Vinyl Rules!
Well-Known Member
Well, it generally depends on the number of hours you spend listening to analog FM broadcasts.
It is a scientifically documented fact that an FM antenna converts electro-magnetic energy from FM stations into electrical energy, which is basically electrons moving into your tuner. Analog FM signal electrons are different from normal electrons in that they are circularly polarized and have no rough edges to them to create disharmonious sound. Digital FM signal electrons are quantumly polarized, have numerous rough edges to them (like your redneck uncle from the South) and cause a very distasteful listening experience, but this is a subject for another thread.
When your FM antenna is manufactured, the manufacturer can only insert a finite number of electrons into each inch of the antenna's elements. As you use your FM antenna to listen to analog FM signals, these electrons are sent downstream into your tuner. As this happens, your antenna will become "ionized" and it will gradually deteriorate and eventually fall down as it loses its electrons. This explains why, when you come home from work one day, your FM antenna is lying on your roof (see below).
So what happens to all those electrons, you ask. Well, they migrate into your tuner and accumulate. In tube tuners, there is a "grid leak" resistor circuit that allows the electrons to sneak out of the tuner and jump down on the floor in your room. You can't see them, but they're there. Trust us. As more and more of these escaped electrons pile up on the floor underneath your tuner, they have to go somewhere. Like water responding to gravity these used electrons seek out lower ground. Most often, they will generally migrate, like a pack of lemmings, out your back door slipping down your back steps into your back yard.
These used electrons generally sneak out of your home in the dark of night, when everyone is asleep. They are sentient, of course, and they do not wish to accidentally electrocute anyone who might step on them so that's why you never see them sneaking out of your house. However, there is the occasional unfortunate incident, and it is a little-known fact that when someone IS unlucky enough to step on these electrons sneaking out, they burst into flames - This is called spontaneous human combustion. You can contact Agent Fox Muldar at the FBI's main office in Washington, DC for more information on this phenomenon.
Tube tuners, because of their "grid leak" resistor circuit, last much longer than solid-state tuners. Solid-state tuners stop working when enough electrons have piled up inside to short them out - They don't have a "grid leak" circuit and there is no place for these used electrons to escape. But sometimes solid-state tuners can be modified to last longer: A "quasi-grid leak" circuit can be inserted into the tuner if the MPX circuit of your tuner uses a dilitheum crystal for passive-resonant de-multiplexing. Consult your service manual or one of the modders listed on the TIC home page.
Now those electrons that have escaped to your back yard want to get back into your FM antenna, and they try and "pull" your antenna down to be re-united with it. Since your FM antenna is high, and the electrons are on the ground, this attraction is not very strong, but on a windy day, the electrons get lifted from the ground towards the FM antenna, and they pull and tug on it. And the wind often brings in free electrons that have escaped from your neighbor's homes (from TVs, etc), so there may be a lot of these things around. If too many electrons get lifted up all at once, they overload your FM antenna, pulling it down.
This is why your FM antenna usually falls down on windy days.
And a well-respected radio station engineer has assured us that transmission tower antennas also suffer from this same problem, only they lose their electrons faster. Some of these transmission tower electrons hit your antenna and replenish the ones that are lost to your tuner. This is why FM antennas located closer to a strong station hold up better than FM antennas located distant from FM stations.
At least, that's how we understand it.
All is not lost, though:
(1) You can extend the life of your FM antenna by disconnecting it from your tuner when you're not listening. But overall, 5000 to 10000 hours spent listening to analog FM broadcasts will do in a standard FM antenna. And then you have to buy a new one. Or,
(2) You can purchase a special Mpingo wood FM antenna. However, they are exceedingly rare and extraordinarily expensive. We understand there is one for sale right now, on eBay, if you choose to go this route. The URL is: http://tinyurl.com/2zl44j
It is a scientifically documented fact that an FM antenna converts electro-magnetic energy from FM stations into electrical energy, which is basically electrons moving into your tuner. Analog FM signal electrons are different from normal electrons in that they are circularly polarized and have no rough edges to them to create disharmonious sound. Digital FM signal electrons are quantumly polarized, have numerous rough edges to them (like your redneck uncle from the South) and cause a very distasteful listening experience, but this is a subject for another thread.
When your FM antenna is manufactured, the manufacturer can only insert a finite number of electrons into each inch of the antenna's elements. As you use your FM antenna to listen to analog FM signals, these electrons are sent downstream into your tuner. As this happens, your antenna will become "ionized" and it will gradually deteriorate and eventually fall down as it loses its electrons. This explains why, when you come home from work one day, your FM antenna is lying on your roof (see below).
So what happens to all those electrons, you ask. Well, they migrate into your tuner and accumulate. In tube tuners, there is a "grid leak" resistor circuit that allows the electrons to sneak out of the tuner and jump down on the floor in your room. You can't see them, but they're there. Trust us. As more and more of these escaped electrons pile up on the floor underneath your tuner, they have to go somewhere. Like water responding to gravity these used electrons seek out lower ground. Most often, they will generally migrate, like a pack of lemmings, out your back door slipping down your back steps into your back yard.
These used electrons generally sneak out of your home in the dark of night, when everyone is asleep. They are sentient, of course, and they do not wish to accidentally electrocute anyone who might step on them so that's why you never see them sneaking out of your house. However, there is the occasional unfortunate incident, and it is a little-known fact that when someone IS unlucky enough to step on these electrons sneaking out, they burst into flames - This is called spontaneous human combustion. You can contact Agent Fox Muldar at the FBI's main office in Washington, DC for more information on this phenomenon.
Tube tuners, because of their "grid leak" resistor circuit, last much longer than solid-state tuners. Solid-state tuners stop working when enough electrons have piled up inside to short them out - They don't have a "grid leak" circuit and there is no place for these used electrons to escape. But sometimes solid-state tuners can be modified to last longer: A "quasi-grid leak" circuit can be inserted into the tuner if the MPX circuit of your tuner uses a dilitheum crystal for passive-resonant de-multiplexing. Consult your service manual or one of the modders listed on the TIC home page.
Now those electrons that have escaped to your back yard want to get back into your FM antenna, and they try and "pull" your antenna down to be re-united with it. Since your FM antenna is high, and the electrons are on the ground, this attraction is not very strong, but on a windy day, the electrons get lifted from the ground towards the FM antenna, and they pull and tug on it. And the wind often brings in free electrons that have escaped from your neighbor's homes (from TVs, etc), so there may be a lot of these things around. If too many electrons get lifted up all at once, they overload your FM antenna, pulling it down.
This is why your FM antenna usually falls down on windy days.
And a well-respected radio station engineer has assured us that transmission tower antennas also suffer from this same problem, only they lose their electrons faster. Some of these transmission tower electrons hit your antenna and replenish the ones that are lost to your tuner. This is why FM antennas located closer to a strong station hold up better than FM antennas located distant from FM stations.
At least, that's how we understand it.
All is not lost, though:
(1) You can extend the life of your FM antenna by disconnecting it from your tuner when you're not listening. But overall, 5000 to 10000 hours spent listening to analog FM broadcasts will do in a standard FM antenna. And then you have to buy a new one. Or,
(2) You can purchase a special Mpingo wood FM antenna. However, they are exceedingly rare and extraordinarily expensive. We understand there is one for sale right now, on eBay, if you choose to go this route. The URL is: http://tinyurl.com/2zl44j
At 27 MHz these can be a bit on the expensive side (after two years of age these guys just can't seem to get enough of that Mountain Lion go juice) but if you want to be proud of the fact that you have the best there is, this is the one for you.
