Help need a Radio that picks up weak FM signal

[Tammy Webb]

Any one have advice on finding the BEST RADIO and antenna to pick up my stations weak signal on an Island just off the coast Florida
I have ask two engineers but they have not bought radios in years and do not know!

 

[mofocat]

The Sangean PR-D15 has excellent FM reception.

 

[bigic]

Do you want a portable radio or not? And do you intend to connect it to an external antenna?

 

[kenglish]

Are you asking as a listener, or as a broadcaster? If you are looking for something for casual, day-to-day home listening, something like what mofocat suggested may be fine. If you are wanting something for a translator source, or station QC purposes, you might want something more professional, like in the radio equipment catalogs.
No matter what, though, you'll want a good, directional FM yagi antenna, mounted outdoors, with a good RG-6 cable (and properly installed connectors). If you are in Florida, be sure to have lightning protection and a good grounding system.
It may be hard to find good FM-only antennas nowadays...a few 4 or 5 element ones are available from big suppliers. A VHF-TV antenna with low-band (TV 2-6) capabilities can be substituted. Many "TV" antennas don't go below channel seven anymore.
How far are you from the stations, both your own and others, as well as TV towers?
Also, some of the better receivers for home hi-fi use are older name-brand units from the 1970's or so. Look around an antique shop for a bargain.

 

[mofocat]

Any one have advice on finding the BEST RADIO and antenna to pick up my stations weak signal on an Island just off the coast Florida
I have ask two engineers but they have not bought radios in years and do not know!

Tell us just how far away is the station you want to hear. What station is it? If you go to www.radio-locator.com website and enter the call letters of the station the site will give the station's power and antenna height. Click 'view coverage map' and you can see a map showing what to expect of the station's coverage area.

 

[Tammy Webb]

Tell us just how far away is the station you want to hear. What station is it? If you go to www.radio-locator.com website and enter the call letters of the station the site will give the station's power and antenna height. Click 'view coverage map' and you can see a map showing what to expect of the station's coverage area.

Are you asking as a listener, or as a broadcaster? If you are looking for something for casual, day-to-day home listening, something like what mofocat suggested may be fine. If you are wanting something for a translator source, or station QC purposes, you might want something more professional, like in the radio equipment catalogs.
No matter what, though, you'll want a good, directional FM yagi antenna, mounted outdoors, with a good RG-6 cable (and properly installed connectors). If you are in Florida, be sure to have lightning protection and a good grounding system.
It may be hard to find good FM-only antennas nowadays...a few 4 or 5 element ones are available from big suppliers. A VHF-TV antenna with low-band (TV 2-6) capabilities can be substituted. Many "TV" antennas don't go below channel seven anymore.
How far are you from the stations, both your own and others, as well as TV towers?
Also, some of the better receivers for home hi-fi use are older name-brand units from the 1970's or so. Look around an antique shop for a bargain.

Hi I am a morning show host working from my present home in Tallahassee Florida, my new home is about 77 miles away on St George Island Florida we move next month. I do not have the $$ to buy a Comrex, so I wanted to get a better Radio to Monitor my station while I'm on the morning show and during the day when I need to monitor.

 

[Tammy Webb]

Are you asking as a listener, or as a broadcaster? If you are looking for something for casual, day-to-day home listening, something like what mofocat suggested may be fine. If you are wanting something for a translator source, or station QC purposes, you might want something more professional, like in the radio equipment catalogs.
No matter what, though, you'll want a good, directional FM yagi antenna, mounted outdoors, with a good RG-6 cable (and properly installed connectors). If you are in Florida, be sure to have lightning protection and a good grounding system.
It may be hard to find good FM-only antennas nowadays...a few 4 or 5 element ones are available from big suppliers. A VHF-TV antenna with low-band (TV 2-6) capabilities can be substituted. Many "TV" antennas don't go below channel seven anymore.
How far are you from the stations, both your own and others, as well as TV towers?
Also, some of the better receivers for home hi-fi use are older name-brand units from the 1970's or so. Look around an antique shop for a bargain.

Hi I am a morning show host working from my present home in Tallahassee Florida, my new home is about 77 miles away on St George Island Florida we move next month. I do not have the $$ to buy a Comrex, so I wanted to get a better Radio to Monitor my station while I'm on the morning show and during the day when I need to monitor.

 

[Tammy Webb]

Do you want a portable radio or not? And do you intend to connect it to an external antenna?

Any Radio that will pick up the signal and I would prefer not to have to have an external antenna installed I do not have a clue how to do that

 

[Deleted User]

IMHO a professional grade receiver AND an external antenna mounted outside on a pole and dialed in towards the transmitter site is your best bet, you are on the edge of the 50 Dbu predicted contour.

I take it your goal is to listen OTA and respond over an internet connection.

A Barix box is pretty damned affordable if you ask me. But you need to use a really low bit rate and almost no buffering to be in real time....

Have you considered that what you hear over the air is delayed by processing, moving around the air chain, etc etc etc.

Believe it or not, when I wanted good reception, I used a good car radio and antenna... granted it was a long time ago with the antenna mounted on a aluminum chassis box and the radio powered by a good 12v power supply that was not noisy.

Can you get the station at the new house on your car radio?

Good FM reception tips from Radio Bob | NCPR

How to get the best fm reception from home equipment. Hardware and strategy tips from NCPR station engineer Radio Bob Sauter

www.northcountrypublicradio.org

 

[ContinuousWave]

Hi I am a morning show host working from my present home in Tallahassee Florida, my new home is about 77 miles away on St George Island Florida we move next month. I do not have the $$ to buy a Comrex, so I wanted to get a better Radio to Monitor my station while I'm on the morning show and during the day when I need to monitor.

