Poor Garage Radio Reception

[egnorant]

Maybe it is the markets I have lived in vs my taste in music, but... I don't want to hear DJs talking about stupid things that they think are witty, news, traffic, sports, country or "classic" rock. I love my 80's and 90's metal and hard rock with the occasional oddity thrown in. I don't like to change stations when I travel. I just prefer MY music. I have heard FM in other people's rides - it is not my thing and hasn't been for a long time. It seems so antiquated anymore.

I'm cool with that! I was just responding because your post had no helpful info and labeled those interested in the topic as ridiculous. If you had at least presented an alternative I might have been less harsh.

I have friends that live to raise horses or spend Saturday night doing bad paintings with their friends...laughable? No, just not my thing. And I definitely would not walk into the studio just to tell them that they were wrong just because it was not my thing!

Bruce

 

[bczygan]

Ok, but anyways.........well do you guys think this is worth a try or is the tv antenna idea not worth it?

It will work, but be very directional.

Bill

 

[metalmagpie]

I have a machine powered by a 3hp VFD. The VFD walks all over the AM band. Solution: turn that machine off while listening. All of my Makita and DeWalt battery chargers also interfere with the AM band. Solution: same - power them off while listening.

As for DJ chatter, I rarely listen to an FM stations primary channel. I have an HD radio receiver and often HD channels 2 or 3 have much less chatter.

Regarding content, I live in Seahawks country. Every Monday morning Coach Carroll does an interview spot on a local sports talk radio program. This is content you can not get if you only listen to streaming.

To the naysayers, what do you listen to when you're driving through Wyoming at midnight and you're sick of all the music you brought? The radio, of course. I found that Denver Broncos radio fans are very knowledgeable and my entire approval of their organization went up substantially after listening for a few hours over a few days recently.

metalmagpie

 

[softailgarage]

Haven't read all the comments, but what has always worked for me is a simple dipole antenna. The two wire insulated version works best, but a single strand wire will work also. Run the wire from the radio's antenna connection up the wall to the ceiling. At the ceiling "T' it, run the right end of the wire all the way to the right end and the left to the left end of the wall. Basic radio antenna.

 

[D45]

I am ALREADY starting to look at other options...........

I have SiriusXM in my truck.....and LOVE IT

One subscription should be able to do both my truck and shop, right?

I am now researching how to buy an "at home" Sirius kit (hopefully find one used) and how it ties into my shop stereo, and how the reception is inside the shop

 

[D45]

Will this $35 kit work?

http://www.amazon.com/dp/B000I2HAVW/?tag=atomicindus08-20

Seems like I would still need a Sirius receiver

 

[onewheat]

I am ALREADY starting to look at other options...........

I have SiriusXM in my truck.....and LOVE IT

One subscription should be able to do both my truck and shop, right?

I am now researching how to buy an "at home" Sirius kit (hopefully find one used) and how it ties into my shop stereo, and how the reception is inside the shop

One subscription will do ONE receiver - each has a unique ID that is activated. If your receiver is movable, then you can use it anywhere as long as you have a hookup for it. I have three subscriptions for three vehicles - multiple subscriptions are discounted but I have no way to listed in my house or garage (short of turning a vehicle radio in the garage).

 

[D45]

Well that stinks

While the receiver and home kits are $50ish (used) on eBay....I don't like the idea of paying more for a monthly bill

I will try running a new higher line and antenna first, which is cheap and easy

 

[stimpy]

D 45 , go on amazon and just buy a fm antenna they still sell them and use coax with a matching transformer on the radio end , http://www.mcmelectronics.com/produ...3&cadevice=c&gclid=CIHgzruTuswCFQqoaQodZ6gJSA

when I lived out by Hebron we could tell when they fired up the electric arc furnaces at INland and LTV steels as it would mess All radio and tv stuff up for about 5 -10 minutes ( signal dropped or got weak and static and poped on Fm , that quit in the early 90s we could stand on our roof and see all the mills and they were 25 miles away and were LOS with downtown Chicago . ( we were on the front of moraine ridge )

another thing is to do what my DAD dd and that was to run a coax from the house antenna to the garage for his stereo . he put it 6" underground with a flat blade shovel next to the sidewalk

 

[hotdogstand]

I had that problem at work, I took the boom box apart and removed the factory antenna. It had a wire connected to the antenna I hooked up a length of regular stranded primary 14 ga wire to it and ran it outside of the building. It made a huge difference.

