Can't beat a solid Japanese analogue tuner from the 70s and the sound of sweeping up and down the dial. That is a nice find. Everything I come across is synthesized.
I made one of these out of PVC pipe and EMT for the mast itself last year mounted 20ft off the ground. Coax amp 10 ft from ANT, RG6 ran to stereo 75ft away. Installed a ground block on the coax also. HUGE improvement in our low lying wooded area here in NJ. I pick up stations now from over 50 miles away when I used to barely get the ones a few Towns over.
The higher up you can get it, the better it will work as fm radio is line of sight. Mine is 30 odd feet up and I've good asl here I can get stations from around a 90 mile radius.
Always love hearing anyone outside the U.S. using imperial. I know there are plenty of areas of everyday life that metric hasn't taken over, but it still feels good. Metric has it's place (especially science), but imperial is always going to be more human. Great video! Thank you!
Are you kidding? Only three countries - the U.S., Liberia and Myanmar still use that antiquated system. The metric system is SO MUCH easier and that is coming from a 65yo American begging everyone to convert.
@@tinaleanne8230 You know I'm a huge fan of metric paper sizes. We should absolutely convert to that. Metric is the language of science. Absolutely. There is a reason it's still holding on in America, and it's not stubbornness or ignorance.
@@tobiasgertz7800 lmao literally the latter. snake flag guys are blissfully unaware (like with so much) that in the US we are stuck with both, not one or the other. nice work everyone.
thanks for the info. - the main FM frequency I want to get is 103.9 - your explanation of calculating the proper length was very helpful. I'm going to hang one of those 'T' shaped wire radio antennas vertically which are 31 inches on each side (pretty close to what the calc said) and use a coax cable to attach to the 75ohm input and hope the gain improves. thanks again.
I'm running an old consumer RCA AM FM receiver off an outdoor antenna.the receiver is over 60 yEars old , made in the days when FM Stereo did not exist.the tuner pulls I one station very strong and pegs the magic eye tube signal indicator.most of the FM station are weaker but listening to, they do not budge the magic eye arc . I'm hoping to fix the problem within the dipole you suggest.
Would have appreciated a with antenna/without antenna comparison at three or four places on the dial. As it is, we can't tell if there was any improvement.
Signal meters are only a rough estimate really. When you can hear many many regional stations that you couldn't before is when you know its working well.
George Donaldson EI7KO Going great! Depending on what way I position it, I get the BBC stations from NI, or I’ll get the Dublin stations, KFM Kildare and East Coast FM from Wicklow. I’m also getting four transmissions of RTE Radio 1 in stereo with RDS. One of them is on 89.6 which I think is from Carlow!
If you were not afraid to open it up and add one. Basically disconnect the telescopic one on the inside, and connect a female f type socket on a flying lead
@@GeorgeEI7KOthanks for the reply. It's soldered to the board. I see two holes, but a single wire is soldered into both of them. How do I make the connections?
@@GeorgeEI7KO We are pretty screwy in America. The greater majority refuse to embrace the metric system, A "mil" that sounds like million actually means thousand.
I have a heap of trouble with one FM radio station in my area. I think I may make an antenna like this in a more simple tack to the inside wall and see if it improves the signal. If not, I'd hate to have to set up another bloody antenna because the engineers of 95.9 FM have never upgraded as necessary over the years and decided to just do patch work with their fingers crossed. All other stations are brilliant and clear. Sadly, my most favorite radio station is the only bad reception station that is broadcasting in my area.
Could this type of antenna be used to broadcast FM signal? How would I make sure the system sees 50ohms? I was also under the impression that 50 ohm coax was better for FM, both in transmission and reception.
I have a Panasonic home theater with a 2 pin connector for an fm antenna radio. I connected it to the TV antenna lead by using alligator clips, but it didn't work very well. Any ideas?
The TV antenna is probably for uhf frequencies so would be no good on the fm radio band. You should try making one of these and you'll have a good antenna then.
I live in a high terrain area and because of mountains and hills obstructing fm signals, it does not reach to my home even if the broadcasting station is just 10 km away. Can you tell me at what height should i fix the antenna. Thanks From India 🇮🇳
Hi. FM signals are line of sight. So by the description of your location with the mountains etc I don't think it will matter, especially if the transmitter is on the other side of the mountains. The general rule with any antenna is to get it as high as possible, and do it safely. Regards from Ireland
" Your feeder length needs to be taken into account with the final length of the aerial . My cable run is 125 feet"...................What does this mean.....anyone?
