LocknLoad Posted October 20, 2008 Share Posted October 20, 2008 For those of you that listen to FM radio - what kids of antennas have you had success with? I know much depends on your equipment, location, etc. I get very good reception, but I thought I'd ask to see if I could improve it a bit with a new antenna. I can pull in plenty of stations, it's clarity or elimination of background noise I'm trying to achieve. Is that possible with a better antenna? It'll never be as clear as a CD, but I'd like to see if I can improve what I'm getting. Imagine this - when you switch your reception to FM mono - you know how the background hiss is eliminated? I'd like to get FM stereo the same way - I'm not sure that's even possible though. I've got a Pioneer TX 9500 II, I'm using a simple "T" wire and getting 5 out of 5 on most stations for strength. I get a ton of stations, I'm 35 miles outside of Chicago so I'm not too close, nor too far away. I've tried powered antennas like Terk - that worked well for my Luxman, but the Pioneer likes the T wire much better. The powered antennas boost signal strength - but in the process just increase the background noise. Hey thanks Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
3Fates Posted October 20, 2008 Share Posted October 20, 2008 I installed a simple Radio Shack FM antenna (maybe $20) on my roof and get terrific sonics. I live just outside of New York City and enjoy WQXR and WBGO. The sound quality is wonderful. FM radio fans are now excited about HD Radio. Some of the HD (Hyper-Digital) quality is excellent and it is all free. You might want to look into the Sony XDR-H1HD tuner. It sells for $99. http://www.hdradio.com/ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tigerwoodKhorns Posted October 20, 2008 Share Posted October 20, 2008 The previous owner of my house had satellite TV and it must have been one of the early models because they installed one of those ofl fashion TV antennas in the attic. Remember the big ones that had several bars on several level going in many directions? It is wires with coaxial cable and I use it with my tuner. Reception is great but I also have no problems with rabbit ears. FYI. I wanted a tuner and the only info available was on FM Tuner info. I recently took a gamble and bought an Arcam T61 tuner. This thing is great. Soundstage is nice and wide, great bass and imagign too. I was disappointed in teh past but can now listen to FM. If you are out in the boonies and cannot get good reception, get satellite radio. If you listen enough it wil be worth it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jcmusic Posted October 21, 2008 Share Posted October 21, 2008 I have a simple 6 element Radio Shack directional antenna on my roof, works great. Jay Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Groomlakearea51 Posted October 21, 2008 Share Posted October 21, 2008 FM.... Cup of nice coffee, the local NPR station (WQCS out of Fort Pierce) pulled in with a t-wire on a TU-9900 at 4/5, to my ears via a pair of Heresy's. Life's good. About that stereo hiss vs mono no-hiss. Some days it's there... some days no so much... other days it's awful. It's the broadcast station's carrier signal, distance from the transmitter (signal strength), and interference issues with the household appliances. Interestingly, the worst interference to the FM signal is the dishwasher.... When it's running..... sounds like a waterfall in the background... The man cave is next to the kitchen... Apparently that's the difference between a $199.95 and a $299.95 dishwasher.... unshielded motor? or just cheap? Dishwasher works great... I just don't run the dishwasher when I'm listening to the tuner... I have been advised that if I get a regular TV/FM antenna (the kind with the bars sticking out...) and connect it to the tuner via a shielded coax cable, that will eliminate the problem. But then I would have to mount it up in the attic, drill a hole in the ceiling, etc., etc. Another solution is supposed to be a FM radio HD antenna & converter that plugs into the coax connection on the back of standard FM tuners. I still cannot get a straight answer on that whole issue. All I can find are sales pitches on a complete HD FM tuner, which I really don't want to buy. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tigerwoodKhorns Posted October 21, 2008 Share Posted October 21, 2008 Mark, Do the dipole antennas need to be adjusted? It does not look like there is any adjustment. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Groomlakearea51 Posted October 21, 2008 Share Posted October 21, 2008 mdeneen: Thanks for sites!! I looked at the APS unit, but am leery about that design due to the likelyhood of having to take it down everytime a hurricane approaches. The FM-DX unit would probably not pose that problem inasmuch as there is almost no "profile" to catch the wind. The station I'm after is about 45 miles away. They have, unfortunately, "tuned" their transmitter antenna "lobes" north and south where 95% of their listeners are located... Opinion? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cut-Throat Posted October 21, 2008 Share Posted October 21, 2008 Here is what I did. - Hire a local antenna company. They are the experts. Tell them what you want to do and they will guide you. The cost is minimal. I had a HDTV/FM antenna installed in my home when I built it. It has an amplifier - I have 2 TVs and 14 FM tuners/receviers hooked up to it and it is flawless. This is one area where I believe that DIY -trial and error will cost you more than hiring a professional. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tigerwoodKhorns Posted October 21, 2008 Share Posted October 21, 2008 I have 2 TVs and 14 FM tuners/receviers hooked up to it... Time for an intervention. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cut-Throat Posted October 21, 2008 Share Posted October 21, 2008 Time for an intervention. Probably but I have the Tuners hooked to my "main" systems in my Living Room and Listening Room - Then my Bathroom,and 2 Bedrooms, Garage, Workshop - And a few in my Audio Museum in the Basement. Mostly I am a MPR Junkie! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tigerwoodKhorns Posted October 21, 2008 Share Posted October 21, 2008 Time for an intervention. Probably but I have the Tuners hooked to my "main" systems in my Living Room and Listening Room - Then my Bathroom,and 2 Bedrooms, Garage, Workshop - And a few in my Audio Museum in the Basement. Mostly I am a MPR Junkie! As long as the one in the bathroom is not on top of a pro amp on top of a microwave between 2 khorns positioned over the tub you should be ok. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest " " Posted October 21, 2008 Share Posted October 21, 2008 tried the amplified antena gig...also tried the mama jama antena's...wound up putting the T antena back up and running 20 ft of coax in between the T antena and the reciever...my problem was too strong of a signal....20ft of coax did the trick for me. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WMcD Posted October 22, 2008 Share Posted October 22, 2008 I had a lot of problems in downtown Chicago at the office. The solution was to short out the antenna input with a paperclip. Yup, the front end was otherwise Home is about three miles north near the Lake. Multipath reflections off the downtown buildings is the issue. Just about nothing reliable to be done because I'm sealed in an apartment. There was one interesting episode about 25 years ago. There was a power failure to some of the downtown transmitters. Then I could pick up a station in Rockford (almost 100 miles away) with the classic dipole. My conclusion is that the little boxes with small antenna and an r.f. amp is not going to be helpful. At least to me. I suspect that some problems which people have are the result of adjactent channel interference or multipath or even front end overload. Wm McD Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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