FM antennas.............Does ANBODY still make them?


Recently picked up a nice Onkyo 9090 II tuner. It’s reputed to be one of the better DXR’s out there, very good sensitivity. Haven’t hooked it up yet, but I’d like to connect it to a good FM antenna...................I spent much of the day online looking for one and basically came up empty. None of the big guys make them anymore, Channel Master, Winegard, etc............My location is problematic. I’m in the woods, surrounded by tall trees and there is a nice mountain rising several hundred feet above me to the East and South East, the direction most stations come from. There are a few small omni’s out there, but I really need something better than that for my location.

Today everybody uses cable and yes, I know that you can pull in a gazzillion stations and any kind of music that you want that way...........but I’m old school.......and old. I like tuning things in and playing with the gear..........cable is no fun.

Surely somebody has a source for good FM antennas.............or plans to build one.

I hate cable. Everything used to be free. Today everything costs $$ and you get a ton of stuff that you don’t even care about, for a price.

Any ideas out there??
shadowcat2016
You might also talk to C. Crane. I was researching FM antennas for a vintage McI tuner-- hadn’t had a tuner hooked up in like 40 years. Guy who had developed an elaborate tuned array who subsequently sold his company told me about C. Crane. They had an indoor dipole looking thing that was far more than a couple of cheap wires-- you could bend it to shape, like a pipe cleaner. And, I’m in downtown Austin with obstacles, interference, etc. Cost about 19 bucks. Does a great job given that it’s an indoor antenna. Though I only bought it a year or so ago, it is now apparently discontinued. But, the company still seems to make various antenna. Worth calling them.
PS: just checked their site, no conventional FM broadcast antennas offered. Too bad. 
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"I hate cable. Everything used to be free. Today everything costs $$ and you get a ton of stuff that you don’t even care about, for a price."

I’ve been hanging on to OTA TV and radio on the left coast, where EVERYTHING is $$$$$$$$$$!! Thankfully, some level of free TV/radio will always be around.

Hard to imagine living in some otherwise great area, and not have my 1965 Mac tube tuner playing some great Classical.

https://becintegrated.com/linear-d360?site=www.bing_shopping.com
Couple of clicks, at your doorstep in a week.

There are members at the tuner asylum with DIY projects.
You probably would save a couple of bucks with some effort/time
put into sourcing everything. I’m too lazy and just want to listen.








MAGNUM DYNALAB ST-2 ..... an omnidirectional FM antenna from a top-tier tuner brand ....

http://www.magnumdynalab.com/st-2-omnidirectional-fm-antenna/

I just installed it on a mast with a signal amplifier add-on, after a sound recommendation that delivered in spades ..... highly recommended
Thanks folks......I KNEW you guys would have answers!!.....I did find Denny's last night, sent him query and he responded this morning. He does offer what looks to be a nice, FM only antenna, HD2500 and his site has plenty of good info. I'll check out the others before making a buy..............Due to my location I don't expect miracles, what with the trees and the mountain, neither of which can I do anything about. However, my portable radios do pick up stations across the dial, so my thinking is that with a REAL tuner and a good antenna I shouldn't have too much trouble................I'll post feedback once I get everything rigged up....................Thanks :)
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Thanks mental, just checked them out.........I think ultimately what I'll end up doing is picking up a good omni along with a good directional yagi since this tuner has two ant inputs. there may be some stations that work better with one than the other.
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Thanks again mental........I do know that you have to properly ground any outdoor antenna............lightning can be unpleasant :) I did stop using surge protectors on my gear a while back. Read too many bad things about them. If there's a storm, I shut my gear down and unplug....safer that way......I'll check out the ones mentioned......thank you :)
I went to Amazon and typed in "FM Antenna" and there are 100s of results. I'm a little confused here. 
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I have used the Magnum Dynalab ST-2 Omnidirectional with good results.  Experiment with the location and keep the cable run short as possible.  You can find Black Magnum indoor antennas on eBay for a few $$.  Real cool units.
For DXing, in Florida, I used a multi-element directional antenna mounted high as possible.  My reccomendation is to get a map and determine the direction(s) to transmitters.  With this information you can make a list of where to turn the rotor for the best signal.   OUTDOOR ANTENNAS - LIGHTNING HAPPENS!
af3000

Yes, there are hundreds and no I did not have the time to view all of them. However the vast majority of the ones I saw were indoor, omni or combination TV antennas. A small handful of basic, small yagi's for FM was about it. What I'm primarily interested in is an outdoor, dedicated FM directional, yagi type antenna. They used to be made aplenty by all the major antenna people........cable killed that years ago.........I have found that there are still a (small) handful of what look to be good, dedicated FM yagi's out there, but you have to look...........and ask around, as I have here.............It largely depends on your location. If you're reasonably close to a major city or located in a flat area with good line of sight for miles, then I guess anything would suffice. I'm 70+ air miles to either Baltimore (East) or Washington DC (South East) .......and there are a couple of mountains between us, so I need something a bit better than a table top TERK or wall mounted dipole.

tastyfreeze

Yeah that lighting thing can be a problem........Florida being the lighting capitol of the world..............We get our share here too, just not as often as you do..............Nothing gets your attention like a gazillion volts of electricity dropping by to visit outside the house.

