Cylontymany
Super Member
Can anyone recommend me a good FM Antenna for the attic that will pull in station out 40+? Seems to be only a few available! Thanks. I have already tried indoor/amplified types to no avail.
FM Antenna
- Thread starter Cylontymany
- Start date
Register to hide this ad
Pio1980
AK Member
Directional or non-directional?
You may find out as I did this last summer that expecting stellar performance from antenna in a attic is not to be for a number of reasons.
Anything of appreciable distance requires an antenna with gain which means it is directional and usually requires a rotor unless the signals of interest are all coming from the same direction
But to answer your question I sourced a 7 element Yagi which performs reasonably well. It is available from a local Canadian distributor called TDL in Trenton Ontario
Anything of appreciable distance requires an antenna with gain which means it is directional and usually requires a rotor unless the signals of interest are all coming from the same direction
But to answer your question I sourced a 7 element Yagi which performs reasonably well. It is available from a local Canadian distributor called TDL in Trenton Ontario
The Stellar Labs 4-element yagi works well for me in the attic as well as a similar 3-element yagi (made in Taiwan). Both available on the net including the 'bay and Amazon. I have them mounted at opposite ends of the attic, attached to 5 foot antenna masts hung "upside down" from the 2 x 6's that straddle the roof rafters, connected to two tuners in separate rooms. They both work extremely well as long as you properly aim them towards the main station you are trying to receive.
Last edited:
First, look at fmfool.com to see whether the stations you want come from one direction or many.
In my attic (atop a two-story house) I have a Yagi originally made to cover UHF, VHF and FM. It's about 8 feet long and pegs the meter on all my tuners. Fortunately all my desired stations but one are to the west.
Since I bought it from Radio Shack in 1994, the model number won't help you much, but you get the idea. I bet you could find one on Craigslist for a few dollars. It worked great in the attic of my previous one-story house which was a few more miles from the transmitters. Good luck!
In my attic (atop a two-story house) I have a Yagi originally made to cover UHF, VHF and FM. It's about 8 feet long and pegs the meter on all my tuners. Fortunately all my desired stations but one are to the west.
Since I bought it from Radio Shack in 1994, the model number won't help you much, but you get the idea. I bet you could find one on Craigslist for a few dollars. It worked great in the attic of my previous one-story house which was a few more miles from the transmitters. Good luck!
1tumbleweed
Kozmik Kowboy
Feeling creative/handy?:
Directional Yagi:
https://dw1zws.com/2-elements-yagi-for-fm-broadcast-band-center-at-107-1mhz/
Non-directional but expensive:
https://www.amazon.com/FM-Loop-Antenna-Outdoor-Attic-mount/dp/B006SLV25C
Directional Yagi:
https://dw1zws.com/2-elements-yagi-for-fm-broadcast-band-center-at-107-1mhz/
Non-directional but expensive:
https://www.amazon.com/FM-Loop-Antenna-Outdoor-Attic-mount/dp/B006SLV25C
This is the antenna to buy to put in your attic. Simply hang an antenna mast from the rafters or rafter support beam and attach the antenna as high up as possible. I use 75-ohm coax to run down to either the office or bedroom systems (the cable enters the room through a hole in the closet ceiling). It is directional so as noted above, figure out where your preferred station(s) is located and aim it in that direction.
30-2460 - Stellar Labs - Directional Outdoor FM Antenna, 88-108 MHz, 4 Elements (newark.com)
30-2460 - Stellar Labs - Directional Outdoor FM Antenna, 88-108 MHz, 4 Elements (newark.com)
Schmidlapper
Super Member
very similar to the above, likely 50% more palatable. https://www.newark.com/stellar-labs/30-2435/outdoor-omnidirectional-fm-antenna/dp/55W7744
The omni-directional antenna works well if you have multiple favorite stations, all in different directions. However, this type of antenna is more susceptible to multi-path distortion due to its lack of directionality and, it has less gain to help capture more distant, desired signals. If you have one or two favorite stations that are located in the same direction, the 4-element yagi will be much more effective at providing a cleaner and stronger signal to your tuner. IE-less noise and distortion.
1tumbleweed
Kozmik Kowboy
Agreed. But if you really want to go full-on DX'ing, a Log Periodic is the ultimate! A million years ago, when I was a kid in suburban Baltimore, I had a multi-element JFD log periodic on a 20-foot mast on the roof of my parents' house, with a Tenna Rotor. Swing that puppy north and I could get almost everything in the Philadelphia area; aim it south and Richmond was pretty strong.
DustyOldPile
Vinyl Goddess
What's the best indoor antenna? I'm not getting on that steep pitch metal roof of mine, and I don't want to run wires and coax all over the house. Most of my stations are 30 to 80 miles away. I am guessing that the answer is ' you are **** out of luck '
1tumbleweed
Kozmik Kowboy
I don't know that I'd go as far as SOL, but even a good indoor amplified antenna has to have some signal to work with, otherwise you're just amplifying noise along with the signal. Without "running wires all over the house", is it possible to run a shortish wire out a window near your equipment?
