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I know this topic may not fit perfectly with the forum, but you guys seem to know tons about maximizing radio reception, and I'm having a hard time locating anything even after tons of web searches.I'm wondering if anyone could help me with designing an antenna system to maximize radio reception in my car. I often drive through the boonies, and even when I'm at home, there's an FM station 90 miles away that comes in sometimes but all too often is unlistenable.
I already have a Pioneer head unit that has the best FM sensitivity specs I could find (plus good anecdotal reviews from owners), so now I need to fix my antenna. I drive a 2000 BMW 3-series that, like more and more cars, uses the rear glass heating element for an antenna. That doesn't work that well (especially after getting my windows tinted), so I may be the first person ever :) who has installed a VW-style (Audi, actually) 1/4 wave rubber whip on the roof. There was already a hole there for the little cell phone antenna, so it was pretty easy. :) This has helped quite a bit, but I'm wondering if there's anything else I can do.
Would the real VW antenna that is amplified help much? Mine is almost identical to the VW, but it's unamplified.
Would it be worth it to try to replace the existing cable with some better coax? I'm not sure what the stock cable is, but it seems pretty flimsy -- definitely nothing like RG-6. I know the run is short, so that may not matter.
Would trying to find some other kind of longer mast, maybe a 1/2 wavelength, give me that much improvement?
Sometimes I wish I had a truck with a 35" mast so I could add something really big if I wanted to. :)
Anyway, thanks for reading this far. If you have other website suggestions, I'd really appreciate that, too. Like I say, I've tried to search on this but I can't find much. I'm sure there were a thousand magazine articles on this topic back in the day, but as we all know, no one seems to care much about FM radio anymore. :(
Follow Ups:
right in the middle of the roof into the rear-window-tenna's antenna-amp, this MAY be in yr head unit if it was the mfr's install. If no amp impedance matching of both togther IS worth doing anyway and they'll know how.This will give the whip the best / largest 'E-plane' you can get. And you can get more gain by extending it 'out in the bush'. This is also why mounting the MD whip outside and up on a house - on the tiny flat metal mount that MD will sell you - is nowhere near as good as a metre square or more piece of grounded metal added to what they provide. Which tells me at least a lot about MD!
A boat's whip - on the water - has too much E-plane. IYTAI!
I would also - if I were you - get a flexible earthing strip affixed to the under-body that can earth the car regularly in city traffic, or when ever you slow right down. Which can't hurt / might help - like jewish chicken soup.
I could elucidate (on minimising MPath) and FM recption in-car more generally, but I won't. Because proximity / prefernce tuning front ends are as rare as rocking horse droppings these days.
Assuming you live in NTH america and Canada hasn't choses DAB instead of IBOC as yr FCC has. DAB was designed for cars in the Alps OR in city's concrete canyons, where Multipath is a BIG issue, and it does work well in these roles. It is a pity it was not chosen for the USA and all its commuters. But even in the UK and yurrup, inexorably, market forces are driving the quality/bit rates down, to fit in more crap.
Enough?
WarmestTimbo in Oz
The Skyptical Mensurer and Audio Scrounger'Still not saluting.'
Read about and view system at:
Thanks, Timbo... Are you sure you can't elucidate more here? :)Actually, I'm not too worried about multipath... Mainly DX listening. My city is fairly small, so big buildings aren't usually a concern... and I'm mainly listening to a talk station anyway.
Unfortunately, I don't think anyone in town would know anything about matching a whip to the radio... No one, at least here in the US, cares about radio anymore. It's all CDs and satellite radio (which I have but don't like). :(
Bambi, good idea... Would I just use "regular" wire and solder the leads to a motorola male connector to plug in to the radio?
Thanks again to all. :)
So do try a car radio place AND check with BMW, they may have an application note to add a whip.Toyota does for the current Camry series* here in Aus.
[*minor changes for 3 yrs to tail-lights and options. None to the
Aussie-spec suspension, nice, as the local Camry is the best handling Toyota Sedan I've ever driven - even though it is fwd! Bit stiff at the front, and a bit nibbly, but you sure do know where the wheels are pointing even with power steering.]Mine - bought at auction - even has a mobile-phone antenna on the windsreen!
WarmestTimbo in Oz
The Skyptical Mensurer and Audio Scrounger'Still not saluting.'
Read about and view system at:
Chocolate Lab,I have a really crazy idea: I had a look at the 2000 3-series closed cars and I notice these have the rubber strip at the join of the roof to the side panels running from windscreen to rear window. Or, better yet, are these tracks for a ski rack?
In BMW, I don't know how these strips are mounted, but I was wondering if you couldn't run two flat strips of copper under the full length of those strips and run a wire down through the windscreen side pillar to the tuner. Alternately, the wire could come though under the headliner in the back and route down behind the rear seats and under the carpet.
If this would work- and if so, why not do it on both sides, you could have lots of antenna- and invisibly- as suits a BMW.
Just a thought.
Cheers,
;-)!
WarmestTimbo in Oz
The Skyptical Mensurer and Audio Scrounger'Still not saluting.'
Read about and view system at:
Timbo in Oz,
You're knowledge of the arcane in audio always amazes me !How did you ever know I was working on a clock that tunes all the smart rocks to the correct polarity of the wood knobs?
Cheers,Bambi B
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