Can anyone recommend a good FM antenna amplifier that actually works and doesn't just sit there and look pretty?!<P ID="signature">______________
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FM Antenna Amplifers
- Thread starter youngabe89
- Start date
R
Radio_Realist
Guest
> Can anyone recommend a good FM antenna amplifier that
> actually works and doesn't just sit there and look pretty?!
Believe it or not, Radio Shack does have some good ones. Any of their powered "rabbit ears" antennas designed for VHF television will also work on FM radio. Just remember that FM radio is as directional as television, so you have to turn your powered rabbit ears antenna for optimum FM reception just like in the olden days when we watched TV with antennas.
I've also been told that even an unpowered antenna that's located at a high elevation will improve reception. I had good luck using an old TV antenna on the chimney of a house I rented for my FM receiver, even though I had cable for the TV.
> actually works and doesn't just sit there and look pretty?!
Believe it or not, Radio Shack does have some good ones. Any of their powered "rabbit ears" antennas designed for VHF television will also work on FM radio. Just remember that FM radio is as directional as television, so you have to turn your powered rabbit ears antenna for optimum FM reception just like in the olden days when we watched TV with antennas.
I've also been told that even an unpowered antenna that's located at a high elevation will improve reception. I had good luck using an old TV antenna on the chimney of a house I rented for my FM receiver, even though I had cable for the TV.
My only problem is that my radio does not have a coax. connection. For the FM antenna input, it just has the little pull down buttons that the FM antenna wire goes into. Can I still use an amplifer?
<P ID="signature">______________
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P
Part-timer
Guest
> My only problem is that my radio does not have a coax.
> connection. For the FM antenna input, it just has the
> little pull down buttons that the FM antenna wire goes into.
> Can I still use an amplifer?
>
Terk makes several amplified indoor products, check them out at any Best Buy or Circuit City. I beleive that some models will work with that connection.
However, Realist is correct, a non-powered outdoor antenna, or one in the attic will do more than amplification.
Depends on where you live. If you're in the city of Pittsburgh, an amplified antenna will probably help. Suburbs or further out, go foe elevation.<P ID="signature">______________
"With God as my witness, I could have sworn turkeys could fly."</P>
> connection. For the FM antenna input, it just has the
> little pull down buttons that the FM antenna wire goes into.
> Can I still use an amplifer?
>
Terk makes several amplified indoor products, check them out at any Best Buy or Circuit City. I beleive that some models will work with that connection.
However, Realist is correct, a non-powered outdoor antenna, or one in the attic will do more than amplification.
Depends on where you live. If you're in the city of Pittsburgh, an amplified antenna will probably help. Suburbs or further out, go foe elevation.<P ID="signature">______________
"With God as my witness, I could have sworn turkeys could fly."</P>
R
Radio_Realist
Guest
> My only problem is that my radio does not have a coax.
> connection. For the FM antenna input, it just has the
> little pull down buttons that the FM antenna wire goes into.
> Can I still use an amplifer?
Yes, you can. You just need a converter. The converters cost less than a dollar. They usually have spade lugs on the two wire ends that you'll have to strip off to use your radio's bare wire connector jacks. They were commonly used for hooking TV cables to older television sets that had two screw lug posts for antenna inputs.
Maybe you remember the days when rooftop TV antennas used flat wires with conductors on each side of a stip of plastic about half an inch wide. That's called 300 Ohm wire. It was common in the 60's, but by the 80's coax had replaced it. I've found that just hooking a nice long piece of that old 300 Ohm wire, stretched straight up, makes a real effective FM antenna.
> connection. For the FM antenna input, it just has the
> little pull down buttons that the FM antenna wire goes into.
> Can I still use an amplifer?
Yes, you can. You just need a converter. The converters cost less than a dollar. They usually have spade lugs on the two wire ends that you'll have to strip off to use your radio's bare wire connector jacks. They were commonly used for hooking TV cables to older television sets that had two screw lug posts for antenna inputs.
Maybe you remember the days when rooftop TV antennas used flat wires with conductors on each side of a stip of plastic about half an inch wide. That's called 300 Ohm wire. It was common in the 60's, but by the 80's coax had replaced it. I've found that just hooking a nice long piece of that old 300 Ohm wire, stretched straight up, makes a real effective FM antenna.
F
FreddyE1977
Guest
> My only problem is that my radio does not have a coax.
> connection. For the FM antenna input, it just has the
> little pull down buttons that the FM antenna wire goes into.
> Can I still use an amplifer?
>
Just be aware that some of these roof aerials came equipped with a trap
filter to limit interference between TV Channel 6 and FM. I think it is more likely to find them in areas where there is a Channel 6 on the air. You would definitely want to remove that before using it for FM.
> connection. For the FM antenna input, it just has the
> little pull down buttons that the FM antenna wire goes into.
> Can I still use an amplifer?
>
Just be aware that some of these roof aerials came equipped with a trap
filter to limit interference between TV Channel 6 and FM. I think it is more likely to find them in areas where there is a Channel 6 on the air. You would definitely want to remove that before using it for FM.
