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FM Antenna
#172702 07/17/07 03:47 PM
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Mojo Offline OP
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Can anyone recommend an indoor FM antenna? My system is located in the basement. The wire antenna that came with my Denon just isn't cutting it. Thanks.

Re: FM Antenna
Mojo #172703 07/18/07 02:27 AM
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Not sure what came with your Denon. But, you may have significant reception problems in your basement.

You might try taking a piece of plain old speaker wire and splitting it down the center for about 18". Try to make a T out of it. Connect the bottom end to your Denon's 300 ohm FM terminals and see what happens.


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Re: FM Antenna
ratpack #172704 07/18/07 02:31 AM
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Hmmm...I think I know what you are talking about. I may actually have one of those "T" antennas somewhere. Thanks for reminding me of it.

Re: FM Antenna
Mojo #172705 07/18/07 03:25 AM
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Mo, it seems doubtful that any indoor FM antenna can work really well, but if you have that single wire about 6' long that seems to be frequently supplied these days you can improve on that a bit. I've used a folded dipole made of 300 ohm twin-lead(with a 75 ohm adaptor)for some years with pretty good results on stations out to about 30 miles. An interesting and occasionally amusing study of indoor antennas that I've linked here a couple times before may be of interest. Here's a recent comment in PC World about some possibilities.


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Re: FM Antenna
JohnK #172706 07/18/07 03:43 AM
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Thanks. Too much to read and too little time.

Re: FM Antenna
Mojo #172707 07/18/07 10:43 PM
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If you can run a coax to the outside of your house i would highly reccomend a yagi antenna. They are directional so if you listen to a bunch of different stations you might need to get a rotator but you should be able to pick up a signal without one.

Radioshack sells an FM yagi for around 30 dollars.

Also try plugging your CATV feed into your antenna jack. Alot of cable companies carry FM radio stations on their feed. If your denon has only 300ohm inputs you'll need a transformer. Theyre just a couple bucks.

Last edited by Haoleb; 07/18/07 10:45 PM.
Re: FM Antenna
Haoleb #172708 07/18/07 11:07 PM
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Like terrestrial radio? Wow. Where in Bedrock do you live?


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Re: FM Antenna
Haoleb #172709 07/19/07 12:01 AM
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Quote:

Also try plugging your CATV feed into your antenna jack. Alot of cable companies carry FM radio stations on their feed. If your denon has only 300ohm inputs you'll need a transformer. Theyre just a couple bucks.




I have a cable...but no cable content. I'm only interested in a few channels and in order to get them, I need the Big Kahuna bundle for $100/month. No thanks .

Good suggestion on the yagi. Thanks.

Re: FM Antenna
Mojo #172710 07/19/07 01:41 AM
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Quote:

Quote:

Also try plugging your CATV feed into your antenna jack. Alot of cable companies carry FM radio stations on their feed. If your denon has only 300ohm inputs you'll need a transformer. Theyre just a couple bucks.




I have a cable...but no cable content. I'm only interested in a few channels and in order to get them, I need the Big Kahuna bundle for $100/month. No thanks .

Good suggestion on the yagi. Thanks.




Perfect then! Just hook up your antenna outside into where your cable comes in and no need to run wires

Re: FM Antenna
JohnK #172711 07/19/07 01:44 AM
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John: those folded dipoles seem to work fairly well. I couldn't find the one that came with my receiver so I made the "T" and it worked OK. I may mount an outside antenna at a later date.

I don't know about that article on the Terk antennas. As you probably already know, there are only a few fundamental ways of "bettering" an antenna. You can increase its gain by making it directional/ adding capture area, you can add a preamp or you can put it higher in the air to get a better line of sight.


The Rat. M80s, VP-150, QS8s, SVS PC 20-39+, OPPO, Onkyo 703s, Harmony 880 Sony 60" SXRD HDTV
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