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Horrors! Worse reception! Need Indoor FM Antenna

69.171.15.30
Posted on March 14, 2016 at 10:57:29
Nglazer
Audiophile

Posts: 365
Location: New york
Joined: June 22, 2003
 I recently moved from Westchester County to an apartment in a high rise on the Upper West Side in NYC, and horrors! My FM radio reception for WFUV (90.7) and WQXR (105.9)is nearly nonexistent in stereo, marginal in mono. (Both broadcast from NY.) I had better reception on Westchester, 30 miles away.

I have been using Magnum Dynalab aluminum band "rabbit ears"antenna but this no longer works. I also tried the 6' MD ST-2 rod antenna and moved it around the room, which did not help. I cannot use a roof antenna or one outside my windows.

Any recommendations for a more effective indoor FM antenna. I expected reseption to improve, not deteriorate! Thanks.

Neal

 

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RE: Horrors! Worse reception! Need Indoor FM Antenna, posted on March 14, 2016 at 11:32:41
Eli Duttman
Audiophile

Posts: 10455
Location: Monroe Township, NJ
Joined: March 31, 2000
 You are dealing with a steel shielded building and multipath problems. When I lived in Forest Hills, I had to deal with a variable multipath problem associated with LGA flight patterns. :>((

Try a folded dipole made from 300 ohm twin lead tacked to a broomstick or similar wood rod. You may have to resort to hanging a rhombic antenna from the listening room ceiling. Of course, the latter option has ZERO SOAF.

I compute that you need 1.72 meters, end to end, in the folded dipole.

Up in Westchester County, you had, more or less, clear line of sight between the transmitting and receiving antennas. That does not obtain on Manhattan's Upper West Side.


Eli D.

 

RE: Horrors! Worse reception! Need Indoor FM Antenna, posted on March 15, 2016 at 08:35:51
Nglazer
Audiophile

Posts: 365
Location: New york
Joined: June 22, 2003
 Thanks, Eli. I may try the dipole.

Neal

 

RE: Horrors! Worse reception! Need Indoor FM Antenna, posted on March 16, 2016 at 09:20:36
6bq5
Audiophile

Posts: 4391
Location: SF Bay
Joined: August 16, 2001
 One other thing to try-
If you have an open-able window is to get the antenna out side the envelope of the building- steel reinforced concrete etc.
failing that - and array or dipole on the window - glass being less interfering than the building walls-

Also, if it is an old building- there may be an antenna on the roof - that you can tap into - reach out to the building super-
Happy Listening

 

How new is the building, windows?, posted on March 16, 2016 at 13:13:34
cfraser
Audiophile

Posts: 3208
Location: Pickering, Ontario
Joined: April 30, 2000
 Any chance the windows are metallized? If so, nothing you do yourself in your apartment will work, you need an outdoor antenna, or to use cable.

Windows are often metallized now to reduce A/C costs, they reflect the sun more. Typically gold, only a few molecules [edit: I guess that would be atoms...] thick, you can see through it, but it's effectively a solid wall to RF.

Just a thought...you'll know the answer by the "style" of your building. :)

[At my old workplace, you couldn't really even visually tell the windows have gold in them, no radio or cell reception. This also helps enforce security, quite stringent, where all cell traffic has to go through the (monitored) interior system, none "direct".]

 

RE: Horrors! Worse reception! Need Indoor FM Antenna, posted on March 17, 2016 at 02:11:38
Timbo in Oz
Audiophile

Posts: 23221
Location: Canberra - in the ACT - SE Australia
Joined: January 30, 2002
 Do you know where the transmitters are in relation to your apartment's layout?

Do you have a GPS based COMPASS app on yr phone?

Read the article below and get back to us here. Go to the end of the article first, it's about NY/Manhattan.

There's a fair bit of work ahead of you but the antenna is a cheap build.
Kinda depends on how important those two stations are, to you.

FM just is directional.

You may end up aiming two wire rhombics at each station's strongest reflection from where you are.

Are either of the stations available on-line?


Warmest

Tim Bailey

Skeptical Measurer & Audio Scrounger


 

Welcome to the world of multipath, posted on March 18, 2016 at 08:49:31
Awe-d-o-file
Dealer

Posts: 21037
Location: 50 miles west of DC
Joined: January 10, 2004
 Big city big buildings big problem.

ET
ET

"If at first you don't succeed, keep on sucking till you do suck seed" - Curly Howard 1936

 

RE: Horrors! Worse reception! Need Indoor FM Antenna, posted on March 21, 2016 at 09:37:26
oldmkvi
Audiophile

Posts: 10583
Joined: April 12, 2002
 Get a Sony HAP Z1, use wired ethernet, listen to online Radio.
You won't be sorry!!!

 

RE: How new is the building, windows?, posted on March 22, 2016 at 10:57:09
Cameraman
Audiophile

Posts: 396
Location: 33701
Joined: September 25, 2011
 If you can find one used the BIC Beam Box and use it by a window
its directable and you can adjust field of view narrow/wide
Thanx

 

RE: Horrors! Worse reception! Need Indoor FM Antenna, posted on March 29, 2016 at 19:56:29
Nglazer
Audiophile

Posts: 365
Location: New york
Joined: June 22, 2003
 Thanks to all for your suggestions. Unfortunately, I am on 15th floor in a 90's high rise with metal windows. Even when I come off the West Side Highway on 95th Street I get only weak FM reception for WFUV 90.7 on my car radio. At home, with CC Crane dipole, WQXR 105.9 comes in strong and clear, as do many other stations. So I suspect there is something about how WFUV broadcasts or where it is located (the Bronx, not that far away), even though they built a giant new broadcast antenna a few years ago.

Cannot put antenna outside window and there is no roof antenna. I dread the thought, but may have pick up the streaming signal from this station and run it through my DAC. Better than distortion, I guess. Will break my heart to say good-bye to my vintage Sansui TU-9900.

Price of living in NYC.

Neal

 

RE: Horrors! Worse reception! Need Indoor FM Antenna, posted on April 1, 2016 at 13:23:46
Eli Duttman
Audiophile

Posts: 10455
Location: Monroe Township, NJ
Joined: March 31, 2000
 Neal,

Once you "bite the bullet" and set up for WWW streaming, make sure to add WWFM to your station list. WWFM will very nicely complement WQXR.

BTW, if you can stomach HD2, WWFM is available, over the air, in NYC.


Eli D.

 

RE: Horrors! Worse reception! Need Indoor FM Antenna, posted on April 11, 2016 at 14:08:01
Tin Ear Bob
Audiophile

Posts: 13
Location: T'son AZ
Joined: November 5, 2015
 If your window opens and happens to be oriented where the FM station is you can always try taping a folded dipole indoor antenna to the outside of your window as an experiment to see if reception improves. If you have two windows you can open on the same side of the building, and you are brave enough you can try swinging a nut on the endo of twine over a long stick protruding from the other window. If you can accomplish that you can install a home made folded dipole on a stronger line and pull it between the windows.

this is highly illegal, if you have a near by friend who gets a good signal, you can aim a directional antenna at the source, run coax into the input of a VHF TV amplifier rout coax from its out put to a direction antenna aimed at where you live.

Good Luck
bob
Never assume anything I post is accurate.

 

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