Best Antenna for Analog Tuner?

[squeegy200]

In the old days, we used the aereal rooftop antennas that were installed for TV reception. Those days are long gone.

What are you guys using for antennas these days?


I encountered an article on how to construct a Rhombic antenna which would install in the crawl space above my ceiling. Anyone construct something similar?

[dean_martin]

Some of the roof top antennas can be placed in the attic. They don't take up much vertical space so you may be able to mount one in a crawl space with a makeshift mast. I can't attest to how effective it will be if you're on a lower floor of an apartment building. Here's one that's reasonably priced:

http://www.radioshack.com/product.asp?catalog%5Fname=CTLG&category%5Fname=CTLG%5F007%5F001%5F002%5F000&product%5Fid=15%2D2163

I got a roof top antenna last fall after a hurricane knocked out our cable right in the middle of football season. After the cable came back on, I used it for FM with an old Yamaha T-1 analog tuner - amazing number of stations from a 3-state area. We've since moved and now I'm considering mounting it in the attic at our new house.

[BRANDONH]

In the old days, we used the aereal rooftop antennas that were installed for TV reception. Those days are long gone.

What are you guys using for antennas these days?


I encountered an article on how to construct a Rhombic antenna which would install in the crawl space above my ceiling. Anyone construct something similar?
I have the Winegard Ghost Killer but it is installed outside and used to pick up digital TV.
But is will also pick up analog eliminating ghosts.

[markw]

Rooftop antennas are far from out of style. In fact, with HDTV conming in, they seem to be undergoing a resurgence in popularity.

All receivers, regardless of their type need a good antenna to deliver their best performance. You could have the bestest, mostest expensive tuner in the world and hobble it with a piss poor antenna and the guy next store with a mediocre tuner and a good antenna will whup yer butt any day.

Your antenna needs depend on where you are, where the stations you want to listen to are geographicaly in relation to you, and the terrain and buildings between you and the them.

In all cases,the higher up you can mount it, the better off you will be. FM is basically a line of site medium and mountains or buildings between you and the station can have deterimental effects on your reception.

If, like me, you are blessed to be in an area rich in stations in all directions and fairly close by, you can do well with an inexpensive onnidirectional antenna.

If you're in the boonies and your nearest station is a looooooong distance (25 miles +) you'll probably want a directional antenna, which has greater range but only in the one direction that it is aimed.

To compound this, if the stations are far away and in all directions, you'll probably want a rotator so you can aim the antenna at whatever station tickles your fancy at that moment.

For most purposes, I'd recommend one of these.

http://antennacraft-tdp.com/FM.htm

There are bigger, more powerful antennas availavble but these two are fairly representative of what's out there. I use one similar to the one on the bottom. That, and an inexpensive amp, is driving three FM tuners with virtually no noise. When I only had two FM's, I didn't need the amp but, each time you splitthe signal it gets weaker and, at some point, the camel's back breaks.

ThatRatShack antenna Dean mentioned is pretty good also. It's an underground favorite among many FM freaks. You might want to see what ese they (and antannacraft for that matter) offer as far as antenna stuff goes but keep in mind that their big combination VHF/UHF/FM antennas will not work as well as that cheap FM only antenna. Only a few elements are dedicated to FM while on the dedicated FM antennas, they are designed for ONLY FM.

good luck...

P.S.. Here's a fun toy to play with.
Check out the advanced options. http://www.radio-locator.com/