Radio Road Which tuner to get and getting the most from it. Thank God, for the radio!

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Sorry if I hurt your feelings.

Posted by Timbo in Oz (A) on November 14, 2017 at 20:07:44

In Reply to: RE: there are two problems posted by neolith on November 13, 2017 at 19:51:07:

I confess I glossed over / missed the word 'multipath' in your post, too! ;~{ !

A long time ago - on my path to senior NCO rank - I had to learn all the specialist duties and skills of infantry, including being an infantry signaller / radio man, and to a high standard.

I soon found that the best reception was rarely where the best cover from fire / sight was, and that antennas and 'where' really mattered.

When FM stereo began down here in the 1970s I wanted the best possible results, and knew that this meant a serious antenna for where we lived.

Back to your problem? At more than just a couple of miles (how many?) distance to the transmitter the signal strength (SS) inside your home - just MIGHT still - be high enough for a folded dipole.

It depends, on SS outside and the materials used in the building you live in.

How many is 'several' miles? The 'FM Fool' site for the USA should help you find where their transmitter site has moved to. You can then try to figure out the path from there to your home.

The basic indoor directional antenna is a folded dipole made from 300ohm TV ribbon wire in a T-shape. And you aim the top of the T at the strongest/cleanest signal. The plastic ribbon is ~ 1/4" wide, with wires inside it along both sides.

You can make one of these dipoles yourself from ribbon and there are designs on the net. Or you can buy one. Given that you listen to just ONE station I'd make one and cut it to 1/4 the wave-length of that station's centre frequency, divided by .95. The standard commercial item is a compromise set for ~ 98 MHZ.

IME a 'lazy susan' style base or just a round board, and a narrow but stiff panel vertical at right angles - to mount the | part of the T-shaped antenna |-, and you turn it and walk away and listen and so on, until you find a spot your seated listening body doesn't affect and which gives good quiet reception.

CCrane make a T dipole suing a round cable, and which has more quoted gain than a DIY T, and has not had any bad reports here.

Please do NOT buy an active - powered - indoor antenna. Most will add noise.

Given that your wife is 'perfect'* you may not be able to sell her the idea of a minimal rhombic on the ceiling of the listening room?

But you might be able to put it under a large rug that fits over where it works best.

The article about Rhombics - taken from the old mag 'Audio' - can be found here at AA's FAQ.

* I call mine 'The Minister for War and Finance' TMFW&F. I am lucky she loves music as much as I do. Plus BALLET!!!!! and Opera, and musicals.

Our two - new - FM only and DTV VHF antennas are outside at the back of our house, on a big tall DIY, very strong -sleeved tubing - mast. Up unto which I am not allowed to climb any more by TM...!

As you can see, the mast is quite thick, three long pieces of scrounged galvanised steel pipe, sleeved and bolted together.

The bloke who replaced the old 3 antenna array joked that given enough antennas and enough wind - the house might turnover!

The long one is the FM antenna and claims more than 10db of gain. It drives my valve-front end FM 'tuna' real hard.

Live concerts of acoustic music direct broadcasts are excellent.

........

Happy to help as you seek a solution.

Warmest

Tim Bailey

Skeptical Measurer & Audio Scrounger

Edits: 11/14/17 11/14/17 11/14/17 11/14/17

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