FM Indoor Antennas Suggestions?

[Classic_CJ]

The nearest stations are about 75 miles from me, in all four directions. No mountains, just small hilly ground.

Other posters have already made good suggestions about "indoor" antennas, so I'll be the one to ask the question, is there any reason you would not want an outdoor antenna, or possibly (if you have an attic), placing a larger FM antenna up there?

The three main requirements for decent distance reception of FM stations is 1) Bigger 2) Higher 3) More directional.

60 to 80 miles is typically the upper limit for FM reception unless your tuners are very, very sensitive, and there are no obstructions (like the before-mentioned hills/mountains) between you and the station(s). I would be very surprised if you could get clear stereo reception at 75 miles without a full size, directional FM-cut antenna, so I'd certainly be interested to see how these experiements work out for you.

 

[ghazzer]

60 to 80 miles is typically the upper limit for FM reception unless your tuners are very, very sensitive, and there are no obstructions (like the before-mentioned hills/mountains) between you and the station(s). I would be very surprised if you could get clear stereo reception at 75 miles without a full size, directional FM-cut antenna, so I'd certainly be interested to see how these experiements work out for you.

Good info!

For those of us who still have a "TV" antenna on the roof, what kind of signal splitter is needed to connect this to the FM terminals on the back of a receiver? I know you need to match the impedance of the lines, so can a coax lead from the roof antenna be connected direct to terminals marked "75 ohms"?

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[Renzor213]

When FM was fun year's ago, had a nice rotor rootop rig, but now down to a RCA Mini-State in my attic. Really more for TV, but jumped out the FM trap coil and work's well for that too. Pretty nice unit, as internally amplified, and the gut's directionally rotate via remote. No reason you couldn't put one of these on a closet shelf, but not the cheapest solution.

 

[kappclark]

The nearest stations are about 75 miles from me, in all four directions. No mountains, just small hilly ground.

I don't understand the adjacent stations question. There is nothing around or near me but farms and feilds.

If possible, you should try to get an outdoor antenna ... not sure how good the signal will be @ 75 miles with an indoor antenna.

Right now, I am listening to a signal almost 100 miles away, using a winegard FM antenna mounted outdoors..

 

[Classic_CJ]

For those of us who still have a "TV" antenna on the roof, what kind of signal splitter is needed to connect this to the FM terminals on the back of a receiver? I know you need to match the impedance of the lines, so can a coax lead from the roof antenna be connected direct to terminals marked "75 ohms"?

Yes. If the tuner or receiver has only 300 ohm ("balanced") antenna inputs, as many older ones do, then you simply need to add a matching transformer to the end of the coax line.

As to the splitter, other than matching the antenna lines-- either 300 or 75 ohms-- anything will do that passes the necessary band(s) -- UHF, VHF, FM. FM , as previously mentioned by another poster, is located just above VHF channel 6, which is why VHF antennas usually work fine for FM reception. Don't split the antenna feed more than necessary, as every split reduces the signal strength at output terminals.

 

[Zygmo]

I have had good luck with Rabbit Ears. The higher you can place them, the better. Inside an attic works great. I have found it best to extend the rods as far as they will go, spread them so they are parallel with the ceiling, and angle them so that one rod is roughly north/south, and the other east/west. Doing it this way allows me to get good reception from all directions. However, if you are a long way from stations, it would probaby be best to keep then in your room, as high as possible, and turn the unit till you get the best reception from whatever station you are wanting to pick up. :thmbsp:

I used to have an old huge (probably about 16 ft by 5ft, or so) Radio Shack two level TV antenna in my attic, before we got cable. FM signal strength was unreal....depending on weather conditions, I could get stations from the surrounding states easy, and sometimes beyond, with that. But, it was pretty directional...got tired of going up there and turning it this way and that, and the way it was mounted, it was not practical to put a rotor on it.

 

[ghazzer]

My Father-in-Law had an antenna in his attic. Put a humongous pulley disc on the vertical shaft and ran a loop of rope to a set of pulleys over a closet, then down thru the ceiling to a pulley about 2 feet off the floor. The last pulley was tethered to the baseboard with a heavy old spring that I think he got from Thomas Edison!

When he needed to adjust the directionality of the antenna he just pulled the rope. Had a chart on the wall with marks for the SIX TV stations (3 were from DC) and a clip on the rope for a pointer. If the rope slipped he simply adjusted the position of the clip and his system was recalibrated.

 

[Firtreesix]

On the back of my NAD I have a piece of coax hooked up that runs to an adapter that then connects to the rabbit ears. Works pretty well.

I also have a Technics tuner and to that I have just used speaker wire which tees into a five foot section. That also works well. I plan on using the speaker wire when I get a tuner for my son as well. It gets hooked to 75 ohm unbalanced.

Thanks for that suggestion regarding the speaker wire. Set mine up accordingly, and it works a treat. Picking up all the local, to me (Orlando), FM stations and really enjoying it.

 

[Sleep]

moved my post to the 'tuners' forum, so as not to derail the thread