Improved radio reception for a cheap radio

[Daryl]

that's true, if there's no signal to be had, no antenna in the world is going to create one.

And, if there's too much noise compared to the signal, then a booster will boost the noise along with the signal, same result.

If you have a very marginal signal (reception is noisy), then the only way you're going to be able to improve it is to put a directional antenna on it with pickup sensitivity higher in the aimed direction and reduced sensitivity in all other directions. This only works if 1) you have it poited in the right direction and 2) if the noise is coming omnidirectionally - from all around and not all from the same direction as the signal.

All these suggestions for coupling to the house wiring and grounds and stuff won't fix the directional aspect any.

Cheap radios have notoriouly bad receiver sections. Any FM radio can pick up a strong signal but better receivers have more sensitivity, more adjacent channel rejection and more selectivity and better quieting, allowing decent listening in marginal reception areas. A ~$100 radio with a decent antenna might well put you in FM heaven, if its worth that much to you to listen.

in a new radio you might try one of the Henry Kloss Tivoli models, like the Model one
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/AS...0b9-2025352-20

there's probably a number of old Stereo tuners or receivers with good FM front ends available on eBay for not too much money, offhand I'm not able to name more than a few but hanging around classic AV forums will get you a few names. Dynaco, Dynalabs, Marantz, Mcintosh all had renowned FM sections back in the day. But the Tivoli will be smaller and simpler.

"There's no continuous substitute for Good".

It is amazing that folks think adding a random length of wire to their antenna is the answer, Radio signals are dependant on the lenght of wire. You have to take wavelengths into consideration. hooking up to house wiring or a random chunk of metal will not help, if it does it is most likely you are adding capacitance. Many times just jumping the radio or even tv leads with a small value capacitor (.0001mfd maybe) can work wonders. There is a hundred years of accumulated technology invested in our electronics, you can bet there is a reason they make antennas the way they do and the layout of the internals of your radio, tv, cell phone.

[dkerfoot]

I bought my FIL one similar to this (same brand) and was VERY impressed with the reception. Better than our component stereo receiver.

http://www.amazon.com/Sangean-PR-D5-...0289895&sr=1-2

[ironhat]

It is amazing that folks think adding a random length of wire to their antenna is the answer, Radio signals are dependant on the lenght of wire. <snip>

Hey Daryl, a question from one who knows nothing. Why does reception often improve when you touch the antenna?

[Daryl]

Hey Daryl, a question from one who knows nothing. Why does reception often improve when you touch the antenna?

Your body is acting like a capacitor and becoming part of the tuned circuit.

Just to make clear, I am no expert, I played around with electronics as a youth and at one time had an amateur license. I have since lost most of my hearing and don't get much enjoyment out of radio anymore.

[ironhat]

Now, if my feeble memory serves me a capacitor stores voltage. So, do we store voltage and boost the signal? I told you that I know nothing.

[TheRic]

Ok, here is the attachment point for the single wire antenna in my desktop radio. Not being an electronics type, how would I go about attaching another type antenna to this?
It's soldered to the board at that point. Thanks Pat

I would put one side of the twin lead in place of the black wire and the other side to ground in the radio. I would guess the screws that hold the pcb board to the case are at ground or a little investigation will find it. YOu might consider adding an RCA jack to the case of the radio for an antenna connection.

The antenna is probably attached/tied in with the ground of the radio. You can do continuity test on it to make sure. Also do a continuity test on the wire/antenna. If you can solder put a longer wire, thicker wire on (stranded so it flexes easy). The longer wire will help with reception, the thicker part will help with it not breaking. Not talking #12 wire, #18 or #20 will do. The wire that comes with those radios is normally much smaller.

FM radio wave length varies from about 2.3' to 2.8' for a 1/4 wave up to 9.1' to 11.18' for a full wave. Since most common wave length fractions overlap just put a wire on a somewhere between 2.3 feet and 11.2' and you should be good (longer the better). The longer wire will help you string the wire up in hopes of getting a better reception. Side note: The longer wire will also help you get more interference.

Yes length of wire matters per freq. / station. In the perfect world you would change the length of the antenna per radio freq. and direction of the radio station. This is also taking into account what part of the antenna is NOT being blocked by something. You would also take into account the freq. hills and valleys as they bounce giving extra highs and lower lows and canceling. Then you need to take into account the straightness of the antenna, any kinks, bends, loops, etc will change the results.

[TheRic]

Hey Daryl, a question from one who knows nothing. Why does reception often improve when you touch the antenna?

[quote=Daryl;344809]Your body is acting like a capacitor and becoming part of the tuned circuit. ...quote]

Don't need to touch the antenna, just being close to it will change it. Have you ever tuned in a radio, sounds great then move away from the radio and the station goes away.

[Tom Slick]

Now, if my feeble memory serves me a capacitor stores voltage. So, do we store voltage and boost the signal? I told you that I know nothing.

you are correct in that a capacitor stores voltage but in a tuning circuit it acts as a "filter" to either block or pass (or both) certain frequencies depending on how the circuit is constructed. in older tuners you were actually changing the capacitance of the circuit to tune in certain frequencies.

by adding capacitance to your antenna circuit you are slightly changing the "tune" much the same way as when you turn the knob.

[Popeye]

Thanks for all the discussion and input. Better antenna positioning improved the reception but still doesn't get me clear enough reception on the one channel I listen to most in the truck and car. I guess I should come out of the closet and admit it................... I'm an NPR junkie.
I think probably the best answer is going to what Thom told me a month ago and Loring suggested here. Get a good old reciever and antenna. There seems to be a bunch on E-bay but I'm gonna try the local route first. Been doing without good reception in this one stoplight town for 16 years, another month won't kill me. Thanks again, Pat

[alpha]

Another thought that might work that won't cost much. Place an another old radio tuned to the same frequency near your radio. It does not even have to be turned on or connected to your radio--just close. It may improve the sign a little. There are FM antennas that actually do not "connect" to the radio--just place them near it and you tune in the station on the antenna. There's not much you can do if you have a weak signal and your radio does not have either a 300 Ohm or 75 ohm antenna connection.

I did as Loring suggested. I recently bought a vintage stereo receiver on ebay for $50. I veneered the sides and top. I built a dipole so it picks up FM stations great. I mostly listen to MP3's on it. It actually sounds better than my good surround system. As usual, one project leads to two more.

Bob

[MikeMcCoy]

Along the same lines as the original.... except in the AM band? I'm a talk show junky and have fair reception at night from long range stations but can just barely get my local stations in the day time. I'm using a Milwaukee job site radio and was wondering if there was any experience in using the CCRANE antennas linked to earlier in the thread.

[cgallery]

If you can find something w/ a Larry Schotz designed tuner (used in some older NAD, Nakamichi, and Proton gear), you'll be treated to great noise rejection AND a sensitive tuner.

Here is a link that talks about his research a little bit:

http://www.audiokarma.org/forums/arc...p/t-31747.html

I'm a big fan of NPR, too. I have it on all day long. Certainly some bias, but I do enjoy the variety of coverage.