Radio Road

Posted by Timbo in Oz (A) on June 15, 2004 at 18:00:52

In Reply to: Re: Powered antennaes posted by EdAInWestOC on June 14, 2004 at 15:23:49:

Guys,

Antennas matter, how do I know this well, along time ago when I was in my twenties I was a grunt in our reserve army called the CMF. Vietnam was the time. I also did 'full-time duty', later on.

One of the skills course I did was signals, and nede up as a company sig. this meant using both VHF manpacks such as yr dear old ANPRC9, 9A, 10 and the 25 set, I also was responsibel for Bn, A and Q nets, which used the old Aussie designed 510 at HF. I became quite used to climbing trees and using the supplied lead weights to throw wire up high. Vertical end feds, half dipoles, T's, L's, even wire H's and tuned loops.

When carrying a man pack, one learned very quickly that to maintain comm' you would need to move around more than nayone else did. Reception was, IME, nearly always better where you were no longer under cover from observation, ****, or even indirect little thingies, like out of yr own scrape. So I have known that a longer ie bigger antenna surface area wise and wavelength wise was always better and that the position was a factor, in trasnmitting and receiving.

When I got into FM as a music and hi-fi nut, not much later I discovered that a base loaded half dipole, which all the TV shops sold, but were never on display, as ugly. BUt it was THE solution for falt dwelling singles interested in good reception. Mine was clamped to my balcony ledge.

Later I found that a true ribbon type dipole on a board was better still, but even uglier. When we finally had our own home that antenna on my mast top was bought, and mounted on a hockey stick mast. Going higher still later on really DOES help.

In Orstralia we don't even now have a lot of FM stations esp. outside the big cities, which are hundred two thousands of miles apart. ALL but three or four low power stations are on the one huge Telecom tower cum restaurant/ viewing platform and tourist trap. FM from the two staion I use is very good almost no ads if you don't count sttion promos NO or very little compression or Eq'n, and wonderful music/s.

What does a good antenna do for you? In my situation, it minimises multipath distortion, thereby improving the sound, Canberra which is IN a mountain range. MOST importantly it gives you the possibility of getting yr tuner's front end into 'full limiting', on ALL stations, even the weak ones. NB I sometimes think that we need a full limiting indicator NOT the usual lying strenght meters.

Full limiting maximises S/N and minimises distortion, the latter being considerably more important musically. Nuance and expression and space etc gets a lot better than any dipole.

But, in a Nth American context it also improves yr ability to pick out wanted from unwanted. IE all the tuner's stated specs for alternate and adjacent channel selectivity, sensitivity, and as bvaove noise and distortion, are more likely to be approached.

To sum up, if you don't have an antenna and you have a good tuner you are ABOAW, just IMO, and are NOT really interested in radio as a hi-fi source.

For Ed (et al), if you call it a CH6 TV antenna, which it will kind of be, they cannot stop you. :-). Truly!, it's an FCC ruling about access to TV.

If you join, even temporarily, the yahoo FM tuners group, you might be able to get a reference to the ruling and its number.

I have even read it to check what it says. Being an ex public servant, I was able to decode the officialese. The way to do it is, ask first, and only then mention that the FCC rule overrules - all covenants, local and state laws etc. BUT, if you have signed an agreement is is suggested you negotiate.

and I don't even live there. ;-) !

Timbo in Oz
The Skyptical Mensurer and Audio Scrounger
Peace