Outside FM Antenna plus Amplifier?
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mgosdin
Super Member
Antennas can be highly directional or they can be omnidirectional, so no they are not all the same. A lot depends on what it is you are trying to receive, is the FM station far away, is it being overpowered by other stations. If that's the case you may need a directional antenna. If it is just weak then putting an omnidirectional antenna outside may be all you need. An antenna amplifier amplifies signal and noise both, so you need a good Tuner / Tuner section in your Receiver that can reject the noise.
For myself, I would look at putting up a omni antenna first just to see what it does. When I say omni antenna I mean one that covers the TV & FM bands, used to be I'd go to Radio Shack for something like that now you will probably have to order it online. You will need a mast and some cable to run from antenna to Tuner. It can get expensive in a hurry.
Good luck.
Mark Gosdin
For myself, I would look at putting up a omni antenna first just to see what it does. When I say omni antenna I mean one that covers the TV & FM bands, used to be I'd go to Radio Shack for something like that now you will probably have to order it online. You will need a mast and some cable to run from antenna to Tuner. It can get expensive in a hurry.
Good luck.
Mark Gosdin
70cst
70cst
My stations are about 60-80 miles away.
I have not purchased an FM antenna yet - looking for suggestions.
I will mount it above the chimney on a pole so it will have lots of height.
I will run a three splitter off the coax as I want three different areas of the house that I can connect to.
I will be using a Marantz 2230 and a Sansui 9090DB
We are remodeling so running coax wont be that big of deal.
Thanks All
I have not purchased an FM antenna yet - looking for suggestions.
I will mount it above the chimney on a pole so it will have lots of height.
I will run a three splitter off the coax as I want three different areas of the house that I can connect to.
I will be using a Marantz 2230 and a Sansui 9090DB
We are remodeling so running coax wont be that big of deal.
Thanks All
the skipper
Professional Curmudgeon
It all depends on how far you are from the stations you want, where on the compass they are in relation to your location, and what obstructions* are between you and said stations.
Poke around this site to find out what stations you might possibly get. ...and read a little more for some general info on FM
I will say that that 60 - 80 miles is gonna require a fairly large antenna.
*mountains, buildings, whatever
Poke around this site to find out what stations you might possibly get. ...and read a little more for some general info on FM
I will say that that 60 - 80 miles is gonna require a fairly large antenna.
*mountains, buildings, whatever
loopstick
Lunatic Member
the skipper
Professional Curmudgeon
D'oh! Thanks. I knew I forgot something.
tom3
Super Member
Have to be careful with the amplifiers. Too much power from local stations can do some damage to FETs in the front end of the receiver. Lightning strike in the area can zap the amp and maybe damage the receiver. I had a dedicated FM antenna on my garage years ago and it really did pull in the stations. Was getting clean signal from 80 miles away. I'd try a good antenna and wait a while on the amp/preamp.
archie2
Addicted Member
Outdoor antennas differ greatly in the number of elements and reflectors they have and whether they are directional, omni directional or directional with rotor. The more elements the better. I have a directional antenna mounted on my chimney with a rotor. For an AM-FM tuner I use an external Sony XDR-F1HD tuner fed to my amps. The Sony is like night and day compared the FM tuners on my receivers. And I have good receivers. Unfortunately they have been out of production for many years but still can found on ebay for around 3 to 5 times their original cost depending on condition and if a remote is included or not. Better to stream FM over the internet.
I LIKE MUSIC
Super Member
As mentioned before, what will work depends on the signal strength of your stations of interest. What has worked for one person will not necessarily work for another person.
The OP is going to split the signal three times. That means a real world signal loss of around 6 dB for each split plus the loss of the coaxial cable, not necessarily a small amount of signal loss. It is about the amount of signal gained by using a moderate sized directional FM broadcast band antenna.
That is not to say that the signals that he may want to receive will not be strong enough. This is not known at this time. They may or may not be.
Proper grounding for the antenna is very important. It should be to NEC specifications at a minimum. Some locations have additional requirements. In general nothing will protect against a direct lightning strike, but one can go above and beyond the NEC minimum for protection from lightning induced surges.
To increase the gain of an antenna by only three dB, requires doubling the size of the antenna. In the mid-west, snow and ice storms can produce wind loading that requires a fairly substantial antenna support for a larger antenna.
Depending on the available signal strength, a smaller antenna used with a quality, low noise figure amplifier may not be a bad choice. It is not uncommon for some to recommend using a TV type amplifier/amplified splitter. This is case where definitely not all are created equal for a number of technical reasons.
A simple test.
Tape a basic FM dipole antenna to a wooden broom handle and mount it temporarily to the antenna mast keeping in mind that a dipole antenna is the most sensitive to signals that arrive broadside to the antenna. Use this to gauge the local signal strength of the stations of interest. The antenna can be turned to cover all of the stations of interest.
A quality omni-directional FM antenna will provide about the amount of signal as the basic dipole antenna, plus or minus a little. A moderate sized directional FM antenna will provide about 5 or 6 dB more signal for the stations that it is pointed at. If that is not enough additional signal, then a quality, low noise figure amplifier/splitter may be indicated.
For weak signal reception the best location for the FM amplifier is at the antenna. The power for the amplifier can be supplied by the same coaxial cable that carries the FM signal.
Again, making recommendations is at best just guess work without knowing the actual FM signal strength of the stations of interest at the antenna.
One recommendation that is not based on guess work is to use the best, lowest loss coaxial cable that you can.
The OP is going to split the signal three times. That means a real world signal loss of around 6 dB for each split plus the loss of the coaxial cable, not necessarily a small amount of signal loss. It is about the amount of signal gained by using a moderate sized directional FM broadcast band antenna.
That is not to say that the signals that he may want to receive will not be strong enough. This is not known at this time. They may or may not be.
Proper grounding for the antenna is very important. It should be to NEC specifications at a minimum. Some locations have additional requirements. In general nothing will protect against a direct lightning strike, but one can go above and beyond the NEC minimum for protection from lightning induced surges.
To increase the gain of an antenna by only three dB, requires doubling the size of the antenna. In the mid-west, snow and ice storms can produce wind loading that requires a fairly substantial antenna support for a larger antenna.
Depending on the available signal strength, a smaller antenna used with a quality, low noise figure amplifier may not be a bad choice. It is not uncommon for some to recommend using a TV type amplifier/amplified splitter. This is case where definitely not all are created equal for a number of technical reasons.
A simple test.
Tape a basic FM dipole antenna to a wooden broom handle and mount it temporarily to the antenna mast keeping in mind that a dipole antenna is the most sensitive to signals that arrive broadside to the antenna. Use this to gauge the local signal strength of the stations of interest. The antenna can be turned to cover all of the stations of interest.
A quality omni-directional FM antenna will provide about the amount of signal as the basic dipole antenna, plus or minus a little. A moderate sized directional FM antenna will provide about 5 or 6 dB more signal for the stations that it is pointed at. If that is not enough additional signal, then a quality, low noise figure amplifier/splitter may be indicated.
For weak signal reception the best location for the FM amplifier is at the antenna. The power for the amplifier can be supplied by the same coaxial cable that carries the FM signal.
Again, making recommendations is at best just guess work without knowing the actual FM signal strength of the stations of interest at the antenna.
One recommendation that is not based on guess work is to use the best, lowest loss coaxial cable that you can.
loopstick
Lunatic Member
Great minds think alike, Skipper!
