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What's everybody using to do FM DX with?

A

AustinTX

Guest
I'm thinking about upgrading to a better FM receiver and wanted to see what everybody is using as well as best antenna. My HOA frowns on putting up a tall mast with a rotor on it so for now I'm just using either my rabbit ears which works pretty well and I also have an amplified indoor antenna. When the skip is in either works well. I've seen a few dx'ers using the Magnum-Dynalab ST-2 Omnidirectional FM Antenna so perhaps someone has some experience with it.

Steve
 
Tell your HOA to pound sand, FCC laws say that you are allowed to put a TV antenna anywhere on your property. If you're a ham, you're also allowed to put up a tower.
 
only a ferrite bar whip attached to my Sangean ATS-909.

-crainbebo
 
For me -- my 2005 2 dr Honda Civic with a JVC HD-KDR1. Treated me pretty nicely here in West Texas. Pulled in Savannah, Atlanta, and Montgomery stations a couple days ago. Pulled in NE Michigan today. Pulled in Canada last year.
 
For me...I use an Accurian Tabletop HD Radio and a Radio Shack HD Radio Antenna to do FM DXing with. I did get some HD signals in Texas recently.
 
I use a Grundig G6 Aviator with regular antenna. Pulled in a station from Kentucky at 11:30 today via Es. Only costs 99.99 at RadioShack. On sale now for 89.99 until the 31st.
 
Usually it's with my Sony XDR-F1HD and the rabbit ears antenna. Also with the factory car stereo in my Civic. In my apartment I get interference that sounds like a washing machine spinning its basket at high speed, making it harder to DX, across the entire FM band. ???
 
Nick..I like your comment about telling my HOA to pound some sand ;D
Looks like everybody is using different receivers. I'm using a Philips tuner which has a built in recorder which makes it handy to record the skip. Perhaps it doesn't make any difference what receiver everybody is using when the dx skip is in.

My van's radio works great but it requires sitting outside with the air conditioning running which always gets a laugh from my neighbor to the point where i had to explain what I was doing and I lost em when I told them about DX and skip conditions :D

Steve
http://www.hillcountrynetradio.com
 
I've been using the car radio but I only really get to do it when I'm driving because the car is way too hot to just open up and sit inside this time of year when the sun is out.

I haven't been around much lately because I have yet to hear any FM E-skip this year.

I'm sure it's happened but just not when I've been able to listen.
 
The car radio on my Ford Crown Vic (an amazing car) or the old Bose Wave radio which can pick out the stations 'between the cracks. " Fox example I got as Mason City IA last nite on 93.9 despite strong locals on 93.7 and 94.1. Location: Central Mass. The car radio got a 96.5 from the Akron OH area last summer from Englewood Fl. The car radio is a little more sensitive but the Bose is a hell of a lot more selective.
But I don't DX FM enough. But I'm watching the boards more often for openings.
Good topic although I don't have much to chime in with..
 
AustinTX said:
I'm thinking about upgrading to a better FM receiver and wanted to see what everybody is using as well as best antenna. My HOA frowns on putting up a tall mast with a rotor on it so for now I'm just using either my rabbit ears which works pretty well and I also have an amplified indoor antenna. When the skip is in either works well. I've seen a few dx'ers using the Magnum-Dynalab ST-2 Omnidirectional FM Antenna so perhaps someone has some experience with it.

Steve
Click to expand...
That's what I don't like about Home Owners Associations. If we can put a satellite dish on top of our house then we should be allowed to do the same with FM yagi antennas. The problem is that HOAs think neighbors will consider TV/FM and ham antennas eyesores and maybe reducing property values and HOAs will say no to putting up such antennas.
The antenna restrictions are worse in apartments and I can only use an indoor antenna in my apartment. But I don't intend to have an any outdoor antenna anyway.
 
I live in an apartment and use an outdoor antenna.....but what I do is have it on 7" of fencepost set into a 50-gallon drum, cut down in half (so it's more like a 25-gallon drum) filled with concrete, for weight. Thus, instead of mounting the aerial somewhere permanent, like on a balcony rail or the side of the building, it's completely portable. I can just set it outside on the balcony and bring it inside if I have to, for maintenence or whatever reason. Weighs about 350 pounds, but it's very convenient e.g. if I need to adjust it so KOPB and KGW come in better! ;o)

It's also good since I use satellite, I can stick the dish on the same mast about half-way up. Works beautifully.
As for a "permanent" installation, e.g. mounting it to the building: according to the manager, in his words, that's "a big old no-no." In fact, the manager of another apartment took the same stance, but also told me about the concrete drum thing. So that's what I have done since......

Now, as for DXing, I use my Grampa's Pioneer SX-1000W stereo receiver with a long, LONG piece of speaker wire (about 30') running up the wall and along the ceiling as my antenna! I can regularly get KXXO on 96.1 using that setup, relatively static-free, and sometimes even sounding like a local. ;o)
 
Darth_vader said:
I live in an apartment and use an outdoor antenna.....but what I do is have it on 7" of fencepost set into a 50-gallon drum, cut down in half (so it's more like a 25-gallon drum) filled with concrete, for weight. Thus, instead of mounting the aerial somewhere permanent, like on a balcony rail or the side of the building, it's completely portable. I can just set it outside on the balcony and bring it inside if I have to, for maintenence or whatever reason. Weighs about 350 pounds, but it's very convenient e.g. if I need to adjust it so KOPB and KGW come in better! ;o)

It's also good since I use satellite, I can stick the dish on the same mast about half-way up. Works beautifully.
As for a "permanent" installation, e.g. mounting it to the building: according to the manager, in his words, that's "a big old no-no." In fact, the manager of another apartment took the same stance, but also told me about the concrete drum thing. So that's what I have done since......

