My shop is wrapped in core-ten corrugated metal walls and as a result the place has about bingo reception. I put an "omni-directional" (round) FM antenna in the attic, which is standard framing, yesterday with about zero discernible improvement. What instrument will measure the performance of an antenna? I have all the DMM's in the world, but have no idea what to look for. Suggestions?
FM antenna
- Thread starter Jackfre
- Start date
torqueman2002
Well-known member
I built a cubical quad FM antenna from PVC and insulated wire (speaker wire or such) to bring in a weak station that is a favorite of mine.
It is somewhat directional, but urban signals come in fine in any orientation.
I have it in the attic of a wood framed garage.
It is 1 continuous loop, with connection points at A & B.
Use a 75 to 300 Ohm UHF/VHF Matching Transformer to connect the antenna to 75 Ohm coax. Connect the other end of the coax to your receiver.
PM me your eMail, and I'll send along a file: Antenna_instructions.pdf.
It is somewhat directional, but urban signals come in fine in any orientation.
I have it in the attic of a wood framed garage.
It is 1 continuous loop, with connection points at A & B.
Use a 75 to 300 Ohm UHF/VHF Matching Transformer to connect the antenna to 75 Ohm coax. Connect the other end of the coax to your receiver.
PM me your eMail, and I'll send along a file: Antenna_instructions.pdf.
Last edited:
mopar440_6
Well-known member
I'm in the same boat, steel panel outside and inside and the only windows are in the man doors on each end. Place is all but a Faraday cage. I built an FM J-pole antenna out of some scrap 1/2" copper pipe. I've heard of guys using EMT conduit also. Same 75-300 ohm balun connection as TM2002 used.
I was able to get about 3-4 stations (as opposed to 0 before) with it sitting on the floor near the front man door and about 5-7 in the attic but some were still fuzzy. Ultimately I ended up going outside the building so I mounted it on the back at the peak and poked the coax through into the attic and down. The caveat is that it is now the highest thing on my property and its metal so I ran a heavy solid copper wire down the back of the building to an 8' ground rod.
Here are a couple J-pole links:
http://www.mycal.net/old/projects/mpr/jpole.htm
http://www.hamuniverse.com/jpole.html
I was able to get about 3-4 stations (as opposed to 0 before) with it sitting on the floor near the front man door and about 5-7 in the attic but some were still fuzzy. Ultimately I ended up going outside the building so I mounted it on the back at the peak and poked the coax through into the attic and down. The caveat is that it is now the highest thing on my property and its metal so I ran a heavy solid copper wire down the back of the building to an 8' ground rod.
Here are a couple J-pole links:
http://www.mycal.net/old/projects/mpr/jpole.htm
http://www.hamuniverse.com/jpole.html
rslaback
Well-known member
Do you have a standard OTA antenna on your house? They serve well as an FM antenna as well.