[ADTech]

Since I'm the individual who did all the pre-release field testing on the VHF element for the C2V, I'm in a very unique position to comment on it's performance. Personally, I've received VHF signals from beyond 70 miles with the VHF element, so mere distance is a poor indicator of performance and requirements. Now, I do have some playtoys that make such experiments easier, such as a portable spectrum analyzer, that very few users will ever have access to.

As a tuned dipole, the VHF element on the C2V is roughly a unity gain element for channels 7-13. It is bi-directional and has the typical gain and radiation pattern of a simple dipole. If there are no concerns with multi-path or other interference facgtors, then it will work fine. There's plenty of signal power coming off Mt Wilson, primarily due to the impressive height of the transmitting towers above the Greater Los Angeles basin. Even with 50+ miles of signal path, the signal powers are forecasted to be very strong and, in this location, free from terrain obstructions.

Gain and directivity are interlinked with directional antennas. Higher gain antennas are very useful in focusing on a signals from a certain direction while diminish signals from other, undesirable directions, a common situation with terrain-blocked locations. No such factors are observed to be present in this location. Calculated signal powers are in excess of 30 dB (1,000x for linear-thinking folks) including cabling losses and fade margin.

The best advice is indeed to simply install the antenna (temporary mounting facility) and test it as that will answer a multitude of 'What if.." questions. It takes all of 5 minutes to assemble a C2V. Place it on a plastic chair, a wooden ladder or a broomstick (or whatever) or simply have someone hold it over their head and face it toward Mt Wilson. Hook it up to the HDTV and run through the TV set's setup procedure for antenna usage.

Cheers!