Radio aerial

[Buckle-meister]

All,

At present I use a piece of copper wire of approximately 2mm diameter as an aerial for my Tuner. I do have a proper aerial with elements but, living in a flat at present as I am, make do with the aforementioned wire.

Apart from trial and error, is there a 'best way' to arrange an aerial to maximise reception? For example, should the aerial form one big loop? What about coiling the aerial? Or doesn't it matter?

For your information, my aerial is about 3m (~9ft) long.

Cheers.

 

[Haoleb]

Antenna's do have a science behind them. Alot of things depend on the type of antenna you want. Directional, Omnidirectional. The wavelength you want to pick up, which determines the length of the elements and even things down to phantom capacitance like mounting on a car.

Your best bet would be to check out some of the different designs on the internet, since there are tons of them im sure.

If you just want to stick with that peice of wire then I doubt you're going to notice much of a difference with different orientations like looping or coiling it. If you just want something small a simple dipole antenna will work fine in most situations. A dipole are the ones that use 300 ohm twinlead cable and look like a T when you hang them up.

 

[Buckle-meister]

If you just want to stick with that peice of wire then I doubt you're going to notice much of a difference with different orientations like looping or coiling it.

I get pretty good reception at present, all things considered, though my cordless mouse interferes when my hand approaches it.

Oh well. Just thought I'd ask the question. Thanks anyway.

 

[Bassman2]

I am currently using one of these and it works very well. I had a regular folded dipole (T shaped double lead) antenna and though very similar, this one works a little better. http://www.ccrane.com/antennas/fm-antennas/fm-reflect-antenna.aspx

 

[Ampdog]

Whew! 6,5 dB better than an "ordinary" dipole (whatever that might mean)? And it is still just a dipole (no parasitc elements)??

But this thread is not about criticising types, so .....
Just to add that close to earth or inside a building, classic antenna characteristics and polarization is influenced by the surroundings, people walking, etc. ("Close to earth" for FM means any substantial object closer than a wavelength, or about 3m.)

Thus as said there may not be large advantages obtained from special antennas practical for room use. Buckle-meister, you may try getting that antenna shorter. I presume your FM is also 88 - 108 MHz, where the "ideal" single wire length would be about 80 cm (31 inches), i.e. a quarter-wave long. Only remember if you experiment, you cannot hold it by the end; that is very high impedance and you will change matters. Sounds funny, but tape the end to an insulated rod (your broom-stick!), and then move it around. But if you already have good reception, chances are you will not get much improvement. Does your receiver have a signal strength indicator? With FM it is not easy to hear small improvements.