terk antennas

[norm962]

anyone have experience with the powered am/fm antennas by terk? I just purchased one and could use some advice to make it work its best.

 

[agarwalro]

I too have horrible FM reception at my place and am interested in hearing about this.

 

[markw]

What do you mean "the" Terk antenna?

anyone have experience with the powered am/fm antennas by terk? I just purchased one and could use some advice to make it work its best.

They offer quite a range and AFAICT, they are all powered.

 

[norm962]

my bad

They offer quite a range and AFAICT, they are all powered.

I bought the $32 tower-style one from Best Buy

 

[markw]

I've not had good luck with a Terk indoor powered antenna and I live right outside of NYC in am FM rich area. I do better with a plain old FM wire dipole or a basic rabbit-ear VHF/FM antenna.

Others may have differing experiences to report.

 

[norm962]

I've got it tucked under my av receiver and it sounds very good. I had a very weak am signal for NYY games was making my nuts! I was just hoping to learn whether or not there are any special tricks or techniques that could improve the sound or make it perfect for all stations. I'm thinking it will just be experiment with it around the room and find what works best. Thanks for your help!

 

[Rickster71]

I have this one http://www.savinglots.com/lotprod.asp?item=TERAF1
One nice feature- a dial that allows tuning the antenna to the station's frequency.

The best trick for any FM antenna, 'the higher up the better'

 

[norm962]

the tower has the dial to fine tune the gain as well---it works and is subtle. I've always thought that higher was better, but right now its on the floor, under the entertainment center and sounds very good---almost no static, but I'm listening to an AM station, so the sound won't be perfect no matter what, i suppose.

 

[Rickster71]

the tower has the dial to fine tune the gain as well---it works and is subtle. I've always thought that higher was better, but right now its on the floor, under the entertainment center and sounds very good---almost no static, but I'm listening to an AM station, so the sound won't be perfect no matter what, i suppose.

This one has two dials, one for gain and one that actually tunes the antenna.
It also has a separate AM section

 

[norm962]

I see now---I never thought I needed something like this until I moved. I'm in a radio-twilight zone, between two groups of stations, neither coming in clear on their own. my tower is working better than I thought it would, but I'll play with it more later.

 

[no1maestro]

I own several Terks, both amplified and non and have had good luck with them. One must know how to place, adjust and tweak them for the best results. There is no single answer as each house, apartment or living space is unique. You must take time to experiment with position and gain (with amplified antenna) in order to get it to work best. I can also imagine an urban situation in which there might be no best solution. I also use a standard "T" type wire antenna for FM in some rooms with good results. I wish there were one easy answer to this dilema but it doesn't exist.

 

[tom67]

no luck here

powered and unpowered used in two metro areas (Pittsburgh and West Palm Bch FL) over the years...My best solution has been a 3ft length of coaxial cable, just cut off flush......