mrgooch Audioholic Intern Sep 14, 2005 37 0 0 Toms River NJ Sep 21, 2005 #1 Can someone explain why I can get great reception on my auto radio and can not receive most of those same stations on my new Onkyo receiver. I am aware of the drawbacks of receivers but why is the car radio able to pull in all those stations?
Can someone explain why I can get great reception on my auto radio and can not receive most of those same stations on my new Onkyo receiver. I am aware of the drawbacks of receivers but why is the car radio able to pull in all those stations?
little wing Audioholic General Sep 4, 2005 1,174 0 63 Sep 21, 2005 #2 Hey, i can't explain the difference between the tuner in your car and the tuner in your onkyo. But have you tried moving the reciever's antenna around to find the best location? Or maybe an aftermarket fm antenna?
Hey, i can't explain the difference between the tuner in your car and the tuner in your onkyo. But have you tried moving the reciever's antenna around to find the best location? Or maybe an aftermarket fm antenna?
S soundsfine Audioholic Jun 29, 2005 120 0 0 Sep 21, 2005 #3 Your car almost certainly has an antenna. Have you hooked an antenna to your receiver?
mrgooch Audioholic Intern Sep 14, 2005 37 0 0 Toms River NJ Sep 21, 2005 #4 I am using the " T " shaped wire that was included. Is ir worth looking for an antenna?
9 9f9c7z Banned Apr 26, 2005 159 0 0 Sep 21, 2005 #5 I think that “T” shaped critter is a dipole antenna. It can be very effective. My luck is such the best place for the “T” is somewhere in the middle of the room, and no one is willing to stand there and hold it. Another possibility is that old TV antenna on top your roof that you abandoned when you subscribed to sat or cable TV. Mine made a great 75ohm antenna for FM reception, presuming you have a 75ohm antenna input on your tuner.
I think that “T” shaped critter is a dipole antenna. It can be very effective. My luck is such the best place for the “T” is somewhere in the middle of the room, and no one is willing to stand there and hold it. Another possibility is that old TV antenna on top your roof that you abandoned when you subscribed to sat or cable TV. Mine made a great 75ohm antenna for FM reception, presuming you have a 75ohm antenna input on your tuner.
MacManNM Banned Mar 21, 2005 1,649 0 0 56 Albuquerque NM Sep 21, 2005 #6 The "T" will work better if you hang it sideways. The polarization of radio is vertical, so you should match that with your antenna. It will work much better if you just move it outside. You should gain 12db by doing this. All of your stations will come in nice and clear.
The "T" will work better if you hang it sideways. The polarization of radio is vertical, so you should match that with your antenna. It will work much better if you just move it outside. You should gain 12db by doing this. All of your stations will come in nice and clear.
M markw Audioholic Overlord Nov 26, 2003 11,607 0 113 Sep 21, 2005 #7 "T" antennas are ok for local stations, but remember they are indoors. mrgooch said: I am using the " T " shaped wire that was included. Is ir worth looking for an antenna? Click to expand... yes, they will most likely haveto be repositioned for everry sation for the best receotion but theyar still atthe bottom of the heap of "real" antennas. The secret to antennas is 1) the more metal, the better. No small piece of metal with a big amp will ever come close to an unpowered outdoor antenna. ...period. 2) the higher, the better. 3) structures and mountains between you and the station will adversely affect your performance. 4) directional antennas need to be facing the station. decent FM antennas don't have to be expensive. Check out Antennacraft and Channelmaster.
"T" antennas are ok for local stations, but remember they are indoors. mrgooch said: I am using the " T " shaped wire that was included. Is ir worth looking for an antenna? Click to expand... yes, they will most likely haveto be repositioned for everry sation for the best receotion but theyar still atthe bottom of the heap of "real" antennas. The secret to antennas is 1) the more metal, the better. No small piece of metal with a big amp will ever come close to an unpowered outdoor antenna. ...period. 2) the higher, the better. 3) structures and mountains between you and the station will adversely affect your performance. 4) directional antennas need to be facing the station. decent FM antennas don't have to be expensive. Check out Antennacraft and Channelmaster.
MacManNM Banned Mar 21, 2005 1,649 0 0 56 Albuquerque NM Sep 21, 2005 #8 markw said: yes, they will most likely haveto be repositioned for everry sation for the best receotion but theyar still atthe bottom of the heap of "real" antennas. The secret to antennas is 1) the more metal, the better. No small piece of metal with a big amp will ever come close to an unpowered outdoor antenna. ...period. 2) the higher, the better. 3) structures and mountains between you and the station will adversely affect your performance. 4) directional antennas need to be facing the station. decent FM antennas don't have to be expensive. Check out Antennacraft and Channelmaster. Click to expand... I think a few things need cleared up here. #1, not entirely correct. The more metal doesn't mean better antenna. Although effective area is important. The amp part is totally correct. #4 or facing away from the station. The real problem here is that his antenna is inside. It is not directional while vertically polarized, so that doesn't matter. Walls are typically 12-20db. That is a lot. Simply putting the dipole outside should fix all of his problems, unless he lives more than 60 miles away from a radio station, then he would need something directional as you suggest.
