Best FM Antenna

[stevex]

I didn't realize there was so much involved in antenna selection!! I have a set of old rabbit ears that help me pick up stations from Baton Rouge 60 mile away.

That's what I have right now but it only picks up one FM station.

I had the same problem as you - a KT-8300 tuner without a decent FM station in listening range. In my case, I ended up dumping FM entirely and set myself up with a nice streamer.

I hope I don't have to do that. My internet goes down so often, sometimes for more than a week at a time. And its not always poor maintenance. I'm in a somewhat remote area, and it seems like at least once a year the internet goes down for days because somewhere someone has pulled and stolen the cable off the poles.

Just adding antennas without proper phasing and spacing will not improve signal. It’s already been stated but is the most important consideration: If you don’t have any signal, no amount of antenna gain will pull a signal out where there is none.

I would suggest going to a site like radio-locator.com and find the contour maps for the station.

Yes, and I don't (at this point) know how to do proper phasing. However radio-locator.com shows I should be able to pull in 32 radio stations if I have a good-enough antenna. And only 4 are over 100 miles away.

Radio-Locator.com

Radio Station Search Engine

radio-locator.com

 

[Mr Boochie]

yes, and that is what gave me the idea of stacking them for more reception. If I stack 4 of them to me it seems it should be 4 times more sensitive and able to pull in signals 4 times weaker, and still be under $50 for all 4 of them.

You could try two at first and see if that works. Otherwise, as the others stated, you'll need to go to a motorized directional Yagi and maybe a pre-amp.

I don't know how good that Kenwood receiver is, but my NAD tuner is very good at picking up long-distance signals. With a simple three-element Yagi I can get some San Diego stations here in LA with a good signal-to-noise ratio. Unfortunately, I don't listen to FM anymore — I'm just streaming now.

 

[Bradbrews]

There are some simple DIY antennas that you can easily make and try out. You can even tune the antenna to exactly the frequency you want to hear.
It’s worth it before buying one if you’re the DIY type.
When storm damage caused me to have the drywall replaced I took the opportunity to bury an antenna in the wall. I ran the feed to a basement system and now get everything I want down there.
Just be sure to match the antenna impedance 75 or 300 ohm. It matters.

 

[Sandman1221]

There is satellite radio, SirrusXM, but last tine I used it, it was $30 a month. It is great for road trips and car camping in the National Forest in Colorado, perfectly clear, great comedy channels!, all at 9,000 feet and surrounded by snow capped mountain peaks.

Actually, plans now start at $10/month and that plan includes music, and $1 for the first 3 months to try everything.

 

[El Rubio]

If you find you need a lot of gain and size ( and maybe $ too) isn’t an object, you can take a look at InnovAntennas. They’re a UK company that carries several yagi designed for FM Broadcast. Locally in the US, you can purchase from DX Engineering. DX also sells pretty much everything you might need to build your own antennas.
This link is for the 14 element yagi, 11dBi gain, and 18.5 ft long. This is hopefully to give you a real world perspective on the size and scale of antennas at this frequency. There are smaller versions that are probably more suited for your location.

InnovAntennas 18484-0110 InnovAntennas FM Broadcast 88-108 MHz OP-DES Yagi Antennas | DX Engineering

Free Shipping - InnovAntennas FM Broadcast 88-108 MHz OP-DES Yagi Antennas with qualifying orders of $99. Shop VHF/UHF Beam Antennas at DX Engineering.

www.dxengineering.com

 

[PE9ZZ]

He is trying to receive a signal, not radiate one!

 

[Mystic]

Well back in my Day it was either Jerrold Log periodic antennae or Finney Yagi antennae. Winegard was to busy with TV antennae. later on Terk made the best interior antennae. I would start looking at Winegard first The more elements the narrower the pick up pattern and usually two to 4 times the gain of an omni antennae. Make sure the antenna covers from 86 to 110 MHZ radio frequencies.

I'm a gonna guess deez 'tennas be unobtanium @ 2025 yo?

