Decent home antenna's?

[Perkinsman]

What's a good antenna that doesn't require I go up on the roof? I'm hoping to pull in some better reception on my MX110 than the flimsy dipole from Radio Shack. Right now I get better reception in my truck!

 

[slowpat]

I use a Magnum Dynalab ST-2 with my MAC4100. It has a 15' co-ax cable, so I just stick it in a corner. It is directional so I do have to adjust accordingly for different stations. It's best on rooftop but I don't have access to it. I have also tried the Terk antenna booster, but YMMV...

 

[JBL GUY]

The ST-2 is advertised as an omni-directional antenna. But with RF signal reception it is location, location, location and sometimes orientation.

In general indoor antennas may be sensitive to positioning.

It is an end fed half wavelength antenna and is described as not needing a ground plane, it is possible that additional feed line decoupling might improve its performance in certain situations. It is possible for the shield of the feed line to act as an antenna and this may skew the reception pattern, making antenna somewhat directional. Moving or changing orientation of the feed line may change reception.

Powered or amplified antennas may or may not help. In general the better the tuner, the less RF signal amplification helps, unless it is to overcome signal loss from long coaxial cable runs and or splitting the signal.

It is a good idea to keep the antenna in the clear as much as possible, away from other wires and electrical conductors.





The above is generalized information. Since each location is different, different results may be expected.

 

[slowpat]

Thanks for the information JBL Guy....I have experienced exactly what you described, and not realizing that the long feeder cable plays a role, and the antenna being indoor...was thinking of an indoor Yagi antenna but have not seen one that is appropriate for indoor use...

 

[twiiii]

Terk makes some antennae that might work for you. Winegard make some antennae you could stick on the side of the house. Parts express has some small roof antennae you could put in an attic like I do. But I'm using a 50 year old Finco antennae. You might check and see if Jerrold is still in business.

 

[Audioraven]

If you can find an old school BIC Beambox, they work pretty well.

 

[spinz3]

Fm 360 I put her on the roof pulled in the station is pretty damn good I live in South of Boston Massachusetts . I have pulled in Cape cod and New Hampshire on the roof got it online Walmart Walmart cheapest around works great

 

[dubai2000]

I have just installed MagnumDynalab's so-called Silver Ribbon indoors antenna - and I must say it works really well (!!!) on my MR74 - granted we are talking about local stations and European conditions - so YMMV.

 

[Perkinsman]

I was looking at the Beam Box. There are several of these around but never seen or used one. Are there advantages over the newer home antennaes or are the newer (FM 360) ones better?

 

[onwardjames]

Taking that old dipole wire type, tie the ends together, turn perpendicular to floor, and cut in the middle of the bottom wire to make two wires going to the tuner worked great for me.

Someone else on here suggested it. You mount it to something like a 5 ft piece of wood or cardboard.

 

[daveg3588]

I use a pair of rabbit ears on top of my cabinet. I get most Toronto, ont stations and all of Buffalo. I'm in Hamburg, NY 10 miles south of Buffalo, Toronto from here is 100 miles.

 

[jlovda]

I use a pair of rabbit ears on top of my cabinet. I get most Toronto, ont stations and all of Buffalo. I'm in Hamburg, NY 10 miles south of Buffalo, Toronto from here is 100 miles.

But it's 100 miles over open water, right?

 

[JBL GUY]

I was looking at the Beam Box. There are several of these around but never seen or used one. Are there advantages over the newer home antennaes or are the newer (FM 360) ones better?

When it comes to antennas of all types there is no substitute for full size, correctly tuned antennas that are correctly matched to the feed line.

The higher the antenna the more signal it will receive.

The BIC Beam Box antenna uses electrically shortened elements and may not be put high on a shelf because of the need to reach the controls on the front. The Beam Box, like all antennas, is sensitive to surrounding conductive objects.

These are limiting factors in how sensitive of an antenna it will be.

The Beam Box is able to electrically vary its directional signal pickup pattern, to favor certain directions or reject signals or noise from certain directions.

Their prime application is for moderate to strong signal areas.

Again with RF signal reception reception it is location, location, location and sometimes orientation.

