FM/AM Antenna

[Jeff R.]

I am looking for some suggestions for an FM/AM antenna. I would prefer to mount it in my attic and run the coax connection inwall to my stereo reciever. If somebody has a good small one that I can hide in my main room I would consider that also. I just assume that putting one up in the attic would likely give me the best receptions. I am hoping to do this for cheap, hopefully something less than $50. The cheaper the better though.

Thanks

Jeff

 

[markw]

Several things here.

First off, a lot depends on your locataion and that of the radio stations you want to receive. Use this little toy to see what's in your area

hint: Use the "advanced search" option and search on your zip code.

http://www.radio-locator.com/cgi-bin/finder?page=Y

This should have given you a listing of stations, their location and the distance between you and them. you know the local terrain better than I so I'll just talk in generalities.

Flat terrain or water between you and them is the best. If there are any hills, mountians, large buildings and such between you and the station, your reception will be hindered.

Likewise, distance plays a part here. The farther you are, the more antenna you'll need.

If you want a cute little thing that sits on top of your set, fine, but don't expect good performance. No tiny piece of metal with an amplifier is any match for a "real" antenna, which I'll discuss below.

If all the stations are in the same direction, you can use a directional (yagi design) antenna. Like a magnifying glass, it picks up stations at a greater distance, but in only one direction. It basically ignores stations to the sides or back. These come in all sizes. The bigger the antenna, the greater distance they will serve.

If you live in an urban or suburban location with stations all around you, you may get by with an onmidirectional antenna. It doesn't have the range of a yagi but it picks up equally well in all directions. I'm right outside of NYC ane these serve my needs nicely.

Here's an example of each : http://antennacraft.net/FM.html

Both of these should fit in an attic, but the higher they are, the better they will perform. And I hope you don't have much metal in your building or the sides. That hurts their performance.

So much for FM. AM Antennas are a different matter entirely. These are a single wire, fairly long, and strung between two points. Maybe a run in the attic might help, but it should be perpindicular to the stations you want to receive. Ohm, they require a separate feed, generally one unshielded wire. I'll leave further discusson of these to more knowledgeble persons than I.

 

[sholling]

I'm curious to. I need a solution for an outdoor AM antenna. The FM side is easy any VHF TV antenna. But I haven't found anything for AM.

 

[highfigh]

I'm curious to. I need a solution for an outdoor AM antenna. The FM side is easy any VHF TV antenna. But I haven't found anything for AM.

If you have an attic, you can make a large loop up there and run it to the equipment. Unless you have metal roofing, it shouldn't need to be out in the open.

 

[highfigh]

I am looking for some suggestions for an FM/AM antenna. I would prefer to mount it in my attic and run the coax connection inwall to my stereo reciever. If somebody has a good small one that I can hide in my main room I would consider that also. I just assume that putting one up in the attic would likely give me the best receptions. I am hoping to do this for cheap, hopefully something less than $50. The cheaper the better though.

Thanks

Jeff

If you're close to the tower, less antenna will work better. I use an old rabbit ears from a TV I no longer have and it's pretty close to the 31.5" used for most car antenna rods (works well for non-amplified antenna). I live less than a mile from the tower and if I had much more than that, I would overload the front end of the tuner. I have also used the cheap dipole wire that comes with receivers and tuners with good results, too. For that matter, when I didn't have one of those, I used a piece of 18 ga speaker wire and it was amazing. Technically, it wasn't right but it picked up all of the locals, a couple from Chicago and one from Grand Rapids. I'm in Milwaukee.

 

[Midcow2]

AM Antennas

I haven't had any trouble with FM ( a simple dipole antenna has always worked very good), but AM I have.

I don't have the ability to asthetically and easily run an outside antenna because of locatio nand becuase of two-story house.

However, in my many searchs and many purcahses in my quest for better AM reception I have come accross two very good solutions.

The first is Terk AM Advantage 1000. (The other Terk products do not work very well at all!) It usually can be hidden out of sigth and is an approximate 9 1/2 inch loop with a base. Low cast is around $27. http://yhst-38616620066226.stores.yahoo.net/dbadvantage.html


The second is the C Crane And Company Twin Coil Ferrite AM Antenna as low aS $89.99 http://www.jr.com/product/productDetail.jsp It provides good AM reception, but you have to retune for each AM station.

Okay I actually have four of the first solution ( garage, office, Sony HD radio and Marantz SR8002).

I tried the second solution but it didn't work in my offcie environment because of the fluorescent ballasts. I returned it. However, a test at home picked up distant stations very good.

If you can run an external AM antenna into you attic or roof then great. You will probably get a lot better reception.

Good Luck!

MidCow2

 

[Jeff R.]

Thanks for the help everyone. I have my main stations all located about 25-40 miles away, most are about the same distance away but either due east or west. So I guess from what MarkW said I will need an omni directional antenna. I can get stations fairly well with the standard FM antenna that came with my receiver, however I have to always move it around to suit each station. I am leaning toward the antenna from antennacraft in the provided link, I looks like it will fit nicely into my attic. Not to mention at $27 not a major investment.

One question about the speaker cable suggestion? How would I hook it up? Do I have to buy a 300 to 75 ohm connection piece and then just screw each half of the cable into the terminals? I could likely try that for free and see what it would yield for results.

Thanks for the help everyone.

 

[markw]

Use 75 ohm from the FM antenna to the receiver. That speaker cable trick is great for making a temporary antenna, but not for a feed from a real one.

FWIW, I've done that too and it does work quite well up to a point.

 

[sholling]

If you have an attic, you can make a large loop up there and run it to the equipment. Unless you have metal roofing, it shouldn't need to be out in the open.

I don't want to hijack this thread but I dont have an attic. Is there a fixed length for the AM loop? I think that's a bit of info that would help both the OP and myself.

 

[highfigh]

I don't want to hijack this thread but I dont have an attic. Is there a fixed length for the AM loop? I think that's a bit of info that would help both the OP and myself.

No fixed length, you just want to make a fairly large loop, If you can't go large, more wraps will help. The mass helps to pick up signal. I made one for a customer by creating a recess in hte back of a board, drove two screws into the backside, wrapped some 18ga primary wire around them, wrapped them so they wouldn't come off and connected the ends to a 75 Ohm to 300 Ohm balun, so I could run coax to the tuner. I beveled the top edge of the board, screwed it onto the house trim above a gutter, caulked the edges and painted it. It's there but unless you know what it is, it's not very visible.