• The move to the new server is done. There are some software and database maintenance updates in process. This has us passing the hat around to help out. We appreciate any donations. Seriously, even a dollar helps. The payment page may be found here - https://www.audiokarma.org/support.html

FM antenna

L

lilditty

Active Member
Hi there. I have a pio sx-737 and just purchased a marantz 2250b. They are in my man cave in the basement. The room has a full size window to the exterior. I do not have an antenna on the outside of the house

Is there an fm antenna that will provide solid reception that I can hook up to the receiver in room? Thanks!
 
Register to hide this ad
Antennas need height to receive the strongest signal. Basements are generally not too high, and there is no magic antenna which can overcome such problems in-room. Try rabbit ears first - they are cheap and easier to orient than a folded dipole... does your basement have any windows?
 
When it comes the quality of reception, it is location, location, location.

That is the amount of signal available is very much location dependent.

Starting with the antenna in the basement will be a limiting factor for a number of reasons.

You might want to visit FM Fool FM Fool.

Enter your street address and the elevation of your antenna above ground level and it will give you a rough idea of the signal strength available for an outside antenna.

A properly constructed FM dipole is a good antenna to start with along with regular TV style rabbit ear antennae.

Understand that how well an antenna works in a location other than your location, may or may not be an indication of how well it will perform for you.

When you look at the data from the FM Fool web sit, you can see the various directions to the FM stations that you want to listen to and determine if an omnidirectional antenna will meet your needs or if you will be able to use a directional antenna (most likely outside for the best performance).

Again, your reception quality is location dependent, a simple piece of wire about 30 inches long, attached to one of the antenna terminals may work OK for you.

Have you used the receivers above ground and if so what antennae did you use and what was the quality of the reception?

You mentioned that you have a window in the basement. It may be a good location for an antenna if it faces toward the stations that you are trying to receive.
 
Last edited:
I also have my FM receiver in the basement. For really great reception for the one classical station i like , I ended up doing the following.

I ran antenna wire out through a basement window, then attached a dipole attenna to the outside beam of a wooden deck. I experimented with different beams to find the best signal reception.. This works better than my Terk amplified unit that pulls in decent HDTV. The decking keeps the antenna dry, and so far has held up well for several years.
 
frommerstop said:
For powered antenna, I've had some luck using a Terk, but in general I prefer to use a BIC Beam Box.
Click to expand...

Just be aware that sometimes all you get with an amplified antenna is more noise; depends on location - I've had simple rabbit ears outperform Terks in some places I've lived, and never really found one very useful anywhere. If you are dead set against going outdoors with an antenna, I suggest starting cheap first, with rabbit ears, which may or may not work for you. I once found the best result by connecting about 12' of twinlead and running it along a wall horizontally; there's nothing scientific about that, but it certainly worked best of anything else I tried.

If you need to try a powered model... well, I'd skip the Terk and take frommerstop's advice for a BIC. I'm certain there's a reason he prefers them.
 
The BIC antenna can work well in certain conditions.

It is less than a full sized antenna, and a full sized antenna will be more efficient than a reduced size antenna, for a number of well know technical reasons.

Again it is location dependent. In a non-weak signal location, the electrically switched directivity may be advantageous.

If you decide to try one of these, keep in mind, if it is located below ground level, its performance will be compromised, but depending on your particular location and conditions, it may provide satisfactory reception for your stations of interest.

Hear is thread regarding FM antenna and various reception issues.

I was actually able to provide a rough, but reasonably accurate estimate of the RF signal strength at Tyler's (Tybrad) location, based on FCC data for the one station of interest.

FM Antennae thread

There is some useful information regarding FM dipole antennae.
 
Thanks for the info everyone. The antenna would end up being at ground level, not below not above. I'll try the rabbit ears first and see what I get. Wife would never let me do an exterior antenna so hopefully it's not too necessary!
 
In general, with rabbit ear type antennae, the simpler the better.

If the rabbit ear antenna has the flat 300 Ohm feed line, keep in mind that the actual impedance of a set of rabbit ears is closer to 75 0hms.

Replacing the 300 Ohm feed line with 75 Ohm coax with a choke balun as I describe in the other thread may provide slightly more signal and you will not have to worry about keeping the feed line away from other conductors like you will with the 300 Ohm flat feed line.

Experiment with the length of the antenna elements, about 26 inches inches for the stations at the high end of the dial and about 31 inches for stations at the low end of the dial and somewhere in between for other stations.

You may find that changing the configuration of the rabbit ear antenna from having the element almost horizontal to having them in a 90 degree V configuration may improve your reception.

You may be able to find some RF hotspots where there is more signal in some locations in your basement.

In general it is a good idea to keep the antenna elements away from other conductors, metal shelving and so on, although in certain instances these may act as antenna directors or reflectors and make your antenna some what more directional in the direction of your station(s) of interest and in general rabbit ear antennae are the most sensitive broadside to the orientation of the antenna elements.
 
I too have not had much success with powered antennas. Simply makes the noise louder! I use a simple dipole, as high inside the house as I can, the length tuned to the desired frequency, and stretched in the proper direction.

I would be concerned about an ungrounded antenna anywhere outside my house, even on a deck. Lightening might still find it.
 
The outdoor 1/2 wave antenna I ordered just arrived today. Its omnidirectional and for an outdoor antenna its thin and only about 69" tall. If your wife doesn't want an outdoor antenna you might get away with this one. Its simple and doesn't take up much space or look like a multi element horizontal TV antenna. As for lightening strikes I'm using a grounding block connected to the house ground.
 
You have to understand that FM signals (waves) are for all practical purposes "line of sight".
 
WOW, I really thought i was going to learn something about fm antennas and their location......It wants my coordinates because for some reason the house I lived in for the last 19 years doesn't ^&^%^$exist!

Figures
 
How did you search? Street address?

You might try another relatively close street address, a block or two away. Maybe a street or two north or south or east or west.

Or even just your zip code to start, all though that will not provide the most accurate results.

You may also try Radio-Locator.com

Radio Locator.com
 
Another option is to run the antenna into your attic or what suffices as above your upper floor ceiling. WAF should be OK and your antenna is higher. Just be sure to keep it, and its ends, about 20+" from conductors as best you can.

JBL has been an amazing resource for my quest to have clean sound.

Tyler
 
Hello Tyler

Thank you for the kind words.

I have been following your interesting V'Ger (Nomad) :D posts in the other thread.

So far they have not grown to over 22 AUs. :scratch2:

Thanks for the interesting information.
 
Man there's never a simple answer with you guys ;-)

Lots of things to try out an play with! As I said before, I will try some rabbit ears and go from there. I do have an old antenna from a cheap boom box I had years ago that's a very thin wire wrapped around a plastic piece and was picking up quite a few local stations, so there may be hope!
 
Liked the FM Fool site- thanks! If you need coordinates for someplace, try the Geocoder site.

If WAF is a problem, I know hams have done stealth antennas for years. Maybe there's something that could be done on the side of the house that blended in? Though it's not optimal, I run my HDTV antenna on the side of my house and it works quite well.
 
I live downtown and perhaps it's all the reflections from buildings around me but I've never had great fm reception. I googled around and built a quick and dirty j- pole from some scrap aluminum tubing, well it works great. I tucked it behind furniture and it is out of sight and locks on FM. Don't ask me explain I think antennas are the realm of dark arts,

Sent from my SGH-T989 using Tapatalk 4
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top Bottom