That. An antenna is essentially just a fraction of the desired wavelength. In such a consumable device, they really aren't optimized with any consideration apart from packaging size. A long copper wire, especially if you can run it outside, should improve your signal substantially.
If you really want to over engineer it there is information online regarding antenna length vs desired frequency.

Here, started the search for you:
http://www.instructables.com/answers/How-do-you-determine-the-length-of-an-antenna-and-/

 

[shedfullatools]

My radio stopped getting reception a few months ago, Not sure why was always great. I took an old extension cord, stripped one end, ran it through the wall of the shed and plugged the stripped end into the antennae jack on the stereo. Now for the really red green part, I duct taped a rock to the end of the cord and threw it up to a high branch on one of the big trees by the shed. Got it about 30-40ft in the air and now not only does my favorite station come in I have about five that I couldn't pick up before

 

[D45]

D 45 , go on amazon and just buy a fm antenna they still sell them and use coax with a matching transformer on the radio end , http://www.mcmelectronics.com/produ...3&cadevice=c&gclid=CIHgzruTuswCFQqoaQodZ6gJSA

when I lived out by Hebron we could tell when they fired up the electric arc furnaces at INland and LTV steels as it would mess All radio and tv stuff up for about 5 -10 minutes ( signal dropped or got weak and static and poped on Fm , that quit in the early 90s we could stand on our roof and see all the mills and they were 25 miles away and were LOS with downtown Chicago . ( we were on the front of moraine ridge )

another thing is to do what my DAD dd and that was to run a coax from the house antenna to the garage for his stereo . he put it 6" underground with a flat blade shovel next to the sidewalk

Thanks for the tip......I am very close to Hebron

 

[D45]

I found about 30 feet of this brown flat, two wire cable that I could use

Tonight I removed the stock antenna that came with my 30 year old stereo

I cut and trimmed this flat brown wire and plugged it into the back of the stereo

I then ran the wire up in the rafters, about 25 feet towards the front garage door

So far, it definitely seemed to help

I am going to temporarily hook up the large cable antenna and see how it does

 

[Dick in Wisconsin]

Many of the issues brought up in this thread were mentioned in another thread on the subject.

One that isn't in this thread is the quality of the grounds on all the electrical devices, specially the fluorescent light ballasts. One poster went through all his outlets and switches to ensure all the grounds were well connected, he said this helped. Then we went through all the fluorescent fixtures to make sure the ballasts were properly grounded with bare metal to bare metal (and not just screwed to a painted housing) this also helped a lot (but a huge project).

My AM radio reception improves when I turn the fluorescent lights off. In the other thread one of the posters explained there are commercial and residential ballasts. This white paper explains the issue.

http://www.gelighting.com/LightingW...ectronic-Ballasts-Whitepaper_tcm201-78523.pdf

When I priced fluorescent fixtures for my shop, the residential were much more expensive than the commercial so I went with commercial.

 

[LS6 Tommy]

I think it is hilarious that people still listen to FM - I haven't listened to an FM station in about 15 years. There is ZERO good content on the radio.

Maybe in Kentucky. The two stalwart rock stations in my area I listen to haven't changed in quality since before I was in high school.

Q104.3 & WDHA 105.5.