 

[Sandman1221]

That's what I have right now but it only picks up one FM station.


I hope I don't have to do that. My internet goes down so often, sometimes for more than a week at a time. And its not always poor maintenance. I'm in a somewhat remote area, and it seems like at least once a year the internet goes down for days because somewhere someone has pulled and stolen the cable off the poles.


Yes, and I don't (at this point) know how to do proper phasing. However radio-locator.com shows I should be able to pull in 32 radio stations if I have a good-enough antenna. And only 4 are over 100 miles away.

Radio-Locator.com

Radio Station Search Engine

radio-locator.com

Many of those stations are bitcasters, so internet radio, only one Alturas station does KVIP..

Also it say, "There are 32 radio stations that may be barely perceptible from
96101 (Alturas, CA). (41° 28' 36" N, 120° 32' 44" W)", so it does not sound like you are in a good location for FM reception. Though the 4 Alturas stations should be good.

 

[gberchin]

https://www.worldradiohistory.com/Archive-All-Audio/Archive-Audio/80s/Audio-1981-01.pdf, page 38.

 

[twiiii]

You don't want a omni antennae. Multipath distortion becomes a real issue if you use one with mountains or tall buildings near by. The delayed reflections cause random nose, signal break up, high frequency distortion and bass complications.

 

[stevex]

https://www.worldradiohistory.com/Archive-All-Audio/Archive-Audio/80s/Audio-1981-01.pdf, page 38.

Interesting publication - and more than just reading about antennas. Thank you.

You don't want a omni antennae. Multipath distortion becomes a real issue if you use one with mountains or tall buildings near by. The delayed reflections cause random nose, signal break up, high frequency distortion and bass complications.

Yes, I think I can say I've learned that lesson in these posts. For that, I want to thank you all.
I think I'm leaning toward the Sky Blue SBFM9, but I don't see any specs for it on their web site. And I don't know that the additional gain of the InnovAntenna is worth the extra expense. So its the SBFM9.

But I did find on a different AK post the following: " FM signals easily diffract over mountains and hills. " That gives me some hope in doing this project. Also I like the fun of picking up skip for an occasional, unexpected treat. I hope a directional antenna can pick it up as well as an omni antenna.

So that brings up several more questions . . . first, what is a good, high quality rotor for this setup?
And . . . as long as I'm going through the expense and trouble to set up this type of antenna, I'd also like to add a high-gain AM antenna to this. Antenna suggestions, please. And would I mount it above or below the FM antenna?
Thank you all for your inputs into this long thread.

 

[Mr Boochie]

So that brings up several more questions . . . first, what is a good, high quality rotor for this setup?

I used a YAESU for my shortwave a long time ago. They weren't cheap then, and prolly not now, but it's a heavy-duty, quality unit that won't quit on you in bad weather.

 

[whoaru99]

I'm leaning toward the Sky Blue SBFM9, but I don't see any specs for it on their web site.

If you go back to the web site, one of the thumbnail pictures shows the gain at multiple points across the FM band.

 

[PE9ZZ]

And . . . as long as I'm going through the expense and trouble to set up this type of antenna, I'd also like to add a high-gain AM antenna to this. Antenna suggestions, please.

There is no such thing as a high-gain AM antenna. Your best bet is an active antenna (mini whip is one) and hook it up to your tuner. Its ferrite rod should pick up pretty much the same stations. But it's worth a try. Mount the active antenna as far away from the electronic noise mist around your house to get best results.

 

[Mr Boochie]

Consider finding a better tuner (or tuner-preamp). Several good ones were made in the FM heydays. The NAD is one of the best I've ever owned. It will prolly outperform an average tuner with a $$$ antenna setup.

Used ones are still available.

 

[stevex]

Consider finding a better tuner (or tuner-preamp). Several good ones were made in the FM heydays. The NAD is one of the best I've ever owned. It will prolly outperform an average tuner with a $$$ antenna setup.

Used ones are still available.

