FM Antennas - How To Improve Your FM Stereo Reception
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- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 27 ก.ค. 2020
- In this video I talk about FM antennas you can use to improve reception on your radio or stereo. I go through both indoor FM antenna and outdoor antenna options. Some of these costs as little as $10. I also talk about antennas for AM radio. Can you use an HD TV antenna for FM radio?
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i have watched in a store where i get the materials for set ups an combiner or separator VHF/UHF FM those really works?
@@megacap558 l000
I listen to AM radio just about everyday! I don’t have any issues with it. I think you seriously are underestimating just how many people still listen to AM radio.
I'm 25+ miles from the AM x-mitters I listen to, it's a lost cause. Like he said here, I just use the app on my phone along with a bluetooth box I plug into the tape input on my old receiver. I get that AM station in hi-fi stereo all day, every day!
As a 40 year radio broadcaster, you're not too far off on your AM radio predictions, but as a DXer, I still love the band. I love hearing Oldies stations that still broadcast on AM radio too and I think there'll always be a place for AM radio. Remember that when the internet goes away sometime, somehow, someway...AM/FM radio is going to become VERY important again. ;-)
AM radio definitely pulls in stations from far further away. I've enjoyed DXing for decades, and the band is the go to band for this sort of thing. Late nights and colder weather always help, but a proper antenna and a great receiver are super important. For music, FM has my heart. As a DXer, it's gotta be AM.
"...you're not too far off on your AM radio predictions..." Oh yeah? Don't be surprised to see a resurgence in AM. I see no evidence that points to it's going away.
well, it's becoming just a part of the fabric of right-wing leaning America. Lots of hatred and lies on AM radio stations over the past several years, so I guess you're right. It's quite healthy in places unfortunately.
@@notgiven3114
Radio is still important. Two big earthquake happened in my country last year and thousands of buildings collapsed. There was no way to get information and news other than fm radio.
Dude! You're killing me! I love a.m. radio! And I am under 70.
And it is greatly improved with a highly sensitive and selective AM receiver. Also adding an AM Loop antenna (from Terk for instance) or one of those more expensive CCrane Twin Core Ferrite tunable antennas will pull in AM stations clearly. AM can be OK with a proper receiver and antenna setup.
I'm 65 an am is about all I listen to. I'm with you
I too am a big fan of AM radio and under 30.
@@jkeelsnc yea ita a yamahaa htr 5450 thats a digital reciever?
@@jkeelsnc i got 2 sat dishes on the roof Not dooin nuthin i should put a mast extention and 60" T across the top
I still listen to AM for sportstalk in my area. I also know a couple guys that still even listen to shortwave as a hobby.
You mentioned you would be surprised if a handful of viewers listened to AM radio so I'm thinking you were shocked when you read the comments. I love your interpretation of AM reception, so damn cute.
I'm very sad, from my 33 years old, that you're just waiting for some to dig a tumb for AM radio. While you do that, I can't wait the day i'll have a peice of land where i'll can grab a few sets of mast and rig myself a tall or taller mast to hang various antenna on it, especially something to pickup nicely am stations. U know, I have a Marconi 1961 tube furniture stereo-hi-fi cabinet. And the best AM I EVER HEARD was from that damn thing. Well tuned, it was almost as clear as FM, very warm sound, not the harsh AM sound you get in those automobiles digital tuners anymore. All the brightness was there, there was very little sibillance distortion. I now knew that AM was capable of great results with proper equipments. I hope you will fild the joy to explore AM one day and perhaps, build yourself an am transmitter just for the joy of hearing at the other end the stuff your transmitter transmit. That's how HAM radio starts! Keep going strong with your channel. I really enjoy discovering more about antennas! Cheers
AM is great. at night I hear stations from all over the USA.
In mono (usually), and at very low fidelity
@@michaelturpen5159 Get a decent AM radio, one at least 30 years old, and the fidelity will surprise you. Most newer AM radios sound like a telephone.
I also only listen to a.m. stations at night when I am at my country house in the middle of nowhere. I don’t even listen to the shows or music, I just want to see how far the stations are. It’s a cheap DX opportunity...
I can hear one from Canada.
I use a tunable AM loop antenna, it removes static from many nearby electronic sources
I listen to AM radio daily lol. I use an AM indoor loop antenna. I like to DX far away AM stations. BTW I also own that FM loop antenna and I can tell you it works very well. Thank you for the video.