Hi. 1-What ia the average default lenght of 88-108Mhz fm dipole antenna?. 2-what default distance should be from the antenna to the pole? 3-which is the best half inch pipe for transmitting fm signals. Is it copper or aluminum? Looking forward for your reply. Regards, Waqar
@@GeorgeEI7KO i got some things from old market as TV antenna pipe is a vintage thing. ☺. Some cable and a tube of depoxi. I will make it in the morning and share the picture with you. Really appreciate your reply. Regards. Waqar.
@@GeorgeEI7KO i have completed the project. Thanks to. You Mr. Donaldson for guiding me. I want to share the picture of my project but its not possible in utube. I will. Try finding you in fb messenger and send you the pictures Once again. Thankyou Sir. Regards, Waqar
I am also an old School born in 1970 & have recorded tapes through vinyls and from FM back in my school says. I still love to record tapes through CD or any input source available and play those tapes alot. My son doesn't even know from where to press play or stop in a cassette deck. He says that im old and i dont know anything about technology. 😂
DESDE MONTEVIDEO URUGUAY ..BUEN TRAVAJO LASTIMA QUE LAS MEDIDAS ESTAN EN INGLES ..PODRIAS PASAR LAS MEDIDAS EN CENTIMETROS ASI MUCHAS PERSONAS PODRAN HACER ESTA MAGNIFICA ANTENA --GRACIAS ESPERANDO CONTESTACION ..ME OLVIDAVA.. GRACIAS POR TRADUCIRLO ASI SE ENTENDERA MEJOR TU TRAVAJO ..CX1 BAN TE CORDIALES 10 2 2093 ..
Nice video Led tube. dth.. internet.etc .anyone one so fm singnal not work please slove this problem Iam from india mumbai brodcast station to my town 100km please clear sound lision me on my stereo fm tuner How can i chang
Can't beat a solid Japanese analogue tuner from the 70s and the sound of sweeping up and down the dial. That is a nice find. Everything I come across is synthesized.
I made one of these out of PVC pipe and EMT for the mast itself last year mounted 20ft off the ground. Coax amp 10 ft from ANT, RG6 ran to stereo 75ft away. Installed a ground block on the coax also. HUGE improvement in our low lying wooded area here in NJ. I pick up stations now from over 50 miles away when I used to barely get the ones a few Towns over.
The higher up you can get it, the better it will work as fm radio is line of sight. Mine is 30 odd feet up and I've good asl here I can get stations from around a 90 mile radius.
Always love hearing anyone outside the U.S. using imperial. I know there are plenty of areas of everyday life that metric hasn't taken over, but it still feels good. Metric has it's place (especially science), but imperial is always going to be more human. Great video! Thank you!
Thank you!
Are you kidding? Only three countries - the U.S., Liberia and Myanmar still use that antiquated system. The metric system is SO MUCH easier and that is coming from a 65yo American begging everyone to convert.
@@tinaleanne8230 You know I'm a huge fan of metric paper sizes. We should absolutely convert to that. Metric is the language of science. Absolutely. There is a reason it's still holding on in America, and it's not stubbornness or ignorance.
@@tobiasgertz7800 lmao literally the latter. snake flag guys are blissfully unaware (like with so much) that in the US we are stuck with both, not one or the other. nice work everyone.
thanks for the info. - the main FM frequency I want to get is 103.9 - your explanation of calculating the proper length was very helpful. I'm going to hang one of those 'T' shaped wire radio antennas vertically which are 31 inches on each side (pretty close to what the calc said) and use a coax cable to attach to the 75ohm input and hope the gain improves. thanks again.
Vertical polarization works well and your design is well presented.
Thank you! Cheers! 73
Thank you George, for posting your DIY fm dipole antenna. I appreciate your effort & for helping me out.
Glad to help!
I'm running an old consumer RCA AM FM receiver off an outdoor antenna.the receiver is over 60 yEars old , made in the days when FM Stereo did not exist.the tuner pulls I one station very strong and pegs the magic eye tube signal indicator.most of the FM station are weaker but listening to, they do not budge the magic eye arc . I'm hoping to fix the problem within the dipole you suggest.
Would have appreciated a with antenna/without antenna comparison at three or four places on the dial. As it is, we can't tell if there was any improvement.