Tommy

 

[stimpy]

if your antenna is in a pole barn or steel shed your antenna is not going to work worth diddly as the building acts as a Faraday cage and blocks /weakens reception and what you do recieve is thru the windows or doors and will be weak , get it outside and on the side of the building towards Chicago .

as for Fm radio , I guess we are lucky and have some pretty decent stations around . but being the 3rd largest city in the nation it does have its perks ..

when I drove over the road I listened to cd's and some local stations when the weather got bad , but I did have a book I made of what stations where what and where on the dial

 

[D45]

Well my reception was really good.............until I replaced all the fixtures with LED fixtures

Now, I have no reception when the lights are one. Nothing

I might consider a Sirius radio adaption.......I have it in my truck and love it

 

[D45]

Tried some different configurations and moving things around, still not radio reception inside

Most channels have so much static I cant even hear the music........nothing more annoying

 

[Fatboy148]

Well my reception was really good.............until I replaced all the fixtures with LED fixtures

Now, I have no reception when the lights are one. Nothing

Me too.

I didn't replace fixtures but just the Edison based bulbs with LEDs.

They aren't even on the same circuit as the radio, the lights can be on in the master bath and kill the radio in the kitchen at the other end of the house. When using a battery radio, it is unaffected by the lights being on.

Same effect with the 8' LED fixtures I installed in my shop too. They are on their own circuit all by themselves.

Ideas for a cure?

When I am doing stuff with the lights on, I started putting my radio ear protection on or turn my Iphone to the station I want to listen to on Streema over the internet and carry it with me in my pocket.

 

[gungatim]

the LED's are putting out EMI/RF interference. buy bulbs that are FCC approved with the correct stamp indicating they are CFR-47 compliant...

the fixtures you may be able to disassemble and use some ferrite beads around the transformer leads, depending on how it is designed. cheaper setups have very little shielding...

 

[D45]

Still trying to work this out.........three CDs in my stereo only last so long

It is obvious I have interference.......so, short of replacing all 13-15 LED shop lights for FCC compliant fixtures, do EMI/RF filters work?

I found plug-in filters, but would just one plug-in filter work at the outlet where the stereo is located? For under $20 it would be worth it

However, if I need a plug-in filter at every outlet for the LED shop lights, that will not be an option........way too costly

Live and learn, only and always buy LED bulbs and fixtures that are FCC compliant

Here are the shop lights I have :
https://www.menards.com/main/lighti...3300-lumen-led-shop-light/p-1444423574927.htm


Here are the EMI noise filters I am thinking about:

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0002M5OJI/?tag=atomicindus08-20

http://www.ebay.com/itm/X10-PRO-XPP...573672?hash=item5d4326c868:g:BUEAAOSweW5U53Ze

 

[D45]

The static is directly related to the LED shop lights, when the lights are off the radio stations are crystal clear

Flip the light switch on and nothing but static

 

[jimreed2160]

I had an old boom box in my shop. It was a 40yo dual cassette model but was top of the line. It even has shortwave channels. Anyway, FM reception was poor, even with an external antenna.

I looked at Sirius but my house is surrounded by trees.

So I replaced it with a DeWalt shop radio. PROBLEM SOLVED. Apparently there has been much work in the technology field during the past few decades. My old radio was good for many fuzzy stations but only one or two that I liked. My new radio has presets and so far I have stored ten good stations. The speakers are awesome and I am tickled. It is plugged into the wall, but accepts different sized batteries so I can have mobile tunes while I do house repair.

 

[D45]

I had an old boom box in my shop. It was a 40yo dual cassette model but was top of the line. It even has shortwave channels. Anyway, FM reception was poor, even with an external antenna.

I looked at Sirius but my house is surrounded by trees.

So I replaced it with a DeWalt shop radio. PROBLEM SOLVED. Apparently there has been much work in the technology field during the past few decades. My old radio was good for many fuzzy stations but only one or two that I liked. My new radio has presets and so far I have stored ten good stations. The speakers are awesome and I am tickled. It is plugged into the wall, but accepts different sized batteries so I can have mobile tunes while I do house repair.

Maybe this is part of my issue......old old AM/FM CD/Cassette radio "stereo shelf" system from 25+ years ago?

hmmm, maybe time to shop for a new stereo?

