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can i use metal roof for antenna?

ducati2

ducati2

AK Subscriber
Subscriber
I used to get great fm reception via my fisher 500c ,, but recently I had an aluminum roof put on my house and now the reception is terrible.

I already have huge fm antenna in the attic from before and my wife is not keen on me putting it outside and above the roof. SO, I was thinking,,, what if I soldered the leads from the attic antenna directly to the aluminum roof?? Is it possible to make a metal roof into a HUGE antenna??
 
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I can't comment on the efficacy of that roof as an antenna, but I do know that I wouldn't want a lightning strike to go straight into my 2-ch system, via the antenna lead. Your stereo provides a path to ground, which makes the roof a viable target for lightning.
 
It might work for AM in terms of sheer capture area, but it might overload an AM tuner, and for FM it's all wrong.

Essentially, you've put shielding between your FM attic antenna and the transmitters. You gotta get an antenna up in the air... away from the roof.
 
I knew a guy in Quebec who woorked the ham bands half way around the world using the metal roof of his Dad''s tavern. Then the CRTC tracked him down and took him off the air.
 
....you can try it. There's no harm in that. You'll get what you get. For FM the received wave is picked up by different elements. One commoned roof? Sometimes you never know with RF, especially FM (Fing Magic). If you do get signal strength, you probably won't get any directionality. That would be bad if you have multipath issues. Metal roof indicates mountanous to me. High multipath potential. Definitely lightening hazard. That's a big target.
 
Let's see, one huge lightning target...

AM = Automatic Meltdown
FM = Fried Meat

It would be an interesting experiment, though, for a nice, clear day! :yes:
 
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