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I'm trying to better the performance of my vintage Sherwood S 3000V FM tubed tuner. I understand that these are not inherently the best at pulling in stations, but I'm trying to figure out to better what it does do. I mostly end up having to use the mono switch to get good reception on good stations. On somewhat weaker stations, I still have to deal with noise.I have tried the long plastic T. It doesn't look all that good in my living room and I can't really position it near the window. I am trying out the Magnum Dynalab SR100 "rabbit ears". It does improve already decent stations in that it allows me to listen in stereo. I still am having a harder time with somewhat weaker stations.
UHF Magazine makes their own rabbit ears which some have liked a bit. It may be that mere rabbit ears or the like will not just be able to do what I want it to do. I don't know if I will have to resort to a "Signal Sleuth". I know someone who tried one, and while it didn't do much in his place, it did great things in a friend's place.
Any suggestions for a something that will have WAF aside from mounting something on the roof?
Jeff
Follow Ups:
It's a pain in the ass as far as I'm concerned. Directionality is important forradio and it will easily topple over at times when the suction cups come loose. Also as a dealer I cut myself on the edges a time or two in the many times I used it. As a tunable antenna it's neat and works fairly well, it's just hard to use. ET
I got one from Audio Advisor. I gotta tell you, it has improved things, but only marginally. Certaintly, there's not enough improvement to keep it. I need to explore other solutions. I wonder if anyone has tried the UHF Magazine Super Antenna?
Well, you aren't going to outrun your antenna, no matter how much electronics you put behind it! LOLBefore I bore you with my experiences, try your T antenna upended near your exterior window or wall so that the long arm is vertical. Don't worry about the tail, as it's not the determinant of the reception. Reading posts here and elsewhere suggests that this helps significantly.
I was futzing for years with first a T in the usual horizontal setup, then indoor rabbit eared or amped units, then settled on a coax lead through a coax amp into my old attic-mounted Radio Shack TV antenna. Ended up with decent but variable reception, so futzed around with cables, etc. Swapping out coax for good satellite quad shield RG6 helped somwhat, but still spotty performance.
Finally, thanks to the inmates, I invested in trying out an FM specific antenna from Radio Shack (look up Brian Beezley's FM site for the very best info). Cheap at $25 and works like an absolute charm, even sitting almost on the ground outside my house! I'll eventually get it up into the attic, but I'm feeling lazy.
Amps just amplify whatever you've got. If your signal's clear, then you get that at greater gain, but if your signal's not clear, then you get the junk amplified! If your receiver is better and can distinguish between stations, that's great, but most can actually do that reasonably well anyway.
So it's the antenna, guy, the antenna that controls the whole result.
I really can't get anywhere near an external window. Dat's the problem. With any indoor antenna, it's going to be across the room from a window. Perhaps with rabbit ears, I can at least pivot it around for relative best reception.Jeff
Then simply use (or splice on) a longer feed line. The feedline length itself makes little change. Doh! wouldn't an outdoor antenna require a longer feed line to reach? Run the longer feedline around the room perimeter; use a throw rug (over line) in any doorway to avoid tripping on the line.
I'm getting excellent reception with this one, and the price is nice. However, it is outside on a pole 20' up.
Right, it'll work but you have to get it outside and up in the air. I use mine for the garage system. I got it mounted on the garage roof.
recently! It is also possible that you are not driving it hard enough to do stereo well.Mono is often much better - affectively - as instead of trying to remultiplex from the L-R signal she just decodes the mono signal (L+R). Much less to do and less TND.
In the USA back when FM was still allowed to be GOOD sounding the stations often used an M-S mike array for their live broadcasts. Whether from in the studio/s OR OB's. (? Outside Broadcasts.)
M-S stands for middle and side, or Mid-Side. A mono mike plus a coincident fig8 across the stage, the mono mike givingL+R and the fig8 L-R (it's a dipole with each 'omni' lobe OOPhase with t'other)
and they could feed that straight to the transmitters, and let your decoder recreate the stereo.
