[Chris]

We need either a boombox or small compact stereo, incl. CD and
cassette, but *also* that can pull in FM stations well. It appears that
mfr's don't care about this issue, and reviewers seldom mention it (if
they review boomboxes at all). We got a Sony CFD-S350 since we have had
some Sony's with good FM sensitivity. But it doesn't get one particular
station quite well enough-- the one that's of most interest.

I'm wondering if there's any potential in clipping a wire to the whip
antenna. I seem to remember that tuners have different design
considerations for built-in vs external antennas, implying that trying
to use the whip as an "input" for something else won't work. Any tips
appreciated.

[Richard Crowley]

"Chris" wrote ...
We need either a boombox or small compact stereo, incl. CD and
cassette, but *also* that can pull in FM stations well. It appears
that
mfr's don't care about this issue, and reviewers seldom mention it (if
they review boomboxes at all). We got a Sony CFD-S350 since we have
had
some Sony's with good FM sensitivity. But it doesn't get one
particular
station quite well enough-- the one that's of most interest.

I'm wondering if there's any potential in clipping a wire to the whip
antenna. I seem to remember that tuners have different design
considerations for built-in vs external antennas, implying that trying
to use the whip as an "input" for something else won't work. Any tips
appreciated.

Nothing beats a good directional external antenna aimed
directly at the transmitter. There are various ways of
coupling it into those cheap "dangling wire" boom-boxes.

[Laurence Payne]

On Wed, 27 Dec 2006 05:54:06 -0800, "Richard Crowley"
wrote:

I'm wondering if there's any potential in clipping a wire to the whip
antenna. I seem to remember that tuners have different design
considerations for built-in vs external antennas, implying that trying
to use the whip as an "input" for something else won't work. Any tips
appreciated.

Nothing beats a good directional external antenna aimed
directly at the transmitter. There are various ways of
coupling it into those cheap "dangling wire" boom-boxes.

The aerial tends to be a "sticky-up rod" on these boxes. What's the
best way to couple a quality external aerial?

[Arny Krueger]

"Laurence Payne" lpayne1NOSPAM@dslDOTpipexDOTcom wrote in
message
On Wed, 27 Dec 2006 05:54:06 -0800, "Richard Crowley"
wrote:

I'm wondering if there's any potential in clipping a
wire to the whip antenna. I seem to remember that
tuners have different design considerations for
built-in vs external antennas, implying that trying to
use the whip as an "input" for something else won't
work. Any tips appreciated.

Nothing beats a good directional external antenna aimed
directly at the transmitter. There are various ways of
coupling it into those cheap "dangling wire" boom-boxes.

The aerial tends to be a "sticky-up rod" on these boxes.
What's the best way to couple a quality external aerial?

Connect coax to the rod, and chassis ground near the FM tuner box.

Use an apropriate balun if your external antenna is 300 ohm.

[AZ Nomad]

On Wed, 27 Dec 2006 14:11:52 +0000, Laurence Payne lpayne1NOSPAM@dslDOTpipexDOTcom wrote:


On Wed, 27 Dec 2006 05:54:06 -0800, "Richard Crowley"
wrote:

I'm wondering if there's any potential in clipping a wire to the whip
antenna. I seem to remember that tuners have different design
considerations for built-in vs external antennas, implying that trying
to use the whip as an "input" for something else won't work. Any tips
appreciated.

Nothing beats a good directional external antenna aimed
directly at the transmitter. There are various ways of
coupling it into those cheap "dangling wire" boom-boxes.

The aerial tends to be a "sticky-up rod" on these boxes. What's the
best way to couple a quality external aerial?

Connect the antenna to an external tuner and feed that into an aux
input or a cassette adapter.

[bob]

Richard Crowley wrote:

Nothing beats a good directional external antenna aimed
directly at the transmitter. There are various ways of
coupling it into those cheap "dangling wire" boom-boxes.

This question crops up regularly, and this is the stock (and correct)
answer. But a rooftop directional antenna is not feasible for everyone.
So let's ask the question a little differently:

If a rooftop directional antenna isn't feasible, is there *anything*
one can do to at least marginally improve the reception of a given
tuner, and if so what?

bob

[Richard Crowley]

"bob" wrote ...
Richard Crowley wrote:

Nothing beats a good directional external antenna aimed
directly at the transmitter. There are various ways of
coupling it into those cheap "dangling wire" boom-boxes.

This question crops up regularly, and this is the stock (and correct)
answer. But a rooftop directional antenna is not feasible for everyone.
So let's ask the question a little differently:

If a rooftop directional antenna isn't feasible, is there *anything*
one can do to at least marginally improve the reception of a given
tuner, and if so what?

For FM, an indoor antenna like a proper folded dipole, fastened
to an external wall which is oriented broadside to the direction of
the transmitter.

For AM, an indoor loop antenna as large as you can manage, and
tuned with an appropriate capacitor. Again, highly directional.

In either case, just extending the existing antenna wire/rod/whip, etc.
may have some beneficial effect.

[Michael Black]

"Chris" ) writes:
We need either a boombox or small compact stereo, incl. CD and
cassette, but *also* that can pull in FM stations well. It appears that
mfr's don't care about this issue, and reviewers seldom mention it (if
they review boomboxes at all). We got a Sony CFD-S350 since we have had
some Sony's with good FM sensitivity. But it doesn't get one particular
station quite well enough-- the one that's of most interest.

I'm wondering if there's any potential in clipping a wire to the whip
antenna. I seem to remember that tuners have different design
considerations for built-in vs external antennas, implying that trying
to use the whip as an "input" for something else won't work. Any tips
appreciated.


You may be asking the wrong question.

I brought home a "mini stereo' that I found waiting for the garbage trucks,
and was disappointed when one non-local station that is generally receivable
here was noisy. I was all set to attach some wire for better reception,
when I realized that my touching the antenna improved reception on that
receiver, and somehow grasped I was attenuating the signal. When I
removed the whip antenna (it was easily unscrewable from the outside)
the noisiness went away.

Most FM tuners are actually more than sensitive enough. Either they
are good enough, or the station is not regularly receivable.

On the other hand, a lot of FM tuners and radios are made too sensitive,
which is not needed in an urban environment. But, that sensitivity
means overloading among the many local stations. And that overload masks
the reception of weaker stations. That seems to be the situation with
that mini-stereo that I found, removing the antenna made the local stations
weaker so the receiver was not overloading, but the relatively strong
non-local station was still coming through.

Adding external antennas, as some have suggested, may make the situation
worse. External antennas will provide even stronger signals, and cause
more overload.

I got a used shortwave receiver in September, and I notice a similar
reception problem on that same non-local FM station. But, the manual
actually mentions keeping the whip antenna extended to less than
full, since the whip is also used on shortwave where the longer
length is needed.

Depending on the station you want to receive, it may require a different
receiver.

Michael