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FM antennas.............Does ANBODY still make them?

Recently picked up a nice Onkyo 9090 II tuner. It’s reputed to be one of the better DXR’s out there, very good sensitivity. Haven’t hooked it up yet, but I’d like to connect it to a good FM antenna...................I spent much of the day online looking for one and basically came up empty. None of the big guys make them anymore, Channel Master, Winegard, etc............My location is problematic. I’m in the woods, surrounded by tall trees and there is a nice mountain rising several hundred feet above me to the East and South East, the direction most stations come from. There are a few small omni’s out there, but I really need something better than that for my location.

Today everybody uses cable and yes, I know that you can pull in a gazzillion stations and any kind of music that you want that way...........but I’m old school.......and old. I like tuning things in and playing with the gear..........cable is no fun.

Surely somebody has a source for good FM antennas.............or plans to build one.

I hate cable. Everything used to be free. Today everything costs $$ and you get a ton of stuff that you don’t even care about, for a price.

Any ideas out there??
shadowcat2016
shadowcat2016 OP
132 posts
 
Attic installation would get me up a little higher, keep the cable run a few feet shorter, protect the antenna from weather and tree damage.............AND I wouldn't have to worry about falling off the roof!!

I'll have to take a tape up there and see how much room I'd have to for rotation...................might be the best and safest option outside of a mast and I don't know if I want to go that far.
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cleeds
5,657 posts
 
mental
It seems the yagi style antenna is best, while another site suggested the old rca wabbit ears being worthwhile for the older FM tuners ...
There’s nothing magic about a Yagi-style antenna, and no inherent reason that it has any advantage over a log periodic design of similar gain. The proper FM antenna for a given location is really determined by the signal strength of the desired stations, the height at which it will be mounted, and the need for directionality to minimize multipath. Rabbit ears aren’t usually the best choice.

You can also do amazing things with a rhombic antenna, but that’s more trouble than many users are willing to endure.
erik_squires
15,788 posts
 
BTW, a long time ago I bought WAAAY too big of a directional home TV/FM antenna. It was seriously an awesome antenna for FM as well as TV so long as it was pointed correctly. From Radio Shack so I have no more sources.

My point was, don’t pooh-pooh the combo directional units. They are pretty damn good and have good rejection to the sides too.
1graber2's avatar
1graber2
303 posts
 
+1 Magnum Dynalab.   

check out eBay, try searches such as “vintage dipole” 

check Craigslist, same search terms
shadowcat2016 OP
132 posts
 
Finally got the Onkyo 9090 II in the system. It's hooked up to a TERK, for lack of anything better at the moment. Works well, sounds pretty good, but I'm only pulling in a few fairly week stations, as expected. Anxious to hook it up to a real antenna as soon as I finish my remodeling project and have time for something fun.
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