Indeed some pro single mikes are able to be configured that way.
the advantages were thst for a given single and fixed array (in re the stage) you could still 'move' the mike - virtually - side to side a bit, or in and out/ widen or narrow the stage!
by altering the weighting given to either mike!
Most sound-field single-point mikes also adopt M-S concepts as it reduces the number of capsules required to sample the field in height width and depth.
WarmestTimbo in Oz
The Skyptical Mensurer and Audio ScroungerAnd gladly would he learn and gladly teach - Chaucer. ;-)!
'Still not saluting.'
Yes, it has been serviced. I don't understand all the technical stuff that people have been throwing out there, but I'll say that the long wire dipole, such as the Crane that someone mentioned, can't be used unless the lead is MUCH longer. The windows are on the opposite ends of the room to the tuner.Jeff
what are the arcs - on the compass - for your actual "Wanted" stations? and could a rhomboid made of wire on your ceiling/s point at the centre of the arc/s for some / most of them?You'll need a map and a plan of yr block with yr house and its rooms on it with NTH/s/e/w marked on IT, too!
This IS the only really useful way to determine aimings and siting for any antenna for VHF and on up. Not IMO, but IME! Even when there's only ONE axis to use you have to know how it crosses your block / residence. even for flats, condos and internal antennas. You can also use combinations of antennas if you have a loft.
Only after this knowledge can you try swing the 'tenna side to side from the notional axis, to optimise reception on ONE direction!
I suppose it shouldn't, but still DOES surprise me, that so few enquirers here either understand this basic fact OR have carried the task out!
Further it seem to me to be a distorted pattern of investment to pay a fair bit for a GOOD tuner, modded or NOT and then seek a BUDGET antenna. Does rather limit your ROI, doesn't it.
Does yr SO look at the ceilings a lot? got BIGGGGG floor rugs?
IF feasible, a rhombic really IS way ahead of any other budget indoor antenna. <> -> plan view of a rhombic and its directional axis!
I'd personally love to build an external one, but I'm not convinced that SWMBO would accept another two masts in the garden, with the rear one out FRONT!
But it would have heaps of gain, COULD be very directional (not easy to experiment with) and also do the two VHF band III TV stations REALLY well. I'd then only need my long UHF bd1V arrowhead yagi!
My two desired FM stations and all 5 terrestrial TV stns - are on the one huge telecom-tower/tourist-trap/restaurant/viewing platforms.
It does all the in and out comm's links for Canberra. Satellite down and up links, mobile links, and microwave links to Sydney 200 MILES away and on to Melbourne via links in the Aussie Alps etc etc.
It is where most of Canberra's 12 or so FM stations have had their bigger txers since it was built. High enough up to get down into MOST of the Mind you, 'Canberra' is so spread out and hilly that there are also repeaters going in for most of these on hills in/for Tuggeranong the '2nd newest' large connurbation which runs from us to the South.
VERY few Canberrans need rotators!
WarmestTimbo in Oz
The Skyptical Mensurer and Audio ScroungerAnd gladly would he learn and gladly teach - Chaucer. ;-)!
'Still not saluting.'
Too bad the "plastic t" doesn't work for you. The best folded dipole is the CCrane "Reflektor" which is a well made deluxe "t" with a 75ohm connector. It worked better than the Magnum and Fanfare "whip" antennas and the Magnum SR100 for me.I used to own the Magnum "Signal Sleuth" and found it to be excellent with my old Marantz 150. Now, in the same location, the CCrane "Reflektor" goes directly into the Onyko T-9090 Mk.11.
Having tried the Magnum SR100, I can say that it only improve things a tiny bit in my situation. How much better will the Reflektor be than a standard T? If I could get a long enough lead to allow the T part to reach the window, I suppose that might be worth trying.Jeff
Can you still buy the CCRANE "Reflector" antenna? A search turned up zip, nada, and zilch for me. Thanks. John
Company is C. Crane. Here's the link
http://www.ccrane.com/antennas/index.aspxNice people. They'll take it back if it doesn't work out in your application (which was my case).
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