Since most of the people in the USA live in moderate to strong RF signal areas, even just a random piece of wire may provide enough RF signal strength for the stations of interest.


The FM-360, as the name implies, is an omnidirectional antenna, that is it receives signals from all directions. It does not have any gain, it is not more sensitive than a dipole antenna, but it is usually installed outside and higher than an indoor dipole antenna. This allows it to capture more signal strength.


The antenna that onwardjames is describing is in the shape of a variation of the Slim Jim antenna which is a variation of the j-pole antenna.

See the picture below.

The actual Slim Jim design may offer better performance if the correct dimensions are used and correct feed line decoupling is employed. The over all length of the Slim Jim antenna is about 84 inches.

For a simple antenna, it is hard to beat the venerable rabbit ear antenna. It can offer some gain broadside to the V of the elements and the element length may be adjusted to produce an antenna that is resonant on the FM broadcast band. The elements remain straight and out in the open. The angle of the elements may be adjusted to enhance the desired RF signal pickup direction.

It is possible to orient the antenna to favor the station of interest or to null unwanted signals or noise.

 

[spinz3]

Hi JBL GUY i risk my life and now you tell me. Only kidding the fm 360 works good 4 me inside a garage with 30 foot steel beam and 2000lbs of automotive lift i got nothing be 4 .thanks for the info.

 

[Mantolaman]

My reception is extremely poor, most likely because the receiver is inside my garage which is lined with steel panels, and the outside is aluminum siding.

Without drilling a hole and running an outside antenna, do I have any other options?

 

[Pio1980]

My reception is extremely poor, most likely because the receiver is inside my garage which is lined with steel panels, and the outside is aluminum siding.

Without drilling a hole and running an outside antenna, do I have any other options?

No, you have to bring the signal in from outside.

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[Bubo]

I spent years struggling with poor indoor reception, all of the radio stations were on the other side of the house from the tuner.

I bit the bullet and paid someone else to go up on the roof, the omni directional antenna is approx 38 feet off of the ground, giving it line of sight to the transmitters in 360 degrees. This project paid for itself, since I also put a HDTV antenna on the mast and cancelled the satellite. Thus leaving me with only 50 broadcast channels that I don't watch as opposed to the previous 200 that I didn't watch either.

FM Reception is reliably 35 miles at a minimum.

Wherever you mount the indoor antenna, line of sight to the transmitters helps a lot.

Hanging an outdoor dipole in the attic may also do the job. They are inexpensive $25 and you may have a portable radio you can use to position the antenna. If not the attic, some hang them in the garage in the rafters.

 

[onwardjames]

r itself, since I also put a HDTV antenna on the mast and cancelled the satellite. Thus leaving me with only 50 broadcast channels that I don't watch as opposed to the previous 200 that I didn't watch either.

Funniest thing I've read all morning.

Why can I no longer enjoy television? I find myself flipping endlessly, and then eventually getting up and spinning a record.

 

[Mantolaman]

I spent years struggling with poor indoor reception, all of the radio stations were on the other side of the house from the tuner.

I bit the bullet and paid someone else to go up on the roof, the omni directional antenna is approx 38 feet off of the ground, giving it line of sight to the transmitters in 360 degrees. This project paid for itself, since I also put a HDTV antenna on the mast and cancelled the satellite. Thus leaving me with only 50 broadcast channels that I don't watch as opposed to the previous 200 that I didn't watch either.

FM Reception is reliably 35 miles at a minimum.

Wherever you mount the indoor antenna, line of sight to the transmitters helps a lot.

Hanging an outdoor dipole in the attic may also do the job. They are inexpensive $25 and you may have a portable radio you can use to position the antenna. If not the attic, some hang them in the garage in the rafters.

Thanks, That's exactly what I was thinking. My immediate plan is to drill a small hole in the ceiling and run a dipole in the attic. Taking the radio for positioning is a great idea. Hadn't thought about that.

 

[Pio1980]

Thanks, That's exactly what I was thinking. My immediate plan is to drill a small hole in the ceiling and run a dipole in the attic. Taking the radio for positioning is a great idea. Hadn't thought about that.

Metal roof?

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