You're a Great American for helping us old guys listen to the oldies station! Thank you!
Stereo receivers are notorious for poor radio reception. Not all of them, of course, but many.
Truth and Quality
Practical and Useful Information.
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FM has two components , Mono FM , and Stereo FM.
Early Stereo FM Receivers had a switch to switch , Mono FM
or Stereo FM.
Mono FM would usually clear up the static.
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Will some modern FM Receivers switch , Mono and Stereo.??
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Before giving a quick answer , do some research.
@@genesky61 Most of the Stereo receivers available on the market have also Mono mode for weak signal stations. Either is a switch on the back of the tuner or on the remote or in the menu for hybrid FM and DAB tuners.
Wow, you have a lot of hate for AM radio. I listen to it everyday. It's still a great source for sports radio especially from out of market, out of state games.
Yep listen to stations 500-1200 miles away on clear channel stations on Sangean prd15
The only AM station I get that comes in really good is a local station where the transmitter is about 6 miles away. Most stations in my market, Chicago, either comes in if the transmitter is on the Willis Tower or John Hancock Building. The rest that are in the Chicago suburbs don't come in at all, even with a Loop Antenna.
AM is still good for local news stations. It's just not as good for music as FM is.
I think some of the dismissal is not understanding it, therefore its bad. Its no secret that AM stations are on the decline, but when properly engineered with relevant content they can still hold their own.
@@JustinColeYT1 AM stations do not transmit from Sears or Hancock. AM transmitters require one or more towers that are constructed to match the electrical resonance of the frequency, which results in towers that are 100s of feet tall. There are many FM and TV stations on Sears and Hancock.
We have old house that has a dual electric / AM radio outlet. This was high tech back in the day when radio was king.
AM antenna is still in attic, just need to find an old timey AM radio to use the AM antenna outlet ...
thats really freakn cool
I remember seeing how to make an AM antenna setup. Mainly for Short Wave but also for Medium Wave. The plate also had a jack for antenna and ground or as known as Earth.
Many stereo sound amps now come with multiple aux inputs for DVD, CD, Turntable, Cable television, Satellite radio signal etc. They usually also have an AM/FM receiver without built in antennae. They have antennae jacks...see where I'm going with this?
@@efandmk3382 AM and FM radio receivers usually have jacks for 300 ohm Antennas For FM but the AM has a built-in Ferrite loop antennas. AM usually picked up well with just that loop antenna. If you want to, you can wrap a winding on that Ferrite loop antenna and run a wire outside the receiver. And then outside. For standard broadcast radio it's best to use a loop antenna they make large loop antennas for medium wave radio or you can build them also. FM for built in they often use the line cord and connect to one of the 300 ohm screws. The connection to the line cord is not directly connected but radio wise it is. I had an all American 5 tube radio with an antenna wire sticking out the back of the radio. It was connected to the tuning capacitor where one end of the Ferrite loop was connected, its better to wind the coil around the Ferrite loop antenna because of a shock hazard with series tube radios they have no power transformers inside. The chassis is connected to the line cord of the 120 volt line. If plugged in wrong the chassis was hot. They did not use polarized line cords back then.
@@ronb6182 I agree, a couple of wraps around the internal AM ferrite rod can be very effective. DXing AM stations can be very interesting.
Most of the noise on AM radio is caused by "noisy" electrical devices with their switching power supplies. Solar panels don't help either. When I go camping in the Adirondacks, away from the noise it's clear as a bell.... at night. During the day it's dead.
I use my OTA antenna to my FM receivers and they work very well. They are hard to find but I also have an HD tuner which adds many commercial free programming channels as well as repeated AM stations such as KYW and distant FM stations such as WOLD in north Jersey.
Great video. BTW I have a 1938 Philco floor radio 38-7 with all the NYC stations on the dial that works.
I listen to AM radio almost every day.
me to. it must be bad where he is but here we have several good Am radio stations around here.
Tyler, I don't think you realize how many people listen to Talk radio which is primarily on AM stations.
Glen Beck went insane a few years ago so I stopped listening to him. Just picked him back up last December. He seems much better now.
I'm listening to Rush at this very moment.
Most of these stations you can stream with much better sound quality than a.m.. I used to listen to a.m. years ago and DX, now there's nothing but wing nuts and talk shows on.
and it has more than just political talk more sports then politics.
Exactly, that's the "Millennial" coming out of him!