Take my word for it, massive improvement. Didn't think of doing that at the time of the video. Sorry.
would liked to have seen the power meter on a station before and after
Signal meters are only a rough estimate really. When you can hear many many regional stations that you couldn't before is when you know its working well.
would this work with a 1000 watt fm transmitter? i'm interested in building one myself.
I still hear the am/fm radio old school
You'll hear a lot of stuff further away with one of these mate.
Another interesting video George, I have an old stack system that still lights up but no sound anymore, it must too ancient like myself 😂
Probably just wants some service work Denis. If you are ever up my way, bring it up and ill sort it out.
A dipole delivers a balanced signal. It looks like you made a balun by looping the coax but you didn't mention it.
It's just a choke. Simple as that.
Nice job. Newstalk don't transmit in stereo so that's not a fault of your setup.
I was thinking that at the time. I have to say, I'm amazed at the popularity of this video. Made from junk at its finest.
I took a look because I'm thinking of getting or making one myself. I'm up in Drogheda and it's a bit of a black hole for good reception.
@@steeviebops a handy project to do. Bit of fun. I'm in Athlone. Let me know how you get on.
George Donaldson EI7KO Going great! Depending on what way I position it, I get the BBC stations from NI, or I’ll get the Dublin stations, KFM Kildare and East Coast FM from Wicklow. I’m also getting four transmissions of RTE Radio 1 in stereo with RDS. One of them is on 89.6 which I think is from Carlow!
@@steeviebops Good stuff Stevie. Delighted for you. Handy to make too!
What‘s the range? I have a big FM tower near me, but want to get signals from stations more far away.
The higher up in the clear you can get it, the better it will work.
Since the FM band is right in the middle of the VHF band (between Ch 6 and 7), why not use the "unused TV antenna"? It covers that band and more!
TV antennas are directional. This is omnidirectional.
@@GeorgeEI7KO I guess I didn't consider that, since all of the broadcast towers for the Phoenix metro area are located in the same place.
@@DustInTheWindAZ my wife stayed in phoenix earlier this year for a week.
Where did you you come up with the 98 MHz target in your figures? I'm trying to build an antenna for 1 specific radio station.
I cut it to have a flat swr in the centre of the band.
@@GeorgeEI7KO thanks.
What ever you do your self is a lot better then paying for at a shop well done, have you a video on the wire antenna you put up ? MIKE M1KEY
theres a video there on that and the open wire feeder...
this video rules for so many reasons
Cheers
Nice job George.
Cheers Fred.
How can I use such antenna with my cheap Philips FM radio?
It has a small telescopic antenna, and no coaxial port.
If you were not afraid to open it up and add one. Basically disconnect the telescopic one on the inside, and connect a female f type socket on a flying lead
@@GeorgeEI7KOthanks for the reply.
It's soldered to the board.
I see two holes, but a single wire is soldered into both of them. How do I make the connections?
@@phs125 solder one part of some coax in there, and they solder the braid to a ground location.
@@GeorgeEI7KO thank you, I'll do that
2:25 25 mil is 0.025 inches, I think you meant 25 mm which is for the most part is 1 inch
We refer to mm as mil here.
@@GeorgeEI7KO We are pretty screwy in America. The greater majority refuse to embrace the metric system, A "mil" that sounds like million actually means thousand.
I have a heap of trouble with one FM radio station in my area. I think I may make an antenna like this in a more simple tack to the inside wall and see if it improves the signal. If not, I'd hate to have to set up another bloody antenna because the engineers of 95.9 FM have never upgraded as necessary over the years and decided to just do patch work with their fingers crossed. All other stations are brilliant and clear. Sadly, my most favorite radio station is the only bad reception station that is broadcasting in my area.
I think having it outside and up in the clear is the only job Andy. The biggest pain was putting it up, and even it was not too bad.
@@GeorgeEI7KO Yeah, you are right. Get it up and it gotta work the best it will ever be.
It has to really.
Could this type of antenna be used to broadcast FM signal? How would I make sure the system sees 50ohms? I was also under the impression that 50 ohm coax was better for FM, both in transmission and reception.
No clue. I don't condone pirate radio.
You may use GP antenna (Ground plane) . GP is best for broadcast FM signal.
For FM you need 75Ω of impedience for most FM receivers.