Now, as for DXing, I use my Grampa's Pioneer SX-1000W stereo receiver with a long, LONG piece of speaker wire (about 30') running up the wall and along the ceiling as my antenna! I can regularly get KXXO on 96.1 using that setup, relatively static-free, and sometimes even sounding like a local. ;o)
Click to expand...

Can you do a post of bandscans of your Pioneer SX-1000W FM radio, pointing different directions, etc? With nothing but a whip, about 5 feet up with my Sangean ATS-909, KINK 101.9 is about as good as a strong semi-local at times, but can sound like a VEEERY fringe channel at times. Same with 103.3 KKCW. Seattle's "The WHORE" pirate never reaches here, not even on sunny days. Only KINK, KUJJ (Hermiston, OR) or E-skip.

-crainbebo
 
For my receivers I have an Insignia HD receiver purchased from Best Buy last Christmas ($99.99) and an aging Realistic STA-530 stereo purchased at a garage sale for a bank breaking five bucks.

Both radios have pros and cons. The Insignia provides very good selectivity and is very sensitive, bringing in very weak stations that are buried on the Realistic. However there is very annoying splatter produced at 1.6 up or down from strong stations, so in my hometown, 96.9 and 100.1 are no-go's due to very local 50kw 98.5. The Realistic is at least 30 years old, but is great for rapid tuning especially during Es events. The low end of the dial is very sensitive, but not as selective as the Insignia. It also has a signal meter. As you move up the dial, it seems to lose it's sensitivity to the point where only strong stations can be heard by the time you get above 103-104.

I have a Radio Shack FM-6 antenna which was purchased in '07 for $25. It is bar none the BEST antenna 25 bucks can get you. If you are just starting out DX'ing, I would highly recommend it. It doesn't provide the sharp nulls and deeeeeep fringe reception of the more expensive 9 or 13 bay antennas, but is definitely sufficient.

The FM-6 is mounted on a 32 foot antenna tower acquired this Spring from a family friend. I was DX'ing from only 18' above the ground before. The height increase is probably the main ingredient in my improved reception this year. I've got very distant translators and LPFM's which I previously thought were impossible from my location.
 
I solved my new antenna issue by getting an indoor RCA amplified rabbit ears antenna for less than $30 at Lowes. It advertises up to 45db gain and sure enough it did the trick. I'm listening to stations in Houston and Dallas that sound like locals as they are about 180 miles away. It even has a small tuning knob for fine adjusting when comes in handy when battling the local Austin FM stations side channel splatter. It's DC powered which hooks into the back of the antenna. Now for some E-skip to really test it.

Steve
http://www.hillcountrynetradio.com
 
ddsparxx said:
AustinTX said:
I'm thinking about upgrading to a better FM receiver and wanted to see what everybody is using as well as best antenna. My HOA frowns on putting up a tall mast with a rotor on it so for now I'm just using either my rabbit ears which works pretty well and I also have an amplified indoor antenna. When the skip is in either works well. I've seen a few dx'ers using the Magnum-Dynalab ST-2 Omnidirectional FM Antenna so perhaps someone has some experience with it.

Steve
Click to expand...
That's what I don't like about Home Owners Associations. If we can put a satellite dish on top of our house then we should be allowed to do the same with FM yagi antennas. The problem is that HOAs think neighbors will consider TV/FM and ham antennas eyesores and maybe reducing property values and HOAs will say no to putting up such antennas.
The antenna restrictions are worse in apartments and I can only use an indoor antenna in my apartment. But I don't intend to have an any outdoor antenna anyway.
Click to expand...
You are allowed to put up an outside antenna. Especially with digital television, you can tell your HOA that you need the outside antenna because an indoor antenna doesn't provide adequate TV reception. None of their business whether you have cable or not.
 
I use the Sony XDR-F1HD. It's the best stock production radio ever built. It's one of the best 99 dollars I've ever spent. Our locals around here totally suck. I listen to stuff 60 plus miles down the road all of the time instead.
 
I'm using the Sangean HDT-1X, which has an excellent RDS display, which picks up the information very fast when signals are strong (like during e skip). The antenna I use is an APS-13 (13 element beam).
 
All I use is my Grundig S350, and some of my family's car radios. I got the Grundig about 4 years ago, and it is a great radio. It has amazing battery life, as I used the same batteries that came with it until a couple months ago.

The DX is usually great on this. I was at the Isle of Palms last week, and I could pick up 102.9 from Jacksonville there almost all the time, along with many SE Georgia FMs that don't come in on a car radio (like 105.9 and 107.7 from Brunswick). They mixed in with the Orlando stations.

At home, I can listen to all the big-signal Savannah FMs pretty well, and several Columbia FMs.

The AM section was great, too, as I could pick out graveyarders on the first-adjacents of our 1250 and 1390.
 
Sony XDR-F1HD & a Grundig G8.

Love the Sony & I am waiting for an FM vertical antenna I have on order. That should make for a pretty good combination.

The G8 is a pocket sized portable with excellent FM from what I can tell so far. Last night I ID'd 40 new stations during great stormy weather conditions. I even got to experience the airplane effect.

As an added bonus, with the G8 you get longwave, medium wave and full shortwave, though it doesn't appear to be stellar in those areas.
 
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