recommendation wanted - BASIC cheap FM radio antenna for stereo receiver - 92.9 WFUR

[SolarMax]

$14 new-old-stock Vintage pair of 39-inch rabbit ears:

https://www.ebay.com/itm/126163551108

thanks BMW - I might just go this route!

Geez I've thrown out a few of those. Never thought to eBay them. I probably still have a couple in a box I could make a few bucks off of!
A couple of chunks of good old 300 ohm twin-lead and you've got yourself the makings of a folded dipole that you can hang from anywhere or throw behind the furniture.

[DJ-MichaelAngelo]

Are there any stores still left in the Grand Rapids area that sell these 75/300 ohm adapters, where I can buy them in person? I miss Radio Shack! lol -- I know I can order them super cheap online, but it'd be nice to have a local source where I can purchase and have them immediately, not wait days for shipping. I did try Best Buy but no luck there.

[n8fnr]

Get a real antenna

https://www.newark.com/stellar-labs/30- ... dp/97W3565

I have one of those antennas and it is pretty good.

I also did this mod and it helps a bit. http://ham-radio.com/k6sti/stellar.htm

[Ben Zonia]

Try using power cord or yard light wire, and you can buy it by the foot at Home Depot off the roll, and separate the two sides by pulling them apart to about 5 feet (separate about 30 inches of it). It figures out to be in between 75 and 300 ohms characteristic impedance, and it's better than speaker wire. It seems to match either 300 or 75 ohm inputs fairly well. But I also agree, at least get the Stellar Labs 4 element Yagi for the lower power Grand Rapids stations, like the 88-92 MHz NCE FM stations, if possible.

I had a piece of two conductor cord that came from a Malibu Light Timer/Transformer that I wasn't using. I wanted to estimate the Impedance of the Balanced Line and found this formula for balanced line.

Here are the impedance computations.

Zo = (276/sqrt(ε))* log(2*S/d)

I measured and estimated the cord, 3/16" between conductors, 1/16" diameter conductors, 2.2 dielectric constant for the poly plastic insulation.

So 276/SQRT 2.2 X LOG 10(6)~=145 Ohms

Pulled the wires apart to ~32 inches each side. Taped to window frame. Hooked up to 300 ohm input. Haven't compared it to hooking it up to the 75 unbalanced input to see if it's a better match.

[MWmetalhead]

If you have a cable box or DVR with microprocessor plugged into the same circuit as your home theater receiver, try unplugging that device.

I know for a fact some of Comcast's equipment creates interference on certain FM band frequencies.

Their 4K-capable X1 DVR at my house created terrible interference from about 92.1 MHz to 93.3 MHz. A 50 kW equivalent FM station four miles down the road from me was sometimes difficult to pick up cleanly. As soon as I cancelled my cable TV and returned the cable box, the reception issues at 92.3 FM, 92.7 FM and 93.1 FM completely went away.

My theory is a signal of some kind is transmitted just below 72 MHz (the old analog channel 4) through the cable lines, and this creates a shadow image ~21.4 MHz up the band.

[HD74]

Hmmm...it's been theorized that the aliens working with the missing Nazi U-boats have often utilized 70.775 as an analog sideband control channel for the amanati...

[HD74]

Admiral Byrd was also swept by a beam at 70.450 that caused the immediate ending and recall of Byrds 1948 mapping mission in the Antarctic. Which purportedly is where the submarines are hiding, and UFO's are often seen...

[statmanmi]

Are there any stores still left in the Grand Rapids area that sell these 75/300 ohm adapters, where I can buy them in person? I miss Radio Shack! lol -- I know I can order them super cheap online, but it'd be nice to have a local source where I can purchase and have them immediately, not wait days for shipping. I did try Best Buy but no luck there.

Hi DJ,

Menards shows having both those items, branded as RCA, for $3.99 each. In stock at both the Comstock Park and Clyde Park Ave. stores.

Possibly some of the area Ace Hardware stores will have one or both as well.

If you want to support a local shop, check out T & W Electronics at 1045 S Division. Weekdays only 8am-5pm per my last trip there. Not sure if they have these specific items, but they're my go-to for 300 twin lead to 75 ohm coax baluns with weather boots, so long as they still have them in the back. What I've purchased there have solid copper leads, versus stranded or crimped-on ends.

Regarding Radio Shack, Downtown Greenville still has the vacant storefront with the Radio Shack sign in place from years ago. Up North, Charlevoix has (or had) a very traditional one still open as of late 2020 when I stopped in and purchased a couple 90 degree F connectors. It felt very nostalgic.

Cheers! ~~ Statmanmi

[DJ-MichaelAngelo]

If you have a cable box or DVR with microprocessor plugged into the same circuit as your home theater receiver, try unplugging that device.

I know for a fact some of Comcast's equipment creates interference on certain FM band frequencies.

Their 4K-capable X1 DVR at my house created terrible interference from about 92.1 MHz to 93.3 MHz. A 50 kW equivalent FM station four miles down the road from me was sometimes difficult to pick up cleanly. As soon as I cancelled my cable TV and returned the cable box, the reception issues at 92.3 FM, 92.7 FM and 93.1 FM completely went away.