What is your range? Any FCC visits? Im runninf 15watts. Been up about a year 24/7... im still peranoid of an FCC visit.. lol
FCC would have a long way to come to me in ireland. I only use it for receive.
I have a Panasonic home theater with a 2 pin connector for an fm antenna radio. I connected it to the TV antenna lead by using alligator clips, but it didn't work very well. Any ideas?
The TV antenna is probably for uhf frequencies so would be no good on the fm radio band. You should try making one of these and you'll have a good antenna then.
@@GeorgeEI7KO Are skinny cables on the alligator clips sufficient? And is there enough contact from the clips to the pins?
@@newsgetsold once they are as short as you can get them.
Thanks for this video
Most welcome
Very nice!
Thank you! Simple but effective.
listen to that quality
Cheers
I live in a high terrain area and because of mountains and hills obstructing fm signals, it does not reach to my home even if the broadcasting station is just 10 km away.
Can you tell me at what height should i fix the antenna.
Thanks
From India 🇮🇳
Hi. FM signals are line of sight. So by the description of your location with the mountains etc I don't think it will matter, especially if the transmitter is on the other side of the mountains. The general rule with any antenna is to get it as high as possible, and do it safely. Regards from Ireland
@@GeorgeEI7KO Thank You
What's the black tape on the copper tubing for, asstetics ?
Yep. Stop it going green etc.
@@GeorgeEI7KO ok ty... Your video was well done and I TY for that. I'm going to try and do a 300 ohm indoor version of what you did next weekend.
@@jason4547 good stuff. Be sure to let us know how you get on. I like to contain as much information as I can in these videos.
IF I CAN CATCH YOU , WILL YOU GIVE ME YOUR POT OF GOLD ?
You'll have to catch me first....
can i use this for a fm transmitter
This design is for reception only.
" Your feeder length needs to be taken into account with the final length of the aerial . My cable run is 125 feet"...................What does this mean.....anyone?
Extremely long runs (like mine) can mean the length of the copper tubes may need to be trimmed slightly.
Hi.
1-What ia the average default lenght of 88-108Mhz fm dipole antenna?.
2-what default distance should be from the antenna to the pole?
3-which is the best half inch pipe for transmitting fm signals. Is it copper or aluminum?
Looking forward for your reply.
Regards,
Waqar
I discuss all these things in the video
@@GeorgeEI7KO i got some things from old market as TV antenna pipe is a vintage thing. ☺. Some cable and a tube of depoxi. I will make it in the morning and share the picture with you.
Really appreciate your reply.
Regards.
Waqar.
@@GeorgeEI7KO i have completed the project. Thanks to. You Mr. Donaldson for guiding me. I want to share the picture of my project but its not possible in utube. I will. Try finding you in fb messenger and send you the pictures
Once again.
Thankyou Sir.
Regards,
Waqar
I am also an old School born in 1970 & have recorded tapes through vinyls and from FM back in my school says. I still love to record tapes through CD or any input source available and play those tapes alot. My son doesn't even know from where to press play or stop in a cassette deck. He says that im old and i dont know anything about technology. 😂
Copper is the best conductor next to silver but aluminum is much better due to weight and is corrosive characteristics.
"youtube nazis". I feel you, mate!
They're unreal mate. its ridiculous now. Tik Tok and all the other platforms it seems anything goes...
What do you mean when you say that your feeder length must be taken into account .
If its very very long you may have to alter the length of the copper pipe.
Thanks for that
Hush and begorah! Ya dint say now do yas?
I blame Hollywood for that shit.
ciao marco poggili
grazie mille ciao
DESDE MONTEVIDEO URUGUAY ..BUEN TRAVAJO LASTIMA QUE LAS MEDIDAS ESTAN EN INGLES ..PODRIAS PASAR LAS MEDIDAS EN CENTIMETROS ASI MUCHAS PERSONAS PODRAN HACER ESTA MAGNIFICA ANTENA --GRACIAS ESPERANDO CONTESTACION ..ME OLVIDAVA.. GRACIAS POR TRADUCIRLO ASI SE ENTENDERA MEJOR TU TRAVAJO ..CX1 BAN TE CORDIALES 10 2 2093 ..
What's a chimley lol 😂
Nice video
Led tube. dth.. internet.etc .anyone one so fm singnal not work please slove this problem
Iam from india mumbai brodcast station to my town 100km please clear sound lision me on my stereo fm tuner
How can i chang
Thanks for sharing
Tuigim
Go maith.