Axiom Home Page Forums General Discussion The Water Cooler Terk "Q" antenna and Onkyo Tuner HELP

OK...I bought an old Onkyo Integra T-407 tuner to put into my system. I also bought a new Terk "Q" powered antenna. (No, I didn't pay even half that Crutchfield price!)

Problem is...the 75 ohm input on the tuner is different than the connection on the antenna. The tuner has what looks almost like a male RCA plug as an input. I've seen these connections before, but I don't remember what they're called. I guess what I need is some sort of adapter for between the tuner and the antenna. The antenna has a male coax (like you have with your cable tv)

Can you guys help? I've had this tuner for two weeks almost and still haven't heard the radio!

OK...I think I found what I need.

44 cents

It's only $0.44, but shipping is 9 bucks. What's that all about? Anyone know where I can grab one of these and not get raped for shipping?

Have you tried "rat shack"?

I found something similar at Radio Shack. I'm going to stop there on my way home from work.

OK...I was wrong. That part isn't what I needed. I'm completely lost now.

I have no idea what kind of connection that tuner has for the 75 ohm FM antenna.

Grrrrrr...

Ooooooh, I think I know what you're talking about. It's an adapter that changes from the 75 ohm coax connector to an RCA jack, right? You can get those from RatShack as well. Look for Game Adapters (remember the Ataris? They used that type of connection.) You may have to rig up a series of adapters; the connectors for the game systems are female RCA to male coax, and I guess you need the other way around. Rat Shack should sell that sort of thing too, though.

There's no RCA jack at all. My antenna comes with a push on F type connection. The Tuner has some weird thing...I'm trying to find a picture online to post but can't even find one.

Oh, I was thinking the tuner had an RCA jack for the antenna. Oops.

Okay, Craig, no picture, so I'll take a guess. Is it this ?

Hey, why don't you post a picture of the back of the Onkyo instead of all those fun travel pix that just make us jealous anyway!

Why not take the tuner into Radio Shack with you to see if they have the part your looking for.

I may have figured it out...it's still not "tuning" very well though. I hate radio.

Spiff, this is just my opinion, but I have a terk antenna, the one that looks likd a tall, skinny, shark fin, and I find it no better than the dumb T shaped antenna that came with the receiver, perhaps not even as good. I'm very disappointed with it.

Craig, but did you figure out what connection was needed?

Jack, I tend to agree about indoor FM antennas beyond a simple $1 folded dipole(the Godar FM antenna,however, has gotten some favorable reviews). If you didn't see this antenna article I linked some time ago, it may be of interest. I get two all-classical FM stations well without any complex antenna requirements, and if you get WCLV that should hold you fairly well.

John, without an antenna of some sort I can't pick up anything. With almost any antenna, CLV comes in pretty good, but I also like WKSU out of Kent, and a strange station which is actually licensed to a High School (Kenston, I believe), WKHR, 91.5 FM, but, believe it or not, plays big band, standards, and jazz, completely commercial free. I can't get either of those really well, but I want to. I'll check out the antenna article. Thank you.

I think the connection I needed was a "push on" f-type connection. ???? That's what came with the antenna, but I couldn't get it to push on. I bought another one from Radio Shack and that one slid on pretty easy.

I had it hooked up and was pulling a local station fairly well. No static, but not a very full signal either. I monkeyed around with the connection a bit trying to get the AM to tune (I currently get ZERO AM signals unless I physically touch the wire), and then even my FM signal went to complete poop.

I'm not a huge fan of radio as it is...I simply bought the tuner because it was cheap. I've not spent more on an antenna than I did the tuner, and I still have no freakin' radio. Not cool.

We have terrible FM reception here by the coast. My garage is even worse, dipole gets me nothing. Picked up an amplified antenna from Radio Shack. I figured it would just amplify the noise of my garage system and sound terrible, but I took a chance. Works great. Reception pegs the meter. Sound is clean. Price was good ... don't remember how much but I do remember it didn't hurt.

BTW, a word about my garage system ... in all immodesty, it is the best garage system I've ever heard. I'd go so far as to say it sounds as good as many multi thousand dollar systems I've heard. This system set me back about $150. A legendary Kenwood KA9100 amplifier, $10 garage sale value JVC XM504 CD changer, a Denon digital tuner from Good Will ($15), and a pair of unbelievably wonderful Dahlquist DQM905 speakers ($50 from my local classifieds), and a blown up Kenwood SW300 sub which I modified with a nice Dayton Titanic 10" sub driver. (Parts Express driver was ~$70)

I got this piece on dung. Doesn't seem to do much. Though I suspect the biggest problem is my connection, not the antenna so much. I can't get a good connection. I'm tempted to pull the unit apart, and replace that relic of a connection with a modern screw on f-type connection that pretty much all modern tuners now have. What's the worst that I could do? Ruin my $26 tuner?

If you left it plugged in, you might get a nasty zap or two before you completely destroyed it.

I also have a rat shack amplified antenna that I've been very happy with.
I think I paid 25.00-35.00 for it.
I live in the far burbs of Dallas, so without it I get nothing.