When I was first searching for a good tuner, I originally thought a Marantz was it. I had a Kenwood KRX-792 which I thought was terrible. It worked fine as a child when growing up in the city. But out in the country here I thought it worked like a piece of junk.

I had a Marantz for awhile, until it was stolen by the moving company. So I don't know how well it might have worked here. But I liked the way it worked with its big analog tuning dial. So after talking to a couple technicians I was told for a more sensitive receiver than even the Marantz has that I should get a Kenwood KT-8300. Perhaps not as prestigious as a Marantz, but its tuning has another layer of circuitry (I forget the technical wording) making it more sensitive than the Marantz. So how does that NAD compare technically to my KT-8300 with a Marantz 1060 amp?

 

[Mr Boochie]

When I was first searching for a good tuner, I originally thought a Marantz was it. I had a Kenwood KRX-792 which I thought was terrible. It worked fine as a child when growing up in the city. But out in the country here I thought it worked like a piece of junk.

I had a Marantz for awhile, until it was stolen by the moving company. So I don't know how well it might have worked here. But I liked the way it worked with its big analog tuning dial. So after talking to a couple technicians I was told for a more sensitive receiver than even the Marantz has that I should get a Kenwood KT-8300. Perhaps not as prestigious as a Marantz, but its tuning has another layer of circuitry (I forget the technical wording) making it more sensitive than the Marantz. So how does that NAD compare technically to my KT-8300 with a Marantz 1060 amp?

I have no idea, as I have tried neither the Kenwood nor the Marantz 1060. I do have a Marantz 120 and once had a used MR71. The NAD has better noise rejection and holds onto faint signals better. The audio quality of the NAD is pretty darn good.

It's such a simple, relatively cheap unit — I think it gets no love in the Hi-Fi world. I bought a used one for the pre-amp section, which is also excellent, in my humble opinion. It does NOT color the music.

 

[Sandman1221]

My NAD C 422 tuner is way better than my pristine Kenwood KT 7500, I A/B them on the same station 26 miles away. Now I like the KT 7500 way more, silky smooth tuning knob, two meters, aluminum face panel, but in the end it is the sound quality and ability to pull in stations clearly that matters.

 

[stevex]

My NAD C 422 tuner is way better than my pristine Kenwood KT 7500, I A/B them on the same station 26 miles away. Now I like the KT 7500 way more, silky smooth tuning knob, two meters, aluminum face panel, but in the end it is the sound quality and ability to pull in stations clearly that matters.

As I recall I was told the KT-7500 has the same receiving circuits as my KT-8300, it just has a few other accessories like a third meter etc. So I thought I'd also try a NAD. There must be more than 10 different models of NAD receivers and tuners on eBay. I started listing them all trying to understand their differences. It is very overwhelming. After a full day of reading reviews about each model of NAD on eBay my attention was drawn to the following on eBay: " NAD 4300 Monitor Series FM/AM Stereo Tuner Tested Made In Japan FMX " I really don't understand what FMX means, but do you think it can pull in weak signals better than the KT-8300, or should I consider other NAD models instead? At $67 I don't think I could go too wrong.

 

[motorstereo]

I say forget the NAD's and hunt down a restored and freshly aligned Sansui tu 9900 or 919. If you'd like to try a digital tuner a Mcintosh mr80 was easily the best performing digital tuner I owned. Something else to keep in mind is there are trade off with tuners. Just because a tuner can pick up a signal from Mars does not mean it will sound good doing it. Case in point here was the Mcintosh MR78. One of the best I owned in it's ability to receive far away stations but it's lack of sound quality meant it did not make keeper status here.

My MR74 didn't have that ultra high sensitivity of the 78 but had a wonderful sound so the less sensitive 74 did make the cut. I also thought the Kenny kt7500 and kt8300 tuning section I had in my Kenny 9600's had the best of both worlds and were very good performers. I'm thinking right now should be a great time to pick up a great performing tuner as they're not sought after like they were in the days before streaming.