Need strong passive FM Antenna. Help


Living in the boonies of Vermont, pulling in stations is a challenge. I've tried active FM antennae that just plain sucked. So I'd like to stick with a passive antenna, but condo living prevents a roof mount. I do have a bit of space to work with otherwise. Has anybody made their own? Or found an optimal brand?

Thanks,

Neil
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Do you have WAF appearance issues?? Try a small roof mount on the ceiling above the system. Radio Shack makes a nice one that is only like $15-$20.

There are also some that could be mounted out a window on the exterior.

Then there is also XM Satellite Radio or Sirius for those in the boonies.

What....are you in the Northeast Kingdom?
Neil,

I have the same problem you do, multipath hell in both my office at work and my home office in the basement of my house.

Magnum Dynalab offers two antennas that may meet your needs. First up is the inexpensive and easy to place SR100 Silver Ribbon Antenna ($30):

Silver Ribbon Tuneable Antenna

-Continuously tunable across FM dial
-Helps reduce multi-path interference
-Directional for best station orientation
-Receives HDTV broadcasts with its UHF design

If that doesn't work, take it back to your dealer and exchange it for a ST-2 Omnidirectional Whip antenna ($100).

Omni-Directional AM/FM Antenna

-Vertical 1/2 wave design
-Indoor/Outdoor capability
-Rugged stainless steel construction

It's a whip antenna you mount on your window frame and comes with a 25' wire to run to your tuner.

Finally, if you still have problems you can consider adding a MD Sleuth FM Signal Amplifier ($350):

FM Signal amplifier

-Antenuates strong, harsh FM signals
-Amplifies weak FM signals (up to 30db)
-Separates interfering adjacent-station signals
-Aids in reduction of multi-path problems

Check out http://www.magnumdynalab.com/home.html

No, I have nothing to do with MD, just know this stuff works and is reasonably priced. Good luck, Jeff
I have had good luck with the BIC Beam Box FM10 and the Godar FM1A, I have both now and they are relatively cheap and have resale value if you don't like them or they do not meet your needs. I live in the mountains of California and not many of the others have worked. The whip was a pain in the a%^&*, it just was sightly and hard to place.
I live in western Mass (Stockbridge) which is a "fringe" area if not the "boonies".

If you are down in a deep valley, no antenna will work. How does your car radio work when parked outside your condo?

Anything on the roof, especially with a rotator is vastly superior to anything indoors. That did the job for me, although I did need to use shielded 300 ohm twinlead to avoid auto ignition noise.

Why does condo living preclude a roof mount? Maybe you could compromise with something in the attic. Give the super a nice XMass gift.
CCrane.com sells a very beefy T antenna called the FM Reflect. I have two. On the North side of Phoenix, we have mountains in the way of our FM signals, and these have worked better for me tnan any other indoor model including beam box, parsec, and terk.
I switched from the www.CCrane.com FM Reflect antenna to the Fanfare FM-2G. In my house, the Fanfare pulls in more stations and works better. I have it standing up behind and to the right of the TV set. I am using the Fanfare FT-1A FM tuner. Unfortunately, for your application, you are going to have to experiment to see what antenna works the best. There are no magic answers with FM antennas. cheers..