Outdoor antenna setup

In Los Angeles, most of the broadcast transmitters are located on Mount Wilson at a height of 5400+ ft. This helps with the line-of-sight problem, adding another degree of arc earth radius and extending the range to 100+ mi through the Southland basin. Nevertheless, at a distance of 20 mi. from the KUSC (the premiere classical station in the area, 91.5 MHz) tower, I had to install an APS-14, a highly-directional, 12 dB gain antenna, on a 20 ft. roof mast with rotator, to receive it cleanly and avoid interference from a station from Mexico broadcasting at 91.7 MHz. This was with an Onkyo T-9090.

I recommend the Antenna Performance Specialties APS-9 (I use this) or the APS-13 with a Channel Master rotor. USe a straight run of coax to the tuner; no amps, boosters, or anything. No wall plates, either, if you can swing it. Make sure you contract with an antenna installation specialist. If you tell them what you are looking for the technician will give you a realistic picture of what you can expect. He will also have the right cable in his truck.

I live in Manchester, NH and listen to Boston stations 60 miles away in wonderful fidelity. I also listen to stations on Cape Cod that are over 100 miles away. I use a modified Accuphase and a MC 7083.

Have fun.

A 120 mile range is going to require a LOT of tower height but it can be done; typically a professional is required for such an installation. Antenna requirement is a very high gain Yagi beam design for this distance. Rotor is only needed if you have more than a single location (city) that you wish to receive from, otherwise it's not needed. RG-6 is the preferred coaxial feedline. No previous mention of a head amplifier above, but you'll definitely need one. I use a high-gain Wineguard amp mounted at the antenna, with the FM trap switched OUT. You'll have provision to go directly into the amp with 300 ohm balanced flatline, then out to the drop with 75 ohm coax. Power for the amp comes from a power inserter box located in the house; the low voltage DC travels on the coax center conductor but is blocked from your tuner by the inserter box. Install a coaxial surge arrestor (properly grounded) at the coax just before it enters the house; maybe even a 2nd surge arrestor downline from that one. You should still disconnect the antenna from all inside equipment when away on vacation, &/or during any thunderstorm.
The tuner requirement is for high sensitivity; I suggest a Magnum Dynalab such as MD100 or MD90, or the more expensive MD102 is what I use, along with their Signal Sleuth, which is an indoor RF preamp that's tunable & has variable gain + a bypass switch. The Sleuth is very low profile & fits right on top of the tuner, if desired. Fanfare also has some good modern tuners available.
You are going to have to spend a considerable amount of $ to set this system up properly in order to receive from that great a distance, so be prepared.

Agree with most of the above, FM reception becomes extremely difficult past 60 miles. If there are ANY large mountains in the vicinity, it is worth a try to aim your Yagi at the mountain and see if you can get the bounce signal. This will often be stronger and more consistent than relying on atmospheric conditions and random luck to get you a strong enough signal. Good luck...

I'm sure that there are scientific ways to get the most from FM, but I believe there is room for luck and magic (this is a departure from my usual way of thinking) in getting it all to work the way you want it to.