I have finally become fed up with poor to indifferent radio reception in my
home.
TV receptrion is also indifferent but several car radios work OK although
this could be that I happen to tune frequently to local stations.
Both my radios have a connection pair on the back labelled FM Aerial.
What are my options, I'd be happy to try something simple initially.
It would be hard to beat a folded dipole for simplicity.
You will need 1.5 meters of 300 ohm twin lead plus enough more to get
from where you choose to hang the antenna to the radio. Measure in 2.5
cm from each end and strip the insulation from the wires then twist and
solder, clipping off any length of wire that extends past the first turn
or turn and a half. On one side of the length of twin lead, remove the
insulation from the wire (please note the singular here) for a distance
of 1/2 the width of the wire either side of the center. Cut the wire
exactly in the center and tin the ends. Next, take the added length
and strip the insulation from both ends, crimping your choice of lugs on
one end and tinning the other. Twist one wire from the piece with lugs
to one of the wires sticking out from the 1.5 meter piece and solder.
Repeat for the other pair of loose wires. When you're done it'll look
something like this:
/-------------------------------------------------\
\-----------------------+ +-----------------------/
| |
| |
| |
| |
| |
| |
| |
O O
Hang it horizontally and connect the downlead to your radio. If it
works for you then find a way other than the soldered joint in the
center to secure the downlead to the element.
NB: The length is approximately correct for 98 MHz and a velocity
factor of 95 percent in the twin lead. It will be a little short at 88
MHz and a little long at 108, but it wil be a reasonable compromise at
these frequencies.
HTH
