Please help - need aerial design for FM radio

[Peter O]

I have finally become fed up with poor to indifferent radio reception in my
home.
TV receptrion is also indifferent but several car radios work OK although
this could be that I happen to tune frequently to local stations.

Both my radios have a connection pair on the back labelled FM Aerial.
What are my options, I'd be happy to try something simple initially.

Pete

 

[Robert Grizzard]

Peter O <petero@email.com> wrote:

I have finally become fed up with poor to indifferent radio reception in my
home.
TV receptrion is also indifferent but several car radios work OK although
this could be that I happen to tune frequently to local stations.

Both my radios have a connection pair on the back labelled FM Aerial.
What are my options, I'd be happy to try something simple initially.

It would be hard to beat a folded dipole for simplicity.

You will need 1.5 meters of 300 ohm twin lead plus enough more to get

from where you choose to hang the antenna to the radio. Measure in 2.5
cm from each end and strip the insulation from the wires then twist and

solder, clipping off any length of wire that extends past the first turn
or turn and a half. On one side of the length of twin lead, remove the
insulation from the wire (please note the singular here) for a distance
of 1/2 the width of the wire either side of the center. Cut the wire
exactly in the center and tin the ends. Next, take the added length
and strip the insulation from both ends, crimping your choice of lugs on
one end and tinning the other. Twist one wire from the piece with lugs
to one of the wires sticking out from the 1.5 meter piece and solder.
Repeat for the other pair of loose wires. When you're done it'll look
something like this:

/-------------------------------------------------\
\-----------------------+ +-----------------------/
| |
| |
| |
| |
| |
| |
| |
O O

Hang it horizontally and connect the downlead to your radio. If it
works for you then find a way other than the soldered joint in the
center to secure the downlead to the element.

NB: The length is approximately correct for 98 MHz and a velocity
factor of 95 percent in the twin lead. It will be a little short at 88
MHz and a little long at 108, but it wil be a reasonable compromise at
these frequencies.

HTH

 

[Ron]

Just for general information, go to www.radioshack.com and search on the
term 'fm antenna'. You will see an example of a folded dipole (described in
the reply below) that sells (in the U.S.) for $3.99. A step up from that
would be the item listed as 'High gain FM antenna', which would probably
also require an antenna rotor. These antennas are specifically cut to cover
the FM band. Other antennas on the page will service both TV and FM bands.

When used with 300? to 75? matching transformers on the antenna and
receiver, and connected to the receiver with 75? coax, you will get world
class FM reception.
-Ron
(email: replace 'abuse' with 'cyberguy3k')

Peter O <petero@email.com> wrote:

I have finally become fed up with poor to indifferent radio reception in
my
home.
TV receptrion is also indifferent but several car radios work OK
although
this could be that I happen to tune frequently to local stations.

Both my radios have a connection pair on the back labelled FM Aerial.
What are my options, I'd be happy to try something simple initially.

"Robert Grizzard" <grizzarv@mindspring.com.invalid> replied:
It would be hard to beat a folded dipole for simplicity.

You will need 1.5 meters of 300 ohm twin lead plus enough more to get
from where you choose to hang the antenna to the radio. Measure in 2.5
cm from each end and strip the insulation from the wires then twist and
solder, clipping off any length of wire that extends past the first turn
or turn and a half. On one side of the length of twin lead, remove the
insulation from the wire (please note the singular here) for a distance
of 1/2 the width of the wire either side of the center. Cut the wire
exactly in the center and tin the ends. Next, take the added length
and strip the insulation from both ends, crimping your choice of lugs on
one end and tinning the other. Twist one wire from the piece with lugs
to one of the wires sticking out from the 1.5 meter piece and solder.
Repeat for the other pair of loose wires. When you're done it'll look
something like this:

/-------------------------------------------------\
\-----------------------+ +-----------------------/
| |
| |
| |
| |
| |
| |
| |
O O

Hang it horizontally and connect the downlead to your radio. If it
works for you then find a way other than the soldered joint in the
center to secure the downlead to the element.

NB: The length is approximately correct for 98 MHz and a velocity
factor of 95 percent in the twin lead. It will be a little short at 88
MHz and a little long at 108, but it wil be a reasonable compromise at
these frequencies.

HTH

 

[Jerry G.]

If you want something simple, go to Radio Shack, and get a simple rabbit
ears type TV antenna. Get the simple one without the rotary switch on it.
You just need a double dipole type 300 ohm antenna. If your set has only a
75 ohm input in it, then you will need the adaptor for it. RS should have
all what you need. This can also be improvised.

This is the simplest solution I can think of. The next step up, is to
install a proper outdoor FM antenna, which is a lot more involved.

--

Greetings,

Jerry Greenberg GLG Technologies GLG
=========================================
WebPage http://www.zoom-one.com
Electronics http://www.zoom-one.com/electron.htm
=========================================


"Peter O" <petero@email.com> wrote in message news:3fbed09e@clear.net.nz...
I have finally become fed up with poor to indifferent radio reception in my
home.
TV receptrion is also indifferent but several car radios work OK although
this could be that I happen to tune frequently to local stations.

Both my radios have a connection pair on the back labelled FM Aerial.
What are my options, I'd be happy to try something simple initially.

Pete