
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I recall some 50's electronics magizine that ran a section on TV DX(DXing is long distance reception) where they claimed that some european stations had enough power that under the right conditions they could/were be recieved in a basement with only the blade of a screw driver as an antenna! VHF stations would be most plausible for extreme reception situations as UHF stations were on higher frequencies, and the higher a radio frequency gets the more it behaves like light, and starts to require a line of sight to the transmitter.
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I would imagine it was a reference to UHF stations then being installed in Europe (especially in West Germany).
The shorter wavelength of the UHF signals could be more efficiently absorbed by an undersize antenna (such as the blade of a screwdriver). Too, UHF signals can fit through windows more easily, and are stronger close to the ground, than VHF.
Major reasons so many OTA viewers in large cities are complaining they can't get local stations that transmit their digital signals on VHF.