Old TV Aerial as DIY FM Antenna

B

babyrigger

New Member
Hey there, everyone.

So, I have a general cry for assistance. I don't know much about the physics of radio :no:, but I listen to a LOT of FM and just moved into a new house that has an old aerial on the roof with a cable that I could potentially run down into my tuner in the livingroom. Would there be any problem with hooking this up just to see how it affects the signal? If its not designed to be an FM tuner, I know that I might not expect some sort of "audiophile" quality, but it seems reasonable enough to think that a big hunk of metal would have to be an improvement over the little wire antenna that I have.. Is that based on some kind of fallacious understanding of hoq FM signal works, or should I go for it?

Thanks for any advice...

Chris
 
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Should be fabulous as most TV antennas by say 78 or so had FM sections (more or less). I would suggest that you carefully check the lead in wire. It should be flat 300ohm two conductor and is prone to blow in the wind and fray at the ends on the antenna. You can still buy stand offs and 300 ohm antenna lead at radio shack. I can pretty much guarantee a huge benefit over a simple dipole unless you live right next to the stations tower.:yes:

Oh, if you do have to replace the wire, buy the stand offs and twist the wire in between them. That makes it blow around less than if it's just flat.
 
I went for it, mine has a rotor also. I remember in use with a T.V. while rotating the picture would fade in and out of reception as the antenna moved, I am thinking it does have a directional pull, you would have issues if it was pointing in the wrong direction maybe. I can not say if it helps with FM. Maybe clip the cable at the antenna using just the cable or wire going straight up the mounting pole? Hold on with that step off cutting away until some one chimes in with a confirmed yes or no.
 
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babyrigger said:
Hey there, everyone.

So, I have a general cry for assistance. I don't know much about the physics of radio :no:, but I listen to a LOT of FM and just moved into a new house that has an old aerial on the roof with a cable that I could potentially run down into my tuner in the livingroom. Would there be any problem with hooking this up just to see how it affects the signal? If its not designed to be an FM tuner, I know that I might not expect some sort of "audiophile" quality, but it seems reasonable enough to think that a big hunk of metal would have to be an improvement over the little wire antenna that I have.. Is that based on some kind of fallacious understanding of hoq FM signal works, or should I go for it?

Thanks for any advice...

Chris
Click to expand...

I could send the gal in my avatar over to give you a hand tuning it in.:D
 
More then likely it is a directional antenna. If it has multiple parallel elements or has an arrow like shape it'll be directional. That being said it's probably pointed towards the same location as the major FM stations. Even the stations that are off to the sides will probably come in better than if you use a simple wire dipole in the house.
As far as "audiophile" quality goes that primarily has to do with your electronics and what it does with the signal once you grab it.
If there are specific stations you want to receive you may want to manually rotate the antenna or get an inexpensive FM only antenna. The RDU area should not be lacking for signals so you're probably going to be happy.
 
I have an attic antenna system with several drops thoughout the house. Works great for over the air TV!!:banana:

However I have tried several times hooking stero to it and it doesn't come in very well...:no:

Maybe too many drops are causing interference? I don't know....:scratch2:
 
The FM band falls between VHF channels 5 and 6 - as long as it wasn't designed to tune out FM signals, any VHF antenna should be OK.
 
The FM broadcast band is right between channels 6 and 7 so, as everyone else has said, your TV antenna will work great for FM. If yours uses the flat 300 OHM twinlead and you decide to replace it, don't be tempted to just tape or zip-tie it to the mast. No staples, even insulated staples anywhere along its run to your receiver. That stuff has to be kept away from other metal objects. Use stand-offs and do twist it as suggested a few times between each one. Space them about every 2 to 3 feet.

The smallest element is the front so be sure that it points toward the station that you want to receive. The more elements that the antenna has the more directional that it will be. If yours is one of those 10' long or longer TV antennas, it is likely to be very directional. The more that a station is of of the antennas bore-sight, the less likely that it will receive that station. A rotor will be a big asset in those cases. You may be surprised at the stations that you may be able to receive. A compass and a good map will be necessary for setting up your antenna too.

I suggest that you do invite Jay's antenna babe over to check it out for you.

Edit: I just saw Sam's post and frankly, I don't remember if the FM band is between 5 and 6 or 6 and 7. Since the audio for TV channel 6 is at the bottom of the FM band I think he is correct.
 
I am using a TV antenna. It work perfect. It has 75 Ohm. I am using a 75 to 300 ohm adapter. I get clear stations
 
Caminokid said:
I am using a TV antenna. It work perfect. It has 75 Ohm. I am using a 75 to 300 ohm adapter. I get clear stations
Click to expand...

That's probably the easiest way, if it needs all new wire. Just run coax and use an adapter on each end. I ran miles of that twin lead when I was a kid helping my Dad put up small TV antenna towers. The worst parts was always going under the crawl space of the house.:thumbsdn:
 
I use mine as FM... Some station clear as day, others I simply cannot find... but come in fine on the car receiver :dunno:

Note: I live in the middle of a major city.

There is this thing called a directional antenna... Perhaps if you installed a motor on the antenna, you could control the direction from your living room???

That would be cool. :)
 
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Directional receiver, no. Directional antenna, yes. The motor that you refer to is a common antenna rotor, usually about $65 for medium size or smaller antennas. I suspect that your antenna is directional. That would explain why you don't receive stations that it is not pointing toward. A rotor may solve that for you.
 
If I could find the talent, I'd hire a crew of girls like that & start a local antenna aiming service. ( The wife hollers "it looks good now" while you're holding the ladder. Oh, yeah!)
 
Ultra-Hog said:
Directional receiver, no. Directional antenna, yes. The motor that you refer to is a common antenna rotor, usually about $65 for medium size or smaller antennas. I suspect that your antenna is directional. That would explain why you don't receive stations that it is not pointing toward. A rotor may solve that for you.
Click to expand...

That was the hot set-up back in the day. Thirty foot tower, 10 foot mast, and a rotor.:smoke:
 
Some TV antennas, like my old "Winegard Super Colortron" from the '60s, had the two shortest long Low-VHF elements for Ch 2-6 (54-88 mHz) scored so you could break them off shorter to tune the antenna for a wider bandwidth and a some gain into the FM band 88-108 mHz.
 
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wow. I leave you AKers alone for just a few hours and look at the mess you get into.. Too many great suggestions to reply individually (except about jayman's babe. Eeeow!), but thank you all.


I'm excited about this. So, let me get this straight. I need to:

1- get up there and check the wire lead-in from the antenna to see if it's frayed. if i can, angle the antenna towards the signals I'll be listening to the most.

2- if the wire looks suspect, I should A) get some 300 ohm antenna twin-lead and replace it. If I get something like this, can I run it all the way from the antenna to the tuner? Does the antenna have terminals analogous to the ones on the tuner that I just screw down?

Alternately, and more expensively, I could try B) running coaxial cable the whole way with adapters on each end, maybe like these?

3- I should run the wire down using stand-offs, something like this, (or is that a problem with the metal screws), giving it a couple twists every few feet..

After all that, I just hook it up and listen. :music: I'll obviously adapt this to whatever I find up there (still haven't been up to check it out), but do let me know if you think I'm headed towards folly with that basic blueprint in mind.

Thanks so much guys. This is why I love AK.:yes:

Cheers,
Chris
 
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