Radio Road

RE: not yet

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In Reply to: RE: Have you tried a folded dipole? posted by Timbo in Oz on July 10, 2017 at 22:32:54

It would be my understanding that the main element in the Yagi is the folded dipole.

Am I wrong to assume that, like the automotive whip antenna, and the 1/2-wave dipole up on the wall, a folded dipole, without any other elements added to the stick, is also omni-directional?

I might try one.

some idle ideas.

I haven't given up on the idea of the Rombic. I could devise one that would circumscribe the dimensions of my listening room. Mount it up high just under the ceiling. It would be somewhat imposing to behold, so to speak, but it is directional. Aiming a Rombic would be complicated when the thing needs to be attached somehow, or hung somehow, from the upper portions of the walls.

It would be simple and inexpensive to buy a 1/2 wave length telescopic whip to construct my own version of the Magnum Dynalab ST-2 FM antenna. Only instead of 54 inches long I'd use a telescopic rod with a max length of at least 72 inches. 1/2 wave. The thing about the ST-2 that attracts me is that it just 'looks cool'. I doubt it would be any more effective than the 1/4 wave whip I'm using at the moment. But a 1/2 wave version would have more gain.
Yet it would still be susceptible to the interference I'm experiencing with what I have now. And I wonder if a Rhombic would also be susceptible in the same way.

I could diy a full wavelength dipole. Even more gain. But signal strength isn't the problem I face, really. Though it would be nice to pull in a couple of stations being broadcast from Portland. I used to live there and had some favorite stations back in those days. Portland is about 90 miles from my location so that would stretch the limit.

Now, having lived with the two antennas I have in use for a month or so I wonder if my thinking about atmospheric conditions having an effect are just hogwash. What if I am experiencing interference from the surrounding electrical systems within the building I'm in. let's say some neighbor in the same building turns on an appliance and the white noise appears within my FM reception. Maybe when people get home from work around 5pm and start running their appliances I get more white noise. Some days it seems like that. But not every day.

I'm not giving up. I have taken a step back in the past week and concentrated on other stuff on my agenda. I'll return to the FM reception issue fairly soon.

Folded dipole. How large should I make it?

-Steve

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