I just checked prices on Ebay and some local big box store......book shelf or stereo shelf setups can be had for $100 (new) with speakers......hmmm

 

[DC73]

It is obvious I have interference.......so, short of replacing all 13-15 LED shop lights for FCC compliant fixtures, do EMI/RF filters work?

You used to be able to buy electrical panel mounted EMI/RF filters. Maybe one connected to the lighting circuit would help. But, double check the grounds on all the LED fixtures first. It could just be poor construction. I've seen fluorescent light fixtures with so much paint under the ground screw head and in the threads that there was no hope of getting an effective ground.

DC

 

[metalmagpie]

I listen to FM, actually HD radio mostly. I find the mainline stations are pretty useless but the stations that have sidebands (HD2, HD3...) often have worthwhile content.

And there is still sports on the radio. Lots of times in my shop I want to listen to some game or even sometimes some sports talk radio.

So I do not consider radio obsolete.

metalmagpie

 

[D rock]

What about putting some aluminum foil on the top of the antenae? Not trying to being funny...but go old school, I remember doing that and the signal getting clearer.

 

[D45]

I found an EMI/RFI plug-in filter on Ebay for around $17.......I am going to order one and see if it works, at the outlet where the radio is

Stay tuned.....get it

 

[D45]

use some ferrite beads around the transformer leads......

They sell clamp on ferrite bead clamps, a 20 piece pack can be found for $15.........this might be another solution for the power cable for each of my LED shop lights

 

[jonesg]

Mine works fine 90% of the time but there is a time of day in the late afternoon when all of a sudden my favorite radio station gets staticy.Not sure why. It's like a neighbor comes home and turns something on that interferes. Just on that one station though.

On another note, I use internet radio sometimes from my tablet plugged into the aux on the stereo.

Radio stations go up and down in their transmission output at various times.
Or tell the neighbor to knock it off with the ****.

 

[D45]

Solved the issue...........bought a $7 auxil 3.5MM cable jack cord for my cell and downloaded Pandora

Quick connection to the house's WiFi and I have music, crystal clear

 

[jimreed2160]

Cool fix. Thanks for the update. Technology marches on...

 

[22george]

Thanks for the ideas guys.
Lots of us have this problem

 

[G8rDuc]

For y'all that want local radio but can't get a reception, use your computer or ipad or an old iphone and download the Tuneit app. Let's you listen to local stations (well, actually any station) through your smart device. My stereo gets 3 stations (metal garage) and I now use this app. No more worries.


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

 

[LS6 Tommy]

For y'all that want local radio but can't get a reception, use your computer or ipad or an old iphone and download the Tuneit app. Let's you listen to local stations (well, actually any station) through your smart device. My stereo gets 3 stations (metal garage) and I now use this app. No more worries.


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

Just FYI-
That's not helpful without wifi. You get killed with data usage when you stream...

Tommy

 

[G8rDuc]

Just FYI-
That's not helpful without wifi. You get killed with data usage when you stream...

Tommy

I've got wifi in my cave...cause I also stream MotoGP/WSBK/BSB/MotoA races in the cave. Also helps when I need to look up shop manuals, etc etc. Streaming music doesn't eat up that much data, either. I use CarPlay while driving, especially on trips, my music usage was less then 1% of my total data (and I use close to 30GB a month).

 

[srr]

I have a computer with wi-fi in the cave with a lead plugged into the ear phone jack thats plugged into the "AUX" on the boom box and have a speaker in each corner of my 24' x 30' shop. I just go on youtube and pick a playlist with 150+ songs. Works like a charm.

 

[GasNSteering]

If you have Amazon Prime download their music app. You will have access to all purchased music and can add to your library for free. Lots of stations to listen to and a personal station can be built by entering artists names. There is a setting for use only when WiFi is available. Really impressed with it.

I also use a160 gig iPod that mostly contains CD's ripped lossless for better sound. 5306 songs.