Could someone provide a link to what I need as a converter?
>
> Yes, you can. You just need a converter. The converters cost
> less than a dollar. They usually have spade lugs on the two
> wire ends that you'll have to strip off to use your radio's
> bare wire connector jacks. They were commonly used for
> hooking TV cables to older television sets that had two
> screw lug posts for antenna inputs.
>
> Maybe you remember the days when rooftop TV antennas used
> flat wires with conductors on each side of a stip of plastic
> about half an inch wide. That's called 300 Ohm wire. It was
> common in the 60's, but by the 80's coax had replaced it.
> I've found that just hooking a nice long piece of that old
> 300 Ohm wire, stretched straight up, makes a real effective
> FM antenna.
>
<P ID="signature">______________
-S</P>
>
> Yes, you can. You just need a converter. The converters cost
> less than a dollar. They usually have spade lugs on the two
> wire ends that you'll have to strip off to use your radio's
> bare wire connector jacks. They were commonly used for
> hooking TV cables to older television sets that had two
> screw lug posts for antenna inputs.
>
> Maybe you remember the days when rooftop TV antennas used
> flat wires with conductors on each side of a stip of plastic
> about half an inch wide. That's called 300 Ohm wire. It was
> common in the 60's, but by the 80's coax had replaced it.
> I've found that just hooking a nice long piece of that old
> 300 Ohm wire, stretched straight up, makes a real effective
> FM antenna.
>
<P ID="signature">______________
-S</P>
Technically, a balun, 75 ohm unbalanced to 300 ohm balanced, (or visa/versa, hence BAL-anced to UN-balanced.
"F" connector (like on the back of your TV for the cable) to pair of spade lugs.
Look in your local Radio Shack over where they have the coax cable & other TV antenna stuff.
Screw the coax into the F jack, pop the two spade lugs into the "300" terminals on the receiver. Most now use the spring loaded type like used for speaker connections. If you can't get the spade lugs into that type, just cu8t off the log and strip the wire with a paring knife.
"F" connector (like on the back of your TV for the cable) to pair of spade lugs.
Look in your local Radio Shack over where they have the coax cable & other TV antenna stuff.
Screw the coax into the F jack, pop the two spade lugs into the "300" terminals on the receiver. Most now use the spring loaded type like used for speaker connections. If you can't get the spade lugs into that type, just cu8t off the log and strip the wire with a paring knife.
D
DrC
Guest
> Depends on where you live. If you're in the city of
> Pittsburgh, an amplified antenna will probably help. Suburbs
> or further out, go foe elevation.
Due to the geography of Pittsburgh, and the tight concentration of radio towers in the city (vs. a city like Cleveland where the antenna farms are 15-20 miles out of the city), I've actually had better luck with smaller antennas with no amp. I have a Fanfare FM dipole antenna which did amazing things in the Toledo area (Detroit FM came in clear as a bell from 80+ miles away), but here it just seems to make multipath and cross-modulation worse. Same with my FM rooftop antenna - just too much signal bouncing around to pull in weaker stations. I find that the best thing is an old UHF bowtie hooked to the coax input on my stereo - the only way I can hear WJPA and WPTS without unlistenable cross-mod from the FM blowtorches bouncing off mountains right down the street. Even with a good tuner and antenna, I've just accepted that real DX is pretty much out of the question when you live in the middle of an antenna farm, and the city limits of Pittsburgh would qualify.
But if you're 10 miles or more out of the city - consider getting a used analog 1970s-80s tuner. In my experience pulling in distant FM signals, I'd rather have a high-end analog FM tuner hooked up to 5 feet of speaker wire than any amplifier or so-called "high-end" antenna.
> Pittsburgh, an amplified antenna will probably help. Suburbs
> or further out, go foe elevation.
Due to the geography of Pittsburgh, and the tight concentration of radio towers in the city (vs. a city like Cleveland where the antenna farms are 15-20 miles out of the city), I've actually had better luck with smaller antennas with no amp. I have a Fanfare FM dipole antenna which did amazing things in the Toledo area (Detroit FM came in clear as a bell from 80+ miles away), but here it just seems to make multipath and cross-modulation worse. Same with my FM rooftop antenna - just too much signal bouncing around to pull in weaker stations. I find that the best thing is an old UHF bowtie hooked to the coax input on my stereo - the only way I can hear WJPA and WPTS without unlistenable cross-mod from the FM blowtorches bouncing off mountains right down the street. Even with a good tuner and antenna, I've just accepted that real DX is pretty much out of the question when you live in the middle of an antenna farm, and the city limits of Pittsburgh would qualify.
But if you're 10 miles or more out of the city - consider getting a used analog 1970s-80s tuner. In my experience pulling in distant FM signals, I'd rather have a high-end analog FM tuner hooked up to 5 feet of speaker wire than any amplifier or so-called "high-end" antenna.
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