Can an FM Tuner be "hot-rodded" long distance???

There are a couple of things you can do. Probably the simplest thing you can do is to get an RF amplifier which you can hookup between your antenna and your tuner. These can be had from Radio shack and the like, and may help. Next step would be to add a directional antenna, probably a so called Yagi antenna would help you most.

If the staion is powerful, and there is no stations inbetween you and the transmitter, and no stations near your house on the same or similar frequency, and also if the geography is helping you out a but, you may be able to pull in a radio station from 130 miles away.

Just out of curiosity, which station are you looking for?

Niels.

FM radio frequencies travel pretty much in a straight line. So, except in extremely unusual weather conditions, the limit for reception is the horizon. This is usually much less than 130 miles unless you have an extremely tall antenna or live on top of a mountain. I believe the usual number given for clear FM reception is about 50 miles but it could be little more or less. I think your ability to recieve these stations will be limited to the internet. It doesn't matter how sensitive you make your receiver if there is nothing to receive.

Herman made a very precise and short explaination. Horizon for FM signal is the bottom line.

Alot of the DXers use Carver tuners, I believe.

I agree with all of the above.

As to Herman's comments, with enough signal boosting ( either through antenna gain, amplifier gain or both ), you might be surprised as to how signals that "aren't there" can be "put there" : ) The use of an amplified pre-selector like the Magnum Dynalabs FM Signal Sleuth might come in handy in a situation like this. Not only does it amplify the signal, which is equivalent to an apparent increase in sensitivity, it can also be tuned to reduce interferring signals, helping out with selectivity.

130 miles IS a looooong way though, especially with an indoor antenna.

As to Ezmerelda's comment about the Carver tuner, it is one of a handful that make use of the Shotz circuitry that i was talking about. A few others that come to mind are a couple of NAD's, a Proton, etc... I'm sure that there are a few more, but they escape me right now.

By the way, the comments "supporting" the NAD's great sensitivity and others regarding the variables with the Citation 23's, Pioneer TX 9500's "transistor sound" and possibly a few others on the geocities / tuner info site that John mentioned are mine.

One tip for some of you in similar situations but with outdoor directional antennas ( log periodics, yagi's, etc... ). If your antenna is mounted lower than the transmitting antenna due to local terrain or them being WAY up high on top of a building, mount your antenna so that it has a SLIGHT tilt upward. This changes the capture angle slightly and will work better for stations out into the distance. The same can be said for those that are up above the transmitting signal i.e. people living at the top of a hill and trying to pull in a station that is down in the valley. Tilting the antenna slightly downward can help sometimes.

Like anything else though, you might have to play with how much of a tilt you are using and actually need. Since this can vary from station to station due to the transmitting antenna location and distance, you may have to concentrate on getting in your favorite station and settling for whatever else you can pull in.

One other comment / suggestion: XM radio was designed with people like you in mind : ) Sean
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