Wanted: Killer Indoor FM Antenna

Gfederys

Member
Good Morning SMAC, My powered Terk died suddenly last week and I'm looking for a replacement. I'm an FM/HD Radio junkie. I also live in a condo, so I'm limited to indoor antennas, as opposed to roof-type antennas with rotors and such. Does anyone have any knowledge about which commercial powered antennas are better then others? I've heard good things about Godard. Anyone have any experience with one? Thanx in advance. George.
 
As I am, as well. Recommendations?

How did the powered Terk do? They're still available, I think.
 
There isn't one. Not possible. Especially for low powered or distant stations or adjacent channel reception. Indoor antennas are for stronger local reception needs. Do you have a porch where you might be able to install a turnstile antenna? (which would be an improvement)
 
So far the best I have come up with is a 10 foot loop attached to a 20 foot lead. The loop is taped to the wall behind the couch with painters tape.
 
10 foot loop?

So far the best I have come up with is a 10 foot loop attached to a 20 foot lead. The loop is taped to the wall behind the couch with painters tape.

Do you mean like a 10 foot diameter round wire circle taped to the wall behind the couch?
 
a turnstile antenna

There isn't one. Not possible. Especially for low powered or distant stations or adjacent channel reception. Indoor antennas are for stronger local reception needs. Do you have a porch where you might be able to install a turnstile antenna? (which would be an improvement)

Are you talking about the "S"-shaped style metal antenna? I do have a balcony, and could probably drill a hole through the brick wall to run the coax. I'm in an apartment valley, and only on the 2nd floor. The flip side is the outside walls are big glass.
 
How about a good old Beam Box? They turn up on eBay and CL regularly and really do work. You can try mine if you like. I will say up front that it has yet to kill anything, though.:D
 
There is no substitute for full size resonant frequency antennas.

When it comes to RF signal reception it is location, location, location.

A particular recommendation for a particular antenna does not mean a lot, unless the actual RF field strength that the antenna sees is specified.

This BIC BeamBox antenna is less than a full sized antenna and is not as sensitive as a full sized antenna. Its claim to fame is that it is electrically directional and one version has a not real narrow, adjustable passive band pass filter.

They may work okay in areas of moderate to strong RF field strength for the station(s) of interest.

One thing to remember, most of the population of the US lives in areas of moderate to strong RF field strength for local FM broadcast band stations.


In general, the better the performance of a tuner or receiver, the less an amplified or powered antenna will help, unless the amplification is used to overcome feed line and splitter loss.

Did your Terk antenna work okay for you? If so you could just replace it.

Or are you looking for something that works better than the Terk antenna?
 
The best indoor FM antenna I ever used (yup, I've done (and done with) any kind of Terk) was the passive Grundig AN200. It has like 900+ inches of antenna wire wound in multiple loops.
 
When we we dropped cable a few years ago I made this diy OTA HDTV antenna that, in my location, works surprisingly well for FM also. It's based on the diy coat hanger hdtv antenna plans that are easily found on the web. I just used some cut up aluminum duct tape and a sheet of card stock. Not pretty by any means but it works and will hang behind a picture on the wall. For HDTV it works better than three (Terk and GE) store bought antennas that I'd purchased.

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I spent a lot of time during my Senior year at College trying to experiment with Antennas in my apartment. The Landlord would not allow anything outside, although I did do a Zepp for HF Amateur Radio that he was not aware of, cleverly hiding it. I never had any success with DX reception, and the local FM at the time.... for lack of a better word... absolutely sucked.

I finally installed basic Cable TV and hooked up an FM Tap. Amazing how well THAT worked! :D Back then many CATV companies offered FM on basic cable. I think I got 20 or so stations from as far away as 200 miles. The tech told me that some of the very distant FM stations were relayed via a Microwave link owned by the company. At the time, this was very cutting edge.

I sort of miss the old CATV FM Taps from a purist FM listening standpoint. Sure, streaming is cool, but having your FM Tuner actually tuning something via a CATV FM Tap was also very nice.
 
George,

I have what is supposed to be a passive high-end dipole T antenna marketed by C.C. Crane.

You are welcome to borrow it and try it out.
 
How about a good old Beam Box? They turn up on eBay and CL regularly and really do work. You can try mine if you like. I will say up front that it has yet to kill anything, though.:D

I tried a friends Beam Box a few years back and didn't think it made that big of a difference. Maybe I'll borrow it again and give it another shot. Thanx.
 
The best indoor FM antenna I ever used (yup, I've done (and done with) any kind of Terk) was the passive Grundig AN200. It has like 900+ inches of antenna wire wound in multiple loops.

I looked it up. Grundig labels it as an "AM antenna". I have a similar loop antenna I rifled from an old console sitting on the side of the road. It works "good", but the issue, as with my deceased Terk, is, as I surf the dial, I'm having to adjust where I have it setup, and which way it's facing. Sometimes as I walk away, the station fades out. (must be my electric personality?) I appreciate all the replies and suggestions. The Terk I had I bought @ a rummage store, and it was a few years old. Terk no longer makes that particular model. A fellow SMACer kind of figured it out. when I unplugged the wall-wart, the reception increased. So, for some reason, it started oversaturating the signals received, and cancelling other signals out. You still had to play with it, move it here and there, turn it around, lay it down, etc., depending on the station and cloud conditions. This past week, when time permitted, I put on my rabbit ears, (I can hear a lot better, but now I'm eating lot's of carrots and digging holes in the garden) set them up in the window, and made a 90 degree bend, and set each arm @ 26". So far THAT has made a noticeable improvement. When I read about the Godard FM-45, Terk FM-50 and the Magnum Dynalab ST-2, the reports and results are often conflicting. I DO agree that a solution is particular to my area and situation.
 
I read somewhere on the innerwebs that an antenna folded into a FRACTAL pattern increased reception

search for "Fractal antenna design"

Is there some need for a ground also, to be safe maybe?
 
The best indoor FM antenna I ever used (yup, I've done (and done with) any kind of Terk) was the passive Grundig AN200. It has like 900+ inches of antenna wire wound in multiple loops.

I looked this up, it is an AM antenna. Did you just hook it up to the 300 ohm FM input?
 
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