If you need a Comrex, I have one available...not sure if I have the Power Supply...but its easy to make / modify one.

 

[Deleted User]

ooops I just looked again, you are so far out in the predicted fringe coverage area I doubt you are going to pick it up OTA without a very sensitive receiver and a damn good antenna, something along the lines of a TV antenna mounted on your roof.

 

[Radig]

I use a Tecsun PL-880 receiver barefoot, just using its telescopic whip antenna, in the northern suburbs of Atlanta, to listen to WSMC-FM 90.5 MHz in Chattanooga, TN.

 

[Tammy Webb]

IMHO a professional grade receiver AND an external antenna mounted outside on a pole and dialed in towards the transmitter site is your best bet, you are on the edge of the 50 Dbu predicted contour.

I take it your goal is to listen OTA and respond over an internet connection.

A Barix box is pretty damned affordable if you ask me. But you need to use a really low bit rate and almost no buffering to be in real time....

Have you considered that what you hear over the air is delayed by processing, moving around the air chain, etc etc etc.

Believe it or not, when I wanted good reception, I used a good car radio and antenna... granted it was a long time ago with the antenna mounted on a aluminum chassis box and the radio powered by a good 12v power supply that was not noisy.

Can you get the station at the new house on your car radio?

Good FM reception tips from Radio Bob | NCPR

How to get the best fm reception from home equipment. Hardware and strategy tips from NCPR station engineer Radio Bob Sauter

www.northcountrypublicradio.org

Thank You for responding Yes I can pick up the station on my car radio on the Island most of the time, but I have not moved in the house I'm trying to be ready for my show on the Monday morning after the move. I have been working online (Cleanfeed) for over a year now just using my portable to monitor and it works great I will look into "Barix Box" I am not familiar with that

 

[Tammy Webb]

If you need a Comrex, I have one available...not sure if I have the Power Supply...but its easy to make / modify one.

Please send details

 

[Tammy Webb]

If you need a Comrex, I have one available...not sure if I have the Power Supply...but its easy to make / modify one.

Please send details

[email protected]

 

[Kelly A]

Have you considered that what you hear over the air is delayed by processing, moving around the air chain, etc etc etc.

This is a point that I'd be most concerned about. If the station you work at has a digital audio processor, or is running HD Radio, then the OTA audio would be anywhere from a few miliseconds, to eight seconds delayed. Either way, it would be impossible to use in headphones live on the air.

Since the whole pandemic thing, many stations have talent from home via some form of remote Internet connection like: Skype, WebEX, MS Teams, Zoom, etc. There would be a PC at the studio which would take your audio from home into the audio console, and send you back a return from the audio console output. That way any delay is pretty minimal and relatively in sync, plus the audio quality is better than a codec like a Comrex. Not only is this the easiest to implement, it's super cheap from a cost perspective. By the time you get done goofing around installing roof antennas and buying special radios, you could pay for a PC at the station, then just use your personal PC or laptop at home.

 

[kenglish]

I agree with Kelly....there are a lot of variables in what you are trying to do.
Also, even in a flat place like Florida, 77 miles is a long ways to try for reliable reception. And, wait'll you get hit with atmospheric effects like Tropo Ducting (say, having your local station wiped out by a Charleston station 😳).
How are you planning to get "regular" TV and radio? You might still want an outdoor antenna and a good tuner and TV, but don't expect perfect reception at such long distances.

 

[Tammy Webb]

I agree with Kelly....there are a lot of variables in what you are trying to do.
Also, even in a flat place like Florida, 77 miles is a long ways to try for reliable reception. And, wait'll you get hit with atmospheric effects like Tropo Ducting (say, having your local station wiped out by a Charleston station 😳).
How are you planning to get "regular" TV and radio? You might still want an outdoor antenna and a good tuner and TV, but don't expect perfect reception at such long distances.

I use high speed internet (which is available on the Island) on Lan and a program called Cleanfeed with a headset microphone for my live morning show. Cleanfeed works flawlessly I highly recommend it! My morning show partner is in the studio
I use an old school radio to hear comedy bits or any other audio he is airing live and it works because I am 20 miles away from the tower

 

[Kelly A]

I use high speed internet (which is available on the Island) on Lan and a program called Cleanfeed with a headset microphone for my live morning show. Cleanfeed works flawlessly I highly recommend it! I use an old school radio to hear comedy bits or any other audio he is airing live and it works because I am 20 miles away from the tower

Sounds like you're 90% there. If the station streams via any one of the common services, you could get an Alexa or Google speaker and just tell it you want to hear WXYZ. They practically give those speakers away anymore. Again, you wouldn't be able to use it for anything live, but if you wanted to just hear the station during off hours? Easy peasey.

 

[Tammy Webb]

Sounds like you're 90% there. If the station streams via any one of the common services, you could get an Alexa or Google speaker and just tell it you want to hear WXYZ. They practically give those speakers away anymore. Again, you wouldn't be able to use it for anything live, but if you wanted to just hear the station during off hours? Easy peasey.

We can do that but I don't like to!
I really want to be able to hear the station live and most days you can hear it on your Car radio on the Island.
I'm starting to think I need to find an engineer or handy radio person who needs a weekend on the beach to come set it up for me !