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Yagi in Chicago

24.1.116.175
Posted on September 21, 2009 at 10:29:01
Kristian
Audiophile

Posts: 573
Joined: September 24, 2008
 Mates,

I just moved to Chicago, Logan Square, an area with lots of grey stones, and we're on the 2nd, top floor. Didn't think I was going to use my Winegard 6065 yagi here, but instead installed my omni. The omni was bad--tried it on roof--and decided for the overkill. Whipped out the yagi, rotator, and 10-ft. mast, and holy cow--it's really fun picking off the many tiny independent micro stations, the 100-w and less set. A bit overkill, but hey! So, city dwellers, if you haven't already, pop your yagis up!

Kristian

RE: Yagi in Chicago, posted on November 8, 2009 at 16:15:37
Ruinthere@sbcglobal.net
Audiophile

Posts: 247
Location: Chicago area
Joined: May 26, 2007
 If you like JAZZ find WDCB Dupage College Radio Station the best.

90.9

DagW00d

Chicago KNOCKED me out for the quality and choice of Radio..........I shan't forget..........~NT, posted on September 28, 2009 at 15:53:02
Cleantimestream
Audiophile

Posts: 1516
Location: Kentucky
Joined: June 30, 2005
 ~!
"The Sound of One Hand Clapping is Crashing by Design" HKM
Good for you. *, posted on September 25, 2009 at 09:07:02
Hepcat
Audiophile

Posts: 1814
Location: Atlanta
Joined: February 7, 2003
 *
* I'm like a one-eyed cat peeping in a seafood store *
thanks Kristian, and I'll keep telling people, too!, posted on September 24, 2009 at 17:04:45
Timbo in Oz
Audiophile

Posts: 11399
Location: Canberra - in the ACT - SE Australia
Joined: January 30, 2002
 ;-).

DO you get overload on any stations?

See below!


Warmest

Timothy Bailey
The Skyptical Mensurer and Audio Scrounger

And gladly would he learn and gladly teach - Chaucer. ;-)!

'Still not saluting.'

http://www.theanalogdept.com/tim_bailey.htm
Do you get overload on strong local stations?, posted on September 24, 2009 at 08:26:50
Lee of Omaha
Dealer

Posts: 449
Location: Omaha NE
Joined: September 8, 2006
 If you do, you may need to do one of two things. If your tuner has a DX/Local switch, I'm guessing that it won't be enough because of your high-gain antenna. You may have to change the resistance in the local side of the switch to waste more signal. If you don't have a DX/local switch, you may want to build a little circuit that wastes some of the signal. If you're really into temporary mods, you may want to install a switch that bypasses the rf amp entirely!

The directionality that your yagi gains you is worth wasting signal, if necessary, as there's nothing your tuner can do to get rid of multipath once it's there.

RE: Do you get overload on strong local stations?, posted on September 24, 2009 at 22:29:49
Kristian
Audiophile

Posts: 573
Joined: September 24, 2008
 Thanks, but no, my Denon TU-800 seems to do superbly in this regard. I really love this tuner--it's a danged bargain.

Have you ever experience of overload yourself, Lee?, posted on September 24, 2009 at 16:59:02
Timbo in Oz
Audiophile

Posts: 11399
Location: Canberra - in the ACT - SE Australia
Joined: January 30, 2002
 I'm asking partly because of an implicit disbelief in the audible value of driving a tuner hard, that seems still to hang around here on Tuners. When the only down-side risk of such an approach is overload on a handful of strong stations.

Also because I've never come across overload actually caused by an FM station, of any tuner, either valve front end or the more prone SS tuners. Though I have seen / heard a few SS tuners in overload, audibly so, but not due to strong FM signals.

I know that strong FM signals can drive valve RF FM (the IF) stage into generating interference on TV screens (TVI?) of the type typically ascribe to FM ( a strong shot silk efefct?). See below. NBthere was no ill effect on the sound from FM.

Yet I would expect to hear FM overload or hear of it here in Australia. Because every capital city has at least two very powerful transmitters for our public broadcaster the ABC. It's TV signals are also required to have very good reach. So it's an easy issue to test for.

These transmitters are usually the most powerful in each place by a significant margin. Do you have many transmitters of 60Kw or more around where you are?

All of those who I've encouraged to improve their antenna, because multi-path was a given due to hills, some living right near the transmitter but down a hole, were able to hear the improvement in the music off the ABC transmitter for Classic FM.

Every instance of audible overload of an FM Band-II stage I know of was actually caused by out-of-band TV or other RF sources, often close to the home in question, due to the fact that very few SS tuners resist strong out-of-band signals at all well. Sometimes the source is so rich in harmonics that part of the signal does reach into band II. But this isn't usually essential for there to be problems.

In fact my own main FM tuner - a valve one in an old simulcast rcvr - with a tweaked SS decoder kit - sounds great when driven really hard. But, it then generates lots of FM type RFI on half our terrestrial TV channels, one VHF and thee UHF. Yep, up back through the house' coax network and probably between the three antennas on the mast. Note that it doesn't affect the sound on FM - at all - but I did have to add a bespoke and steep skirted band-pass filter in the coax line INSIDE the thing, OR I'd have had to have separate runs of Coax.

I know that it was the old valve era IF-stage being over-driven and spraying harmonics, hence only some TV stations were affected, because I thoroughly investigated it. I was very surprised at how little real understanding most supposed experts displayed. A friend on the HJLeak group helped guide my search.

To sum up, I doubt that most audible overload situations with FM reception have anything to do with too strong FM signals. Just my experience, possibly?!










Warmest

Timothy Bailey
The Skyptical Mensurer and Audio Scrounger

And gladly would he learn and gladly teach - Chaucer. ;-)!

'Still not saluting.'

http://www.theanalogdept.com/tim_bailey.htm
Yes..., posted on September 27, 2009 at 13:55:17
Lee of Omaha
Dealer

Posts: 449
Location: Omaha NE
Joined: September 8, 2006
 I had a Pioneer F-28, which is an incredibly sensitive tuner. I had it hooked to a Radio Shack 10-element FM antenna (great antenna). I could get a Tucson NPR station from my apartment in Flagstaff with the antenna pressed up against the ceiling. When I moved to Phoenix I had to point the antenna away from South Mountain, where all the transmitting antennas are, and to which the antenna had direct line of sight, to avoid overload. I pointed it toward Tucson and got great reception of Phoenix stations without overload. Wish I still had that antenna.

Good stuff, thanks., posted on September 24, 2009 at 22:33:45
Kristian
Audiophile

Posts: 573
Joined: September 24, 2008
 Indeed I have never heard any issues; the thing just sounds superb with maximum signal strength on the local classical station.

RE: "A bit overkill", posted on September 24, 2009 at 05:51:52
1973shovel
Audiophile

Posts: 2364
Location: Greenville SC
Joined: February 25, 2007
Contributor
  Since: June 17, 2009
 I don't consider that "overkill" at all. Simply good sense. Yes, you may be able to get a stronger signal in a city, but you're also likely getting a lot more multipath.

A directional Yagi always makes good sense compared to an indoor or an omni.

RE: Yagi in Chicago, posted on September 21, 2009 at 15:06:38
AbeCollins
Audiophile

Posts: 11766
Joined: June 22, 2001
Contributor
  Since: February 2, 2002
 But I thought the rhombic was the cure all for everything! ;-)

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