My theory is a signal of some kind is transmitted just below 72 MHz (the old analog channel 4) through the cable lines, and this creates a shadow image ~21.4 MHz up the band.

Hi - I'm just re-discovering this thread now and wow, that is some great advice and surprising (mysterious!) information! I wonder why on earth that would be, that the interference would just be limited to that narrow range in the 92-93 neighorhood? I have Charter/Spectrum for my home internet (no cable TV) but just for the heck of it, I'll try unplugging the modem/router tomorrow and see if that affects anything. Because that would totally make sense, as the FM station I'm trying to bring in is 92.9 WFUR - literally almost every other FM station I tried comes in fine, but 92.9 FM for whatever reason has been almost all static for the past couple months. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aOu9jgbm2Ro

[DJ-MichaelAngelo]

Are there any stores still left in the Grand Rapids area that sell these 75/300 ohm adapters, where I can buy them in person? I miss Radio Shack! lol -- I know I can order them super cheap online, but it'd be nice to have a local source where I can purchase and have them immediately, not wait days for shipping. I did try Best Buy but no luck there.

Regarding Radio Shack, Downtown Greenville still has the vacant storefront with the Radio Shack sign in place from years ago. Up North, Charlevoix has (or had) a very traditional one still open as of late 2020 when I stopped in and purchased a couple 90 degree F connectors. It felt very nostalgic.

Cheers! ~~ Statmanmi

That brings back good memories, I used to go to that Radio Shack all the time when I lived up in Montcalm county. The one in Greenville, and also there was a Stanton location too I think. Those were the days!

[Circle Seven]

Something user bmw said earlier is the first thing to address. You need to find out where the noise is coming from. No matter what you use for an antenna, it's going to receive the noise better than the signal you want to hear.

[MWmetalhead]

DJ - if your FM receiver is plugged into an electrical outlet, I'd try unplugging all other devices that use the same circuit to see if that eliminates the source of the interference.

Some receivers, especially pricier AV receivers, create their own RF that can be heard on certain spots on the dial. A Sony receiver my dad purchased in the mid 90s that he still owns to this day has this issue. If that's the culprit, the only solution may be to try a different radio receiver.

[DJ-MichaelAngelo]

DJ - if your FM receiver is plugged into an electrical outlet, I'd try unplugging all other devices that use the same circuit to see if that eliminates the source of the interference.

Some receivers, especially pricier AV receivers, create their own RF that can be heard on certain spots on the dial. A Sony receiver my dad purchased in the mid 90s that he still owns to this day has this issue. If that's the culprit, the only solution may be to try a different radio receiver.

Thanks MW & Circle - I appreciate the advice! I tried a whole bunch of troubleshooting today, trying to bring in 92.9 FM with a clear signal, including:

1) using a different stereo receiver in the same room
2) using a different stereo receiver in a different room
3) using the same stereo receiver, but in a different room
4) using the same stereo receiver in the same room, but plugged into a different outlet/circuit
5) unplugged both my cable modem & router to see if that made the signal clearer (it didn't)
6) tried to bring in the 1570 AM signal (same programming as 92.9 FM) but no luck there either

I've come to the conclusion that it might be the location where I have my stereo receiver/audio set up (in my home office) that could be the culprit. Because when I tried relocating to a different room of the house, the signal came in much clearer, with hardly any static. A couple of the engineering guys from the radio station offered some advice including "suggestion might be a Yagi directional antenna aimed at SW Grand Rapids" and then also an "antenna outside with proper coax and baluns should do the job". So I'm planning to buy this Directional Outdoor FM Antenna from Stellar Labs (model #30-2460) and try to mount it on the roof. Wish me luck!

https://www.newark.com/stellar-labs/30- ... dp/97W3565

[DJ-MichaelAngelo]

Get a real antenna

https://www.newark.com/stellar-labs/30- ... dp/97W3565

Do you happen to know how different this Stellar Labs brand directional antenna is, from the Stellar Labs omni-directional antenna? I bought this months ago https://www.amazon.com/Stellar-Labs-30- ... B00DHHOZBI and it did absolutely nothing out on my rooftop - zero improvements in FM reception signal/clarity.

So the cynical side of me wonders....if this one didn't work for me, does that mean the other Stellar Labs FM antenna also won't work for me? Or are these 2 products like completely different technology (i.e. the performance of the one won't necessarily correlate with the other)?

[Ben Zonia]

What station are you trying to get? The 92.9 translator you mention may be getting interference from the Cadillac or Grand Ledge stations on 92.9. That would be much improved by a directional antenna. WFUR 1570 is 1000 watts Day and 307 watts Night. The conductivity is bad between Grand Rapids and Rockford, and there is a lot of interference at Night on 1570 from other stations.

Low power 100 watt FM stations and 250 watt translators may be difficult. They may be duplicated by much stronger cochannel and adjacent stations at fairly short distances like Lansing, Big Rapids, or Muskegon. If so, the directional antenna is preferable to the simpler nondirectional antenna. If possible, get the antenna at least 20 feet above the ground. I have a directional antenna on a 20 foot mast slightly loosely bolted to the eave of a one story house and secured into the ground into a tall small diameter buried tin can. I turn it by hand. Getting it even that high can triple the signal from near ground level, even more with a gain directional antenna.