Local Rush station now broadcasts the same thing on their FM station so I have no need for AM anymore. I never found a way to get the local AM station without a lot of noise.
I really like AM radio. One thing I did, used a thread adapter, barrel spring, and one of my unused whips for a cb antenna(4ft I think), and replaced the stock antenna on my truck. It really improved my overall reception
A long piece of grounded wire can improve AM reception without directly connecting to the radio. It just needs several loops located near the radio to induce the AM signal in the radio's tuning circuit.
I listen to am radio all the time! I listen to sports broadcasts with it.
We need more videos like this instead of just TV antennas. Radio is very important than just television.
Ya, been looking for way to improve reception for portable radios (besides buying a better radio).
Have frequent power outages and radio is the best means to have some idea of what's going on.
I'm tellin ya, I see a day where we will need the old airwaves again.
Truth and Quality
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I agree.
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What will happen if for some reason , any reason ,
the reason does not matter.
1/3 or more of the Humans disappear/gone , not here.
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Leave religion and such , out of the question ,
so the Humans can Think More Clearly.
And the question still applies , what will happen??
yeap...imo if we ever get into a "real" war the 1st target should be all the satellites before the invasion ...the younger gen wont know how to coop once all the sats are gone
@@maddogziggy My exact thought on the sats. thats why I said we will need the air waves again for any info at all !
@@r.h.8754 Digital brodcasting is trash, analog radio and television are both superior and more reliable.
@@DRMFreeTV Anyone who knows anything knows this. He mentioned liking '50s. '60s, and '70s oldies but he doesn't seem to know about all the oldies music on the AM band. What's more, the AM band was where the '50s. '60s, and '70s were originally on. Top 40 and Pop music wasn't on FM much until the mid to late 70's, I know because I remember. WABC 77 AM in NYC didn't drop Top/40 until 1982, that was also the year ,my favorite AM station went over to news too. There is still a lot of music on AM, he needs to get out sometime! Canada uses the AM band even more than FM because of its long range and because how Canada is spaced out. The have a lot of fine music stations on AM in Canada.
AM radio is alive and well. I just paid $90.00 for a CCRadio EP Pro. There are hundreds of oldies stations on AM.
By the way, to improve AM reception, try using a Tecsun AN-200 loop antenna. There is no need to physically connect it. Just orient it at a 90 degree angle to the radio. As you know, it's called inductive coupling.
@@richardmerriam7044 Even though the CCrane radio is the best the loop still helps it some. A loop can also turn a cheap radio into a DX machine! I have the Tecsun loop too. It really helps the smaller radios with tiny ferrite antennas. I bought a Sangean PR-D4W and it`s just as good as the CCranes and less expensive. Great radio!
@@baneverything5580 The Tecsun loop will help the CCrane Solar Observer as well.
some of us still listen to AM radio and even shortwave sometimes. AM is where talk shows are like Rush Limbaugh
I used to listen to Shortwave in the 80s
WRNO was a musical treat. I was fascinated by the AFRTS stations. Radio Moscow was fun for the mailbag show full of Soviet Propaganda. And of course, the number stations.
@@visaman its still fun especially at night when the signals bounce around. i remember one night i was on a late job sitting in my truck on top of a hill and could pick up a chicago radio station in new york and that was just an AM car radio nothing fancy
@@mikecubes1642 The CCrane EP PRO has AM/FM antenna inputs. It`s amazing! Comes with AC adapter or you can use four D batteries. AM reception is incredible!
Tyler, I was shocked to hear the assessment on AM radio! It seemed it was still popular and I checked the Nielson ratings through June 2020. AM stations are #1 in Chicago, San Francisco, and Atlanta. In the Boston, Philly, Los Angeles, and Houston markets, AM stations are in the top 5. There are two AM stations in the top 10 in the largest radio market of New York. Excellent reception can be gained with an inexpensive AM Loop antenna which could fit on a small dinner plate. For FM, I use the folded loop antenna that you mention and it brings in stations from Oregon to British Columbia from inside the house. FM radio is a double edged sword where too much range creates interference from multiple markets that operate on the same frequency.
Often there will be one or two AMs in a given market with good ratings, and all the rest are bottom feeders. 8 or 9 out of the top 10 in any market are FM.
