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connect rabbit ears/loop antenna to JVC tuner

S

Shinnen

New Member
Hi,
I have a JVC T-K100 and would like to hook it up to my RCA antenna. The antenna is one of those with rabbit ears and a loop with a threaded connector with a pin like protrusion in the center. (Sorry about the descripion, I have no idea what they're called.) The back of the receiver has 3 terminals: two labelled FM 300ohms and one labelled AM. There is also a ground below one of the FM terminal.
My problem is that I have NO clue how to connect this antenna to the receiver.
Thanks,
........ john
 
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using the picture in the link cgutz provided, you would take your rabbit ears antenna connector, the one with the threaded connector with the pin protruding and connect it to the threaded end of the balun. the other end of the balun, the end with the flat spade connectors would connect to the 300 ohm FM connectors. the threaded connector is called an "F Connector"
 
Hi ap14608,
Great, thanks. Should I notice any improvement in the AM reception with this setup?
....... john
 
'rabbit ears' antennas are designed for FM or TV reception. it will not improve AM reception. If you wish to improve AM reception, you would need an "AM loop antenna" such as the "Terk indoor AM Antenna". this antenna would connect to the AM connectors located next to the FM connector
 
Hi ap14608,
The Rabbit ears have an AM loop, but the AM reception sucks. The balun helped, but only marginally. I'm using it in the basement, perhaps that's the problem.
Thanks,
...... john
 
chances are that your 'rabbit ears' are for tv reception and the 'loop' antenna you see is actually for uhf tv reception and is not an am antenna.

being in a basement will negatively impact fm reception. you can try putting the antenna up closer to the ceiling
 
Hi ap14608,
Aha, a TV antenna, that never occurred to me.
Alright, I ripped the loop out of the (TV) antenna and connected it to the terminals on the back of the T-K100; and that improved the AM reception considerably.
Thanks again,
........ john
 
Last edited:
Hi audiotemp,
Would you mind elaborating on the picture? Does it relate to connecting the AM loop?
Thanks,
......... john
 
audiotemp said:
View attachment 2029723
Click to expand...

This is the method that, according to the manual, is provided for connecting a 75 Ohm antenna cable to your tuner for FM. The little U-shaped bracket both holds down the cable and connects the outer braid to chassis ground. The center wire of the antenna cable is connected to the one terminal marked 75Ω (which also makes up half the 300Ω connection) There is a balun inside the tuner and this way no external balun is required. In addition, this connection method is somewhat more effective than using an external balun because F connectors are pretty sucky.

Note, however, that using an external balun as described by others above is also OK and does have the advantage that it is more convenient for connecting and disconnecting the antenna cable---and so that you don't have to remove the F connector from your antenna cable.

Preparing the end of the cable as pictured is a little tricky but not too difficult. Presumably you can find more detailed instructions on how to do that here at AK somewhere.

According to the manual, the one "AM" terminal is intended for use with what is called a "single-wire" antenna, i.e. just a long wire and not a closed loop. Originally there would have been also a ferrite bar antenna for AM permanently attached in the center back of the tuner, although those do tend to break or get lost over time so maybe yours is missing.
 
Hi audio temp,
Thanks for the instructions. I find the entire thing very confusing, i.e. the connections. I obviously don't understand enough about radios.
I do have the ferrite bar. I can pull it out about an inch, but that's all. If I turn the receiver about 30° the AM reception improves, but where I have it, that's not an option.
Basically my FM reception has never been a problem; it's the AM I want to improve. As I mentioned above, I removed the AM loop from the TV antenna and attached it to the two outer connections (in your picture above). That made a significant improvement in my reception. Could I have attached it differently, added the balun, and got even better reception? If I can, please let me know. If not, it's OK as it is.
.... john
 
Other things being equal, a ferrite bar will give better AM reception than a UHF TV loop. You are doing better with the loop because of placement. Like the manual says, a long wire is best. There are small AM loops available. They attach with fairly short wires that enable many options for placement and orientation.
 
Hi rmp,
Thanks for the suggestion. I haven't mentioned the size of the loop, assuming it's a TV antenna. It's 16.5 cms (6 1/2") in diameter. Is that larger than the AM loop to which you're referring?
.... john
 
The loop I'm referring to is a little smaller. It's better though, because it can be moved into many positions. However, it doesn't work miracles. If the UHF loop is good enough, then that's it.
 

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