Another point to remember: Height helps more than anything. Maybe not up on the roof, but any chance of higher than ground level?
If all else fails, most folks consider Terk a good indoor FM antenna.
https://www.electronicshub.org/best-fm-antennas/
Another point to remember: Height helps more than anything. Maybe not up on the roof, but any chance of higher than ground level?
If all else fails, most folks consider Terk a good indoor FM antenna.
https://www.electronicshub.org/best-fm-antennas/
BeerLegs
Super Member
Depending on the size of your attic...and your wallet...
Innovantennas
This 8 element look interesting. I would think with 8 elements, it should work decently.
ClearConX 8
And here it is again.
Innovantennas
This 8 element look interesting. I would think with 8 elements, it should work decently.
ClearConX 8
And here it is again.
Last edited:
I put up a clearconx8, so far so good
Works okay, similar to the old deep fringe lpa i have still working on the tower which is coming down this summer.
Ps they can’t count, it’s actually a 7 element, the driven element is mounted horizontal. I have an extra looking for a home but it is expensive to ship
That guy you linked did not answer my email so I got an account at tdl
Works okay, similar to the old deep fringe lpa i have still working on the tower which is coming down this summer.
Ps they can’t count, it’s actually a 7 element, the driven element is mounted horizontal. I have an extra looking for a home but it is expensive to ship
That guy you linked did not answer my email so I got an account at tdl
BeerLegs
Super Member
Interesting that it's advertised as a 8 element. I counted the elements but thought that they just posted the wrong picture for it.
Still, a 7 element FM antenna should work pretty good. Glad to know that it does perform well for you.
I have a Channel Master Stereo Probe 9 in very good condition and it still works very good. They don't make them anymore. I was going to buy a Innovantenna but found it instead.
Still, a 7 element FM antenna should work pretty good. Glad to know that it does perform well for you.
I have a Channel Master Stereo Probe 9 in very good condition and it still works very good. They don't make them anymore. I was going to buy a Innovantenna but found it instead.
Schmidlapper
Super Member
Wasn't promoting omni over directional, just pointing out it didn't have to be "expensive", as it could be found for half the price the prior poster had referenced.
I actually do use one though, and it works great in my local.
Coolhandjjl
Embiggened Pompatus
Channel Master 3025. A Craigslist find about a year and a half back. It’s about 12’ long. Barely fits in the attic with room to turn. Or look for it’s predecessor, Channel Master Probe 9. These things have to be somewhere, tons were made.
This was also sold under model #4408. I bought a NOS one a year ago from a fellow, local audio club member. It is indeed quite long! I haven't installed it yet as I have planned to mount it on the roof, bolted to an attic eave, with a rotator. I'm probably going to hire someone to mount it, though, as I think my roof climbing days are over. I agree with Coolhandjjl, there are bound to be some of these out in the wild. It is quite an antenna and was the star of a 6 FM antenna shootout review in the April 1972 issue of High Fidelity magazine, authored by Leonard Feldman. He had a local TV dealer install 6 different FM antennas on his roof each week and tested their gain and directivity for numerous frequencies. I sure wish I could find an NOS Finco FM-4G which I would put in my attic. That much smaller antenna was also a great performer. I installed one on my parent's roof to feed my Pioneer quad receiver back when I was a teenager in 1973. Mom was horrified!
If you want to see the FM antenna article I mentioned above, you can find it at:
High-Fidelity-1972-04.pdf (worldradiohistory.com)
I believe it starts on page 55 although there is also a lead-in article starting on page 49 that tells you much about how to select and install such as antenna. See the index at the beginning of the magazine. I'd modify it to delete all but the article but it is a pdf and I can't edit it.
Enjoy!
High-Fidelity-1972-04.pdf (worldradiohistory.com)
I believe it starts on page 55 although there is also a lead-in article starting on page 49 that tells you much about how to select and install such as antenna. See the index at the beginning of the magazine. I'd modify it to delete all but the article but it is a pdf and I can't edit it.
Enjoy!
rocket_no9
Member
I'm around 30 miles west of Boston and fortunate as there's a lot of good FM in the area in all directions. I just put this Stellar Labs up in the attic and did the mod where an element is added (ridiculously ez btw) .. anyway ... a huge improvement over my indoor dipole, band packed with stations, most at the far left where I live, fully quieted (NOT 'MBR which was what I was after, DOH!), I'll look into rotors in the near future. The Fisher pictured is a stop gap till I move the MAC4200 up there. Btw the 310e crushes whatever tuner Fisher put in the 400.