markw said: yes, they will most likely haveto be repositioned for everry sation for the best receotion but theyar still atthe bottom of the heap of "real" antennas. The secret to antennas is 1) the more metal, the better. No small piece of metal with a big amp will ever come close to an unpowered outdoor antenna. ...period. 2) the higher, the better. 3) structures and mountains between you and the station will adversely affect your performance. 4) directional antennas need to be facing the station. decent FM antennas don't have to be expensive. Check out Antennacraft and Channelmaster. Click to expand... I think a few things need cleared up here. #1, not entirely correct. The more metal doesn't mean better antenna. Although effective area is important. The amp part is totally correct. #4 or facing away from the station. The real problem here is that his antenna is inside. It is not directional while vertically polarized, so that doesn't matter. Walls are typically 12-20db. That is a lot. Simply putting the dipole outside should fix all of his problems, unless he lives more than 60 miles away from a radio station, then he would need something directional as you suggest.
M markw Audioholic Overlord Nov 26, 2003 11,607 0 113 Sep 21, 2005 #9 Here's one of my favorite toys. http://www.radio-locator.com/ learn to love it.
mtrycrafts Seriously, I have no life. Aug 19, 2004 23,550 0 113 Sep 21, 2005 #10 MacManNM said: I think a few things need cleared up here. #1, not entirely correct. The more metal doesn't mean better antenna. Although effective area is important. The amp part is totally correct. Click to expand... MacManNM said: Well,, I am sure he didn't mean bulk but number of elements. Yes, to someone not familiar with antenna lingo, it may confuse, unless they turn around and ask questions Click to expand...
MacManNM said: I think a few things need cleared up here. #1, not entirely correct. The more metal doesn't mean better antenna. Although effective area is important. The amp part is totally correct. Click to expand... MacManNM said: Well,, I am sure he didn't mean bulk but number of elements. Yes, to someone not familiar with antenna lingo, it may confuse, unless they turn around and ask questions Click to expand...
paulsilkiner Banned Nov 9, 2004 5 0 0 Sep 22, 2005 #11 Solution http://www.xmradio.com/ Xm Radio..........the best.
M markw Audioholic Overlord Nov 26, 2003 11,607 0 113 Sep 22, 2005 #12 As far as XM goes, you DO know that FM stands for "Free Music", doncha? ..among other things.
R rschleicher Audioholic Dec 8, 2004 189 0 0 Sep 22, 2005 #13 If you still have an old TV antenna laying around (or already up in the attic, from "pre-cable" days, they are good FM antennas (since the FM band is basically buried inside of the VHF boradcast band). The attenuation in your walls can vary with the type of material. Aluminum siding is not good (serves as a bit of a shield), so having the antenna up in the attic, hopefully with the roof shingles or tiles between it and the transmitters, rather than the siding, will reduce the attenuation somewhat, as well as provide some additional height. My house is stucco, applied over a chicken-wire like screen. I think this probably adds a fair amount of attenuation. But the bigger issue where I live is all of the hills taht are in the way. But you're right - not only is the fancy receiver worse than my car radios, it's also worse than cheap clock radios. Something is still wrong with that picture, since the clock/radio is getting the same signal as the fancy receiver with "T" dipole antenna attached. My conclusion is that the tuner sections of most receivers are incredibly cheap, with poor sensitivity that is not even as good as a clock/radio. In fact, it would be nice if clock-radio's had a line-out jack, so you could feed them to your receiver's pre-amp section. It would probably sound better.
If you still have an old TV antenna laying around (or already up in the attic, from "pre-cable" days, they are good FM antennas (since the FM band is basically buried inside of the VHF boradcast band). The attenuation in your walls can vary with the type of material. Aluminum siding is not good (serves as a bit of a shield), so having the antenna up in the attic, hopefully with the roof shingles or tiles between it and the transmitters, rather than the siding, will reduce the attenuation somewhat, as well as provide some additional height. My house is stucco, applied over a chicken-wire like screen. I think this probably adds a fair amount of attenuation. But the bigger issue where I live is all of the hills taht are in the way. But you're right - not only is the fancy receiver worse than my car radios, it's also worse than cheap clock radios. Something is still wrong with that picture, since the clock/radio is getting the same signal as the fancy receiver with "T" dipole antenna attached. My conclusion is that the tuner sections of most receivers are incredibly cheap, with poor sensitivity that is not even as good as a clock/radio. In fact, it would be nice if clock-radio's had a line-out jack, so you could feed them to your receiver's pre-amp section. It would probably sound better.