Likely installation will be atop my screen porch, gable mounted, which would get me up maybe 15-20 feet. That would keep the coax run to maybe 30-40 feet from my system and keep the antenna a few yards from neighboring trees.............Thinking of mounting an omni higher still, in the attic. An omni wouldn't be as powerful and attic installations aren't optimal, but it gets me another 10 feet of height and that might be useful on some stations. Tuner has dual ant inputs, so one yagi + one omni should cover the bases about as well as possible.........Thank you folks. I learn things every time I come here :)
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Thanks Chris, but I'm a thousand miles north, Western Maryland.....Probably not worth the trip, but I'll stop by next time I'm in the neighborhood :)
You need a repeater for your system. If you can reach the top of the tallest mountain between yourself and the stations (look long and hard at this point), install a repeater on it and down converter to your fm system.
Bruce, I think you're messing with me....................Nearest mountain is about a mile, due East and deeply forested..................I don't need reception THAT bad!!  LOL.................but yeah, it's a nice idea :)
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Interesting.................I've visited FmtunerInfo a few times and saw the link to Carver, but haven't checked it out yet............sounds worth while. Bob Carver was a pretty smart audio guy years ago, so his insight on antennas is certainly worth reading..........FmTunerinfo is where I first discovered that most all of the major players now only build TV ants.........Many of them will pick up FM also, but I'm sure it's an after thought......a whole lot depends on your particular location and topography relative to the stations you might want to pull in.

Funny, I spent my career working on super stealth radio gear for the military and intelligence agencies, but antennas were never part of my job, so I don't actually know much more about them than anybody else :).........never too old to learn..........Thanks mental..........
I have a seven-element yogi mounted in the attic from a roof support beam. Use a 300/72 ohm transformer, and an RG 6 cable run. 

In addition to previous suggestion for a Mag Dynalab antenna, Magnum also makes a Signal Sleuth that helps isolate and amplify weak FM signals.  
Attic installation would get me up a little higher, keep the cable run a few feet shorter, protect the antenna from weather and tree damage.............AND I wouldn't have to worry about falling off the roof!!

I'll have to take a tape up there and see how much room I'd have to for rotation...................might be the best and safest option outside of a mast and I don't know if I want to go that far.
mental
It seems the yagi style antenna is best, while another site suggested the old rca wabbit ears being worthwhile for the older FM tuners ...
There’s nothing magic about a Yagi-style antenna, and no inherent reason that it has any advantage over a log periodic design of similar gain. The proper FM antenna for a given location is really determined by the signal strength of the desired stations, the height at which it will be mounted, and the need for directionality to minimize multipath. Rabbit ears aren’t usually the best choice.

You can also do amazing things with a rhombic antenna, but that’s more trouble than many users are willing to endure.
BTW, a long time ago I bought WAAAY too big of a directional home TV/FM antenna. It was seriously an awesome antenna for FM as well as TV so long as it was pointed correctly. From Radio Shack so I have no more sources.

My point was, don’t pooh-pooh the combo directional units. They are pretty damn good and have good rejection to the sides too.
+1 Magnum Dynalab.   

check out eBay, try searches such as “vintage dipole” 

check Craigslist, same search terms
Finally got the Onkyo 9090 II in the system. It's hooked up to a TERK, for lack of anything better at the moment. Works well, sounds pretty good, but I'm only pulling in a few fairly week stations, as expected. Anxious to hook it up to a real antenna as soon as I finish my remodeling project and have time for something fun.
For indoor or attic use, Godar line of antennas are pretty much the best, short of seruous motorized installations. I am a dedicated raduo enthusiast - 4 FM tuners, HD, XM, SW and use that line excusively.
xm sq really does suck, which is a pity since it has some great content. i had always hoped that they would create an uncompressed, premium version, but i don't think it'll ever happen...
Loomisj

Yeah, that's what I read online.......too bad, I was tempted to go that route. They only have so much bandwidth and they've crammed too many channels into it trying to to widen their subscription base. I guess it works for those who only listen with earbuds and don't care about SQ...........I can turn on one of my portables and get that :)
Look up Antennacraft on the web. Call them to see if they have a model FM-6 6-element directional still in inventory. It was listed on their website about a year ago. They ship easily on UPS and is a quality piece. 
Think I'm going to go with Denny's antenna service in Ithaca Missouri. He sells what looks to be a nice multi-element yagi style, FM antenna. In my location I'll really need a good unit. ...............Have the tuner hooked up to a Terk, but that's next to useless here. I get almost the same reception with it disconnected, about 1 db different.........I'm only picking up a handful of stations and nothing I really want to listen to during the day.
If you’re looking for an FM radio receiver plus antenna for OTA television, the 1byone Antcloud is a good one for the money. Plus its reception range is half decent:

https://longrangesignal.com/1byone-antcloud-outdoor-tv-antenna-review/

(should also mention its omnidirectional)
The reviewer obviously knows nothing about reception of FM and ATSC signals:
“Connected with this antenna, your television would also receive the FM radio stations — keep in mind however you cannot hook up this antenna with a radio receiver.

To use this antenna, you need either an HD television set or an external ATSC tuner or converter box. The received picture is in full HD (1080p).“


The whole idea is that the antenna is receiving RF signals, and is thus not capable of magically preventing FM reception if it’s output is also being split to a TV.