FM & LED shop lights

[pepi]

I have static being introduced from the shop lights, one station only.

Using 35 ft of coaxial, fed to the outside, married to an automotive FM antenna.
Being that it affects one station, my thought is the signal of the station is to weak to over come the noise.

Two questions, can anyone suggest a quality FM antenna that is built for FM only?

Should an amplifier be considered, is there a preferred brand that should be considered?
Thanks in advance
Pep

 

[kellys_eye]

Changing the antenna won't make any difference - possibly just make it worse!

The interference is obviously from one of the LEDs producing harmonics in the 88-108MHz range, specifically at that particular station frequency, and a 'better' antenna will only pick up a 'better' signal - even if it's interference.

Take a new light bulb and exchange it with each bulb one-at-a-time until the interference stops, then leave that new bulb where it is.

You could also lengthen the antenna cable and relocate the antenna, using quality coax and connectors, a LONG way from the source, routing the cable as far from the area as possible too (not essential but everything helps).

 

[duke37]

The coax is fed from the antenna, not the receiver.
The shop lights are producing interference on one frequency, this is where the propblem is.
A directional antenna may help to distinguish one source from another. Chose a Yagi, two to four elements and set it up for the correct polarisation.
A preamp is likely to make matters worse if there is enough signal. An automotive antenna may have one built in already. With a very strong signal, sometimes an attenuator can help to reduce cross modulation.

 

[pepi]

Good info guys, I will use ideas found in both post, see what i come up with.
Thanks for putting me on the right track...

Pep

 

[Audioguru]

Static is AM interference that is ignored by a half-decent FM radio. A cheap FM radio picks up and plays a lot of AM crap.

 

[pepi]

It's am FM tuner, not thinking it has that problem, several steps above radio shack.

Pep

 

[Audioguru]

I never bought a Radio Shack tuner but I did buy two sets of their speakers. The Minimus 7 speakers had a 4" woofer and very nice dome tweeter in sealed enclosures but the "30W" rating of the woofers was revealed when they burnt out. The woofers were stamped 5W Korea.

The second set of Radio Shack speakers had a nice low clearance price maybe because the cone tweeters were cheap and awful sounding but the 6.5" woofers are excellent. I replace the tweeters with European dome tweeters and designed and installed much better crossover networks. I also added a port on each sealed enclosure for deeper bass.

 

[pepi]

Solved .............. crystal clear, cleaned up the noise of the one station I was trying to pull in.

Pep

Speakers ......... how about these purchased in 1967, med cruise, three way, horn tweeters. Base drivers paper cones, still intact and tight.






Had some base drivers with foam type cones, total crap. Always dried out, falling apart.. Did find repair kits for same .. but was it the point.

Insanity is doing the same thing over and over expecting different results

 

[duke37]

Solved .............. crystal clear, cleaned up the noise of the one station I was trying to pull in.

Pep

So, how was this miraicle achieved?

 

[pepi]

Did not move light tubs around, went for a real FM antenna as the starting point. Once I had that put it on a 15ft pole. Garage has an open ceiling, moved the antenna up and around the trusses until I found the sweet spot.

Temporarily secured the pole and antenna, purchased some plastic clamps and will attach the antenna to the inside of the roof, remove the pole.

On vacation and painting trim and doors, will have the mounting finished in between the drying paint..

You might find this interesting:

The tuner has a F type antenna connector single pin in metal housing . Using a coaxial union remove the threads, and smooth one end. Worked it over until it friction fit the inside of the housing of the F connector.

The end result, a female coaxial connector on the back of the tuner. The unmolested end allows for the standard male coaxial plug, to be screwed on with shielding.

Pep