MR88 FM Antenna

[wildmda]

anyone have any recommendations for a great indoor FM antenna for the MR88?

 

[MX117.MC7150]

Sorry, but there really is no such thing, unless you mount a yagi in the crawlspace above your ceiling. If you can't do that, you can mount it to the ceiling inside your room. Done correctly, you can rotate it to 'point' for the best reception. If the yagi is out, try a pair of rabbit ears.

 

[mgardner]

Check out the Magnum Dynalab ST2. I have one and it works quite well.

http://www.magnumdynalab.com/fmantenna-st2.htm

 

[Gregory]

Being in the EM (electromagnetic) business, I'd say that a "good indoor antenna" is somewhat of a contradiction. The main factor for an antenna in cases like this is HEIGHT above ground. Aircraft really have it made!! For VHF, curvature of the earth is a factor.

Since FM is CP (circularly polarized) it doesn't much matter if you use horizontal or vertical elements (with some minor exceptions.) A decent antenna is justified for a McIntosh tuner. If it must be indoors, can you get a coax line to the attic? Haven't looked at the specs, but that base-loaded FM monopole would seem compact and easy to install. Omni antennas cannot reject multipath, nor can a strong adjacent station be placed in a sidelobe null.

Really.. see if you can get it in the attic or best mounted outdoors as high as possible for a 50' cable. In this outdoor mounting scheme the hardware is mostly hidden from the street/driveway. It uses inexpensive brackets and 10' mast section cut back to 7 or 7-1/2'. The mast is grounded to earth. Hardly anyone would notice it.. not like a big Yagi with rotator.

Hey.. we're talkin' Mc tuners here!! :thmbsp:


-Gregory

 

[MX117.MC7150]

Check out the Magnum Dynalab ST2. I have one and it works quite well.

http://www.magnumdynalab.com/fmantenna-st2.htm

Suggest you try a $10 pair of rabbit ears before spending $100+ on an ST-2.

 

[c_dk]

Used to use a cheap set of TV rabbit ears on top of our 6.5 foot tall e'tegere with my MR78. Could extend and rotate when DXing out 90 miles or so. Put a crossed omni in attic and a small yagi pointed toward Chicago and now switch for local vs DX.

 

[nickv41]

outdoor mounting scheme[/URL] the hardware is mostly hidden from the street/driveway. It uses inexpensive brackets and 10' mast section cut back to 7 or 7-1/2'. The mast is grounded to earth. Hardly anyone would notice it.. not like a big Yagi with rotator.


-Gregory

Ditto. Go attic or outside. Period. Hell man, you have a Mcintosh. Give it the best you possibly can.

 

[wildmda]

If I should go for an outside antenna, what would the recommendation be?

 

[KentTeffeteller]

I use ours with an old Finco FM-5 and an old Channel Master rotor. It's mounted 50 feet on a STL tower over the studio building roof. And does well. :tresbon:

 

[MX117.MC7150]

As the APS-13 is no longer available, the Winegard 6055P http://www.winegarddirect.com/cview.asp?d=winegard-fm-(HD-radio)-antennas&c=FM Only Antennas seems to be about the best yagi available (~$100, shipped). A reasonable rotator (ChannelMaster) can be had for another $100 and another $50 for the mast, coax cable, mounting plates and other bits. Yaesu offers some 'high-end' rotators for more money. Too bad Radio Shack no longer offers the FM-6 (6-element yagi). It was $24 and does a decent job in my rig.