AM and FM Antenna Placement.. and making them.

[surreal]

I'm thinking I'll just do the math and make one the length I need to pick up a rock station in Las Vegas 113 miles away.. I'm wondering if it would work,, I can get the station a little in my car in some places. Then should I go to the trouble of getting it on the roof? Or will the ceiling be ok? (single story home)

Or because I'm dangerous should I just go to Radio Shack??
Actually I am wondering does an Antenna booster really boost??
I would think being out in the middle of no-where might be a plus?? Would a 20$ antenna and a 20$ booster be better than the 4$ homemade job? (using that flat wire,

Sign me

Desperate for rOcK in St. George>

edit: FEB 13, 04
note the thread date... But now, new state new reception problems!

Well from my days in ham radio - 30 years ago - we use to coil a bit of antena wire - connect it to the radio adn wrap the coil around the outside of the phone line coming in the house -

I use to listen to nbc and abc in new york city - we are in Atlantic Canada.

worth a try if you have a little bit of wire -

Warning - don't strip the insulation off it - just wrap it - The coil will act as a link to the phone cord and could give you enough pull to get that station.

Wizofid

edit - [scott - pls I need the spell checker! LOL ]

[surreal]

Up at the roof line??

Hmm, the article I read said to divide the station by 468, and uh it gives you the wave lenght of the broad cast signal from the station and make your T that long, then mount it the vertical length doesn't matter. The higher the better..
Hmm could you use a booster on the homemade jobbie??

If it says 468 use that - I forget - been a loong time -

as for placement - we just tacked it to the ceiling-at one end - then kept moving the other around until the signal picked up - then tacked the other end in place.

hope it helps -


ps phone line - no - rigth at the wall - the conductive line through the house and out to the first break gives you your antena. - we did make one that was 100 yds long - it was a bugger of you rolled it up wrong LOL

wizofid

[crazyray]

Surreal, FM and AM are very different. You need a *directional antenna pointed in the direction of the signal, the higher the better. You may or may not get the station you want depending on a number of factors including the station's power, location on the dial, local geography between you and the station, and the equipment you are using. Don't be surprised if you pick up the station on your car radio sometimes but not in the house; mono signals that are listenable are easier than stereo.

I'd check with the local Rat Shack and electronics stores to see what they say about the feasability of your quest.

*A directional antenna is one of those "swept wing" looking things you've seen on peoples' roofs. Boosters are of little use in my experience as they boost noise as well as the signal you seek.

[SpookyEddy]

IMHO boosters generally do little good

If you start out with a poor signal to noise ratio (SNR) & then amplify ("boost") the whole lot you still end up with a poor SNR.

If you have some more info I will try & remember the RF course I did at college

EDIT~ just noticed that this is an FM setup.

If you know the direction of the transmiter then what you need is a high gain directional antena with a low noise feed into a system that has a relatively low noise pre-amp.

Regards

Eddy

[Graham]

Surreal,
If it is an FM station then the formula is...


Velocity=frequency multiplied by lambda (spelling)

or

3x10 to the 8 metres/sec=(station frequency) x wavelength


This applies to AM stations too, but the aerial is a different type.


G

[MegalosSkylaki]

ERRRR..Coudn't you just borrow a rig from your good neighbor, the Sundance Kid himself, Robert Redford ?
DOOOG

[DutchMaster]

Whats the frequency of the station?
If I know that, I could give you a design with measurments.

Antenna is the trick, a booster not!! If you still go for a booster, be sure you can trim the amplification.

[surreal]

Very good Doog, but the hide out was about a hundred miles up the road from here.... as the crow flys. I saw it this summer you know it isnt even really marked and cattle are hanging out in the front yard. I thought that was interesting.
Back to the topic tho

I read this article. And was wondering if it would be worth the bother.

Quote:

If you start out with a poor signal to noise ratio (SNR) & then amplify ("boost") the whole lot you still end up with a poor SNR.

That sure makes sense , guess it's not like when you amp your cable signal and your tv works better .

Well, I think maybe I'll just grab a chunk of speaker wire and split it and see what happens. Maybe I'm just supposed to listen to CD's .
Thanks a lot for all the input guys