DIY FM antenna, can it be better than radioshack junk?

[DigitalJunkie]

I don't recall the exact dimensions of my J-pole,but there's info all over the net on how to build one..
One trick I used,was to drill a hole in each of the copper pipe caps that go on top (to keep rain out,etc) and solder a nut on the inside of them,then I cut a couple short (3-inch?) pieces of "all-thread",and screwed then into the endcap+nut,and put a nut on the top to lock them inplace..
This way you can fine-tune the length of the J-pole..
(Mine was actually intended to be used with a small transmitter,but it works just as well on a reciever.)

I shot it with a coat of grey spray-primer,and it blends in with the grey house nicely,It's right outside my window,and you'd hardly notice.

It's matched for 50 ohms,but works quite well on the 75ohm input of the reciever. Got a run of RG-8 going to it..

[DragonMaster]

WBTZ is quite far from Montreal, the antenna is situated in Plattsburgh, 80KMs away. They use directional antennas, instead of non-directional like most others.

You might also want to know that the antenna is 550m higher than sea level.

More info:
http://www.fcc.gov/fcc-bin/fmq?list=0&facid=52807

I have one antenna able to receive that channel perfectly; A RadioShack Active Directional FM/VHF/UHF rabbit ear antenna. It's the only active antenna I have. All others have separated signal amps. There's a strange thing with 99.9 is that if your antenna is incorrectly placed is that you receive all the powerful channels between 90and 100MHz :94.3, 95.1, 96.9 and 99.5. Also, in my case, my CDP produces so much interference that I hear the line out of my CDP in the tuner.

The only thing is that if you listen TV with the same antenna, TVA reception will suck. Doesn't matter, it's a sensationalism channel with only poor content.

You might also want to mod your tuner's IF section:
http://www.amfmdx.net/fmdx/mods.html
and Google. the link I provided is not the best I found.

[Dick West]

Antenna design is mostly a matter of mathematics. You can't fool Mother Nature. Antenna elements must be able to resonate to certain frequencies. Any element (or 1/4 wave stubs placed end to end to be a 1/2 wave antenna) is only good for a limited frequency range (fatter element is better) so to get the entire FM band one needs 3-4 separate elements. Or, you could design an antenna just for the desired transmitter's frequency.

Then, consider if its signal is vertically or horizontally polarized or has some sort of a circular polarization. This would relate to how the elements are positioned.

Next shun amplified antennas. If there is no signal you can't amplify it and most modern FM tuners are extremely sensitive to the slightest hint of a signal.

Next, find the room's "hot spot" for the desired FM station. The elements should be placed at right angles to the station but moving the antenna fore and aft or left or right even a few inches can make a big difference and the directional position may not always follow logic. I currently am using TV rabbit ears with each 1/2 extended out 26" and the antenna is nested in a ceiling fixture lamp shade. That particular spot is the best spot in the entire room for some reason and I am getting quite regular good reception of an 89.9mhz station located 98 miles away up a river valley (no high hills in the way).

Also, be aware of tropospheric bending or ducting. Depending on atmospheric conditions you may get excellent reception with a coat hanger dangled from a window and at other times even the best of outdoor antennas may not provide a useable signal.

An indoor antenna is a vexsome thing and can consume a lot of time fiddling with it as the signal strength is so low in amplitude and it gets jumbled from object reflections. Multipath distortion will always be a big factor and can cause reception distortion. And, the room will definitely have a hot spot for each station.

BTW, Radio Shack antennas are not junk. If I were you I would buy their yagi FM antenna and try positioning it around the room to find the best spot and then figure out how to make it appear as a work of modern art or a mobile dangling from the ceiling.