Pyrrho Audioholic Ninja Aug 30, 2005 3,723 0 113 Sep 22, 2005 #14 mrgooch said: Can someone explain why I can get great reception on my auto radio and can not receive most of those same stations on my new Onkyo receiver. I am aware of the drawbacks of receivers but why is the car radio able to pull in all those stations? Click to expand... The answer to your question is in the manuals for your equipment. If you compare the specifications of your car stereo with your home receiver, you will see that the tuner in your home receiver is garbage. Why they insist on putting garbage in home receivers, when it obviously does not cost much to have a decent tuner, is beyond me. Perhaps they save 50 cents in construction, or maybe even 5 whole dollars! The simple fact is, a $100 Pioneer car stereo will blow away a multi-thousand-dollar Pioneer home receiver in terms of tuner performance. Onkyo also puts in crap in their home receivers, like virtually all brands these days. I have an old Pioneer receiver, made in the 70s, when they put decent tuners in home units. I will never part with it, because it actually performs better than most car stereos today (even just throwing the cheap "T" antenna behind the equipment). Your best bets are to hook up as good of an antenna as you can, and when that is not good enough, buy a decent tuner. Vintage receivers go cheap on eBay, and you can use its tape monitor output to send the signal to your new receiver.
mrgooch said: Can someone explain why I can get great reception on my auto radio and can not receive most of those same stations on my new Onkyo receiver. I am aware of the drawbacks of receivers but why is the car radio able to pull in all those stations? Click to expand... The answer to your question is in the manuals for your equipment. If you compare the specifications of your car stereo with your home receiver, you will see that the tuner in your home receiver is garbage. Why they insist on putting garbage in home receivers, when it obviously does not cost much to have a decent tuner, is beyond me. Perhaps they save 50 cents in construction, or maybe even 5 whole dollars! The simple fact is, a $100 Pioneer car stereo will blow away a multi-thousand-dollar Pioneer home receiver in terms of tuner performance. Onkyo also puts in crap in their home receivers, like virtually all brands these days. I have an old Pioneer receiver, made in the 70s, when they put decent tuners in home units. I will never part with it, because it actually performs better than most car stereos today (even just throwing the cheap "T" antenna behind the equipment). Your best bets are to hook up as good of an antenna as you can, and when that is not good enough, buy a decent tuner. Vintage receivers go cheap on eBay, and you can use its tape monitor output to send the signal to your new receiver.
M markw Audioholic Overlord Nov 26, 2003 11,607 0 113 Sep 22, 2005 #15 Hey, I'm sittin' here with my... ...30+ year old, recently realigned Marantz 2270 hooked up to a cheap $15 RatShack omnidirectional rooftop antenna listening to WQXR, a classical music station with some of the sweetest sounds possible. And, gotta love those college stations on the bottom of the dial. life is good...
Hey, I'm sittin' here with my... ...30+ year old, recently realigned Marantz 2270 hooked up to a cheap $15 RatShack omnidirectional rooftop antenna listening to WQXR, a classical music station with some of the sweetest sounds possible. And, gotta love those college stations on the bottom of the dial. life is good...
agarwalro Audioholic Ninja Jan 31, 2005 4,320 0 113 Pittsburgh, PA Sep 23, 2005 #16 This thingy is awesome markw said: http://www.radio-locator.com/ learn to love it. Click to expand... Great Resource. thanks a bunch.
This thingy is awesome markw said: http://www.radio-locator.com/ learn to love it. Click to expand... Great Resource. thanks a bunch.
mrgooch Audioholic Intern Sep 14, 2005 37 0 0 Toms River NJ Sep 25, 2005 #17 How would I hook up a car radio to my receiver ???
M markw Audioholic Overlord Nov 26, 2003 11,607 0 113 Sep 25, 2005 #18 Just invest in a decent outdoor antenna. You'll have to do that with a car radio, too.
vividere Junior Audioholic Dec 16, 2004 61 0 0 Jan 2, 2006 #19 As I just commented on another string, all these great suggestions refer to the FM side of things, still looking for ideas on the AM side of things other than stringing wire in the attic or between the trees outside..
As I just commented on another string, all these great suggestions refer to the FM side of things, still looking for ideas on the AM side of things other than stringing wire in the attic or between the trees outside..
mtrycrafts Seriously, I have no life. Aug 19, 2004 23,550 0 113 Jan 2, 2006 #20 vividere said: As I just commented on another string, all these great suggestions refer to the FM side of things, still looking for ideas on the AM side of things other than stringing wire in the attic or between the trees outside.. Click to expand... For the AM section, if you cannot go to the trouble you mentioned, use an indoor loop antenna. One usually comes with an AM/FM receiver. You won't get better from inside the home unless you do what you mentioned.
vividere said: As I just commented on another string, all these great suggestions refer to the FM side of things, still looking for ideas on the AM side of things other than stringing wire in the attic or between the trees outside.. Click to expand... For the AM section, if you cannot go to the trouble you mentioned, use an indoor loop antenna. One usually comes with an AM/FM receiver. You won't get better from inside the home unless you do what you mentioned.
