In article ,
Dave Oldridge wrote:

Yep...and tropo scatter, the only RELIABLE long-haul VHF mode is way too
weak for TV broadcasting,

Oh, I wouldn't class Wideband TropoScatter in the unreliable folder.
The AirForce built the White Alice System in Alaska in the 50's and it
had some 300 to 400 mile shots that ran 24/7 with 5 Mhz bandwidth or
more. Yea, it took 60 foot high Parabolic Antennas, and 20Kw feeds, but
it worked at 900 Mhz and was very reliable, with uptimes in the 99.7%
range.

Me one of the older guys who can actually remember
he hardware involved.......