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Anntenna Question

Hi,

I recently had electricians put a Radio Shack FM antenna on my roof. It's wired with RG-6U cable through a couple of patch panels down to where my receiver is located. Probably about 100' of wire in all.

It doesn't help reception -- in fact, I've gone back to the little wire dipole anenna that comes with the receiver because it sounds better. I put a little Radio Schack antenna amplifier in the mix about 10' from the antenna, and that doesn't help either.

The problem is that I don't know of any way to check whether there's actually a signal on this wire! I have access to bench-quality DVM, but that's about it. Would I require an oscilliscope to check?

I'm also not sure this is the right type of wire, or that I'm hooking it to the receiver correctly.

Any advice appreciated. Thank you!

- Eric
ehart
sugarbrie
3,854 posts
 
Every time you spit a signal it loses strength. If you have the antenna going to every room in the house then the signal is pretty weak in each room. You need a preamplifer once you solve the no signal problem. For televisions a signal split to 2 sets reduces the signal 30%, for 4 sets 60%. FM is a VHF signal so should be the same. Try Stark Electronics in Massachusetts. They are on the web at:


http://www.starkelectronic.com/allamps.htm

celtic66
1,728 posts
 
Eric, Eric.......Eric!!! KISS principle. Purchase a Magnum Dynalab for a C note and be done with this foolishness. The antenna is omnidirectional or turn it horizontal for directional. All done within the confines of your own living room. Excellent sensitivity and selectivity. Best of luck.

Doug
6bq5
62 posts
 
Eric,
The antenna from RS is probably OK, and you are just loosing signal from the conectors, also how is the RG6 connected to the antenna?, Most RS antennas (multi-element Yagis)are set up for 300 Ohm lead, you will need to install a transformer to convert the 300 Ohm to 75 ohm of the RG6. A few mor notes re the RS antenna:
Yagis are VERY directional, they have well known patterns, and unless most/all of your stations are comming from one area, you will want a rotor. Unless the Yagi was designed for FM ONLY, it will cover the VHF spectrum (TV chnls 2 ~ 13; this should not pose a problem, unless you are having multipath and sensitivity problems. The suggestion of the MD ST-2 whip antenna is a good one, as it is omni-directional.
good luck.
j_k
234 posts
 
Had the same problem.... I returned the RS antenna because it was so selective that I could no longer receive signals that it wasn't directly pointed at... I refused to get a rotor for this thing.. The RS Salesman said it would not be directional.... so he was happy to take it back, including the marks on the mast pole from being mounted. I also ended up with a Magnum Dynalabs ST2 and life is good. I use the ST2 inside my attic mounted vertically from a roof truss (to minimize the chance of lightening strikes) -- works great and invisible from the outside.
ehart OP
215 posts
 
Boy, I wish I had asked here first! I didn't know there was any other sort of antenna, honestly. The antenna was cheap, but all the parts, mounting, ground spike (8' in the ground!), skilled labor to put it up.... Yikes.

This antenna is not a Yagi, it's designed for FM, a two loops crossed. I will have to check back and see how "directional" it is said to be.

I'm not actually splitting the signal -- RG6U goes everywhere but is mostly unused currently. I will check for continuity though.

Thanks again everyone.

- Eric
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