Best indoor FM antenna, your experience.


I am not able to do an outdoor antenna where I live.  Looking for the best I can do with an indoor antenna.  Stations I want to listen to are 50 to 80 air miles away."
Thanks
whatjd

Showing 3 responses by whart

Timely thread for me. Just got a restored MX 110z to use as the preamp in my vintage system; I have the small Magnum Dynalab antenna, which is an odd set of rabbit ears that converts to what looks like an omni. I don’t know enough about my new location to evaluate and I am dealing with a tuner just a little younger than me.
@erik_squires - what is this big Terk of which you speak? Amplified? (I thought those were a no-no).
I made a couple calls to A/V type guys here in Austin who laughed at me when I asked them about outdoor antennas.
I have a few additional constraints b/c our new house is an historic register house, and I really don’t want to have a roof aerial. The attic concept is a good one, though. Most people on another forum suggested an outdoor antenna. The one upside is that I could probably find a working bakelite rotor control box to keep it all ’in period.’
I also have to find out if what’s involved if I mount to an outdoor free standing mast or pole. I emailed the ham radio guys here, but I didn’t get hear back; perhaps I needed some operator cred to garner a response. Morse code?
@swampwalker
That may be the direction i go in- attic mount-- our location is a mixed bag, we are right in town in Austin, but on the south city of the river, so it is fewer skyscrapers but there is a lot of density here; a few large old apartment buildings near my house, and depending on direction, I may have issues with downtown skyscrapers- I’m literally just across the river from them. Thankfully (I guess) we are up on a hill. I still need to do some research. I assume the ST-2 is the Magnum Dynalab whip. That would be easy to mount in an attic that is immediately above the room where the tuner is located.
I reached Audioprism, which referred me to C. Crane Company. They sell what looks like a cheapo folding dipole but in reality is a pretty substantial antenna- it sells for under 20 dollars. It seems to work very well- got stronger signal than ever on the local classical station as well as other from other stations. I haven’t experimented with placement and positioning- the thing is semi-stiff, almost like a pipe cleaner-(but larger in diameter) - in other words, you can bend it into various positions. Well worth the money in my estimation. Squarely outperformed the indoor Magnum Dynalab Silver Ribbon. I have no axe to grind or interest in either brand, other than that I bought and used both; i am in the middle of town in Austin, just south of the river, a relatively dense semi- urban setting.
I simply suspended the antenna ends by hooking them under the gap between the cabinet and equipment platforms, in short, I did almost no fiddling to get good results.