Will more powerful antenna make difference
kprhok
Posts: 42
I live roughly 50 miles from a great classical music station at Davidson College, just north of Charlotte. Unfortunately, I am unable to obtain a clear signal using the stock wire antenna that came with my HK.
I used some kind of powered antenna in the past, but took it back because it made little to no difference in reception.
My questions:
1. If your receiver is miles away from a metropolitan area where most or all stations begin to fade due to distance, does the quality of your antenna make any difference at all in pulling in an already weak signal? Does it "reach out and grab" more waves than any other cheap antenna?
2. Do powered antennas make a difference? If yes, are there brands or websites you would recommend.
Thanks:rolleyes:
I used some kind of powered antenna in the past, but took it back because it made little to no difference in reception.
My questions:
1. If your receiver is miles away from a metropolitan area where most or all stations begin to fade due to distance, does the quality of your antenna make any difference at all in pulling in an already weak signal? Does it "reach out and grab" more waves than any other cheap antenna?
2. Do powered antennas make a difference? If yes, are there brands or websites you would recommend.
Thanks:rolleyes:
Post edited by kprhok on
Comments
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What type of antenna are you currently using. An outdoor antenna, free from obstructions is always best. Is that possible in your location?
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Make your own from connectors at Radio Shack. Tune it to the exact frequency of your station.
http://www.radiobrandy.com/dipole1.html>
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>This message has been scanned by the NSA and found to be free of harmful intent.< -
Got it.
Thanks, I'll check out the links for an outdoor antenna. -
kprhok, you are pretty local to me. What station is that?
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A better outdoor antenna may make a big difference. The problem may lie in the receiver itself. Most receivers just do not have the ability to reach out and grab weak stations because of the filter set up in the tuner section. A stand alone analog tuner would be a better bet as 50 mi really isn't much distance to the older analog tuners. I would also recommend against the powered antenna's as they sometimes just overload the receivers tuner section with just a bad strong signal. They can work if you can get it in a window and also be able to point it the direction you need.
hope this helps -
I put a Terk FM-50 in the attic oriented for my favourite station, with the amplifier on,
and about 50 feet of 75 ohm downlead cable to get it to the receiver,
oriented for my favourite station, with the amplifier on, and a 6 db attenuator
at the input to the receiver so as not to overload the front end of the tuner.
Works better than anything else I've tried (except a roof antenna).cristo
NAD C 545BEE cd player, Philips AF877 turntable / Shure V15V-MR with JICO SAS stylus,
Tascam 122 mkIII cassette deck, Harman Kardon 3480 receiver, Terk FM-50 antenna in the attic,
Soundcraftsmen SE550 stereo equalizer, Polk Monitor 10a speakers
(with Sonicraft/Solen/Mills crossover rebuild) -
At 50 miles you really need an outdoor antenna.
.A yagi type aimed at teh station is your best bet.
Take a look at this one from Winegard.
http://www.parts-express.com/pe/showdetl.cfm?Partnumber=210-154
http://www.3starinc.com/winegard_hd-6055p_digital_fm_hd_radio_antenna_hd6055p.html?category_id=143
http://www.3starinc.com/manuals/spec_hd6055p.pdf
This man obviously has experience ^^^! Great advice.
You want something directional. The more directional, the better.
I second a yagi. It will take a while to set it up in the best direction, but once you do, lock it down and you're set. I looked at the first one(Parts Express) and concur it is a good choice. Make note most people will mount these antennas on a tower. Go high if you can. Otherwise, test it out on the rooftop and see if you like it.
Lastly, look at your geography. Are you in a valley? Mountains between you and the station? Things like that don't help much.
edit: When it comes time to wire the antenna, check to see if it is 50 ohm(or is it 75?) or 300 ohm. Wire for 300 ohm is often called twin lead. Two wires separated about an inch apart by plastic. Sometimes called ladder line by the hard core amateur radio types. 50 ohm(or 75 ohm) is a coaxial cable. Check the cable for impedance. This is more important than you might think. You'll also need to check that the receiver has inputs for the impedance you're running. Otherwise, adapters do exist. Better yet, a balun(circuit included with ther adapter). -
Conradicles wrote: »kprhok, you are pretty local to me. What station is that?
WDAV - Davidson College
I live about 50 miles away. It's 89.9 on the dial. -
Ah yes 89.9 FM...comes in perfect on my Denon 1500 tuner but had some static on my HK3490. I use a $5 set of rabbit ears for my antenna and get more than 40 stations loud and clear. I live about 40 miles northish of Charlotte in Newton.
One of these days I'm going with a nice outdoor antenna.
FYI..I tried a $50 amplified Terk indoor antenna and it was junk. I get way more stations with the rabbit ears. -
One more note, a few here have mentioned that the Godard antenna is a nice one for the price.
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Conradicles wrote: »One more note, a few here have mentioned that the Godard antenna is a nice one for the price.
Thanks, I'll check it out.
