FM antenna for MR85

[cleeds]

Originally Posted by Mikeylee

Do you all think these Metz and Magnum antennas in the attic are going to be any better than an attic mounted Radio Shack antennae ...

I am going to differ with others posting here and say emphatically: Maybe. Or, maybe not.

There are just so many variables involved when you try to assess the best antenna for any task. Is your Radio Shack antenna a dedicated FM antenna, or is it also a TV antenna? If it's designed for TV, you'll want to make sure that it is also designed for the FM band, which is VHF and fits between channels 6 and 7. To prevent interference, some TV antennas deliberately filter out the FM band. Others provide an option to do that with a removable tab or trap on the antenna. You're already using the antenna for FM, so it's likely it was designed to be used for FM.

Then there's the question of your location. The closer you live to the transmitters, the greater the chance that something like the MD antenna will work for you. But there's no way an omni antenna such as the MD can have the gain that a dedicated, directional FM antenna can. So if you live out on the fringes of a station's reception area, it's very likely only a directional antenna will work best.

In addition to the gain of the antenna, another variable is the install itself. Generally, there is no substitute for height. FM reception is theoretically limited to line-of-sight between transmitter antenna and receiving antenna so the higher each of these is, the better your reception will be.

Then there's multipath. Whether it's caused by natural conditions such as hills and trees, or man-made conditions such as buildings and water towers, if this is a problem in your location, a directional antenna will outperform an omni every time. Note that multipath isn't always audibly obvious as such, but can sometimes be heard as just slight increased distortion.

I recall a friend who used to live just outside of NYC and who got horrible FM reception even after trying several different omni antennas. The problem was multipath. We replaced the omni with a high-gain, directional antenna. That fixed the multipath, but the increased gain overloaded his tuner input. But once we put an attenuator on the antanna feed - wow! He got super hi-fi reception.

As for directional antennas, a dedicated FM antenna will outperform a combo TV/FM antenna, all other things being equal. Unfortunately, dedicated directional FM antennas are increasingly rare; many major manufacturers such as Winegard and Channel Master no longer make them. But they are still available and needed by broadcasters for relays and translators, although those designed for commercial use (such as Kathrein/Scala) can get pricey.

Also important in any antenna install is the routing of the downlead and the choice of wire itself.

Again, there are so many variables with FM reception that it's really difficult to determine for sure what will work best in a given installation. Some trial-and-error is often needed for best results.