You’ll find that most AM is either sports or conservative talk . Why wouldn’t the FCC try to eliminate it?? 🤔
If talk radio ever goes to FM then AM is dead. Rush Limbaugh pulled AM from the grave in the late 80's. Had it not been for him it would be gone already.
AM must not die, it is a very cheap electronic system as a transmitter. AM signal travels a very much longer distance than FM so for remote regions it can be a question of security, FM is very limited where distance and obstacle is concerned. In any kind of national emergency, you will always reach people more easily, no need of satellite, no need of fancy transmission systems and computer like it is needed for digital. As long as you can broadcast, AM won't fail and you will reach everyone who kept at least one AM tuner.
I listen to radio differently than most people. I don't listen to radio to hear the closest radio station in my area. I listen to the radio to try to get the furthest stations i can possilbly get. I have a 4 1/2 foot copper wire vertically tied to a screw in my room. I can get radio stations 130-160 miles daily. Sometimes up to 200, I enjoy Dxing FM radio. I can safely say that I CAN get 160 miles daily on radio unlike TV, where 40-60 miles is the best I can do. The best FM antenna is one placed vertically because you can get stations in every direction. Straight up in the air catches signals 360 degrees. I build my own FM antennas.
I asked you about FM antennas months ago and you weren't really into them and now you are. All right! I have an omni directional outdoor FM antenna that I use for FM and local TV stations and it works great. I also have a directional FM antenna that picks up KQRS 92.5 from the Twin Cities with a Carver Tuner and I am 95 miles away.
I've been into radio for decades. I know you're mainly a TV man, but thanks for this video.
Thank you for this, Antenna Man! One never cares about the subject much... until they need it! Funny thing is I work at a radio station in my area but it's always great to revisit the basics. Thank you for the helpful tips, my friend! Stay well.
Excellent video. It's about time that this channel had a video on radio reception, especially FM radio reception. Thanks for sharing and posting.
Tyler this is Chuck Smith the antenna man. One thing that might help depending on the station you are trying to receive if using an outdoor antenna. A lot of radio stations today have better power transmission in the vertical polarity than in horizontal. The reason for this is that 90 % of their listening audience is generally mobile and of course most car antennas are vertical. So for a lot of your DX'ers or just weak signal try your outdoor antenna vertical polarity instead of horizontally.
Yes people still listen AM radio
I listen to an 540 in fort dodge.its the last real country station without southern pop
I personally think that a major issue with AM radio is the fact that newly produced AM tuners (and even newly produced FM tuners, honestly) are just extremely low quality. My 1970s handheld RadioShack AM/FM radio can pick up clear and strong AM signals from Minnesota, Missouri, Indiana, Ohio, Louisiana, Tennessee, and South Carolina...in Kentucky. I know that Tyler is just trying to be funny, but I think he’s being a bit unfair to good ole AM. After all, CB and SW are alive and well around here. AM is too, with its great selection of sports, talk, religion, conservative politics, news, weather, comedy, and music.
I do at night sometimes,, I have to turn the lights off in my garage before I can pick up stations though...there is a cool talk show that comes on late at night, that discusses aliens and strange happenings...
When I was in high school everyone I knew in school listned to WLS Chicago every night.
@@carbonblack1002 650 WSM The air castle of the south is also one of very few true country station's left on AM and the only one that is class A.
AM is perfect for talk radio. I listen to it every morning for news, weather and sports. I seriously doubt it is as dead as you say. Of course, for music, I switch to FM.
There are many oldies stations on AM. The really old stuff from the mid-late 1950's actually sounds more authentic on AM.
Back in the early 1980s my job took me to the Bahamas 180 miles from the Florida coast, where I lived about a year. I really missed Rock music so I bought four of the Radio Shack FM Yagi antennas (tuned specifically to the FM band) and built an array aimed at the Miami area. I connected the four antennas in parallel with 300 ohm twin lead which dropped the impedance to 75 ohms balanced. Then I used a 1:1 balun connected with LMR-400-75 cable. The results were amazing! I picked up FM stations from most of south Florida thus quenching my thirst for American radio.
For FM reception I use a 3 element Yagi antenna has a matching transformer 300 ohms to 75 ohms and can be summed with a UHF antenna for TV using a VHF+UHF combiner. I get 25 out of 28 channels in STEREO the others are in MONO because they are very far from my area. In Romania all FM stations are broadcasting vertically so you need a vertical antenna for a better reception. All the radios in my house have a 75 ohm input just like a TV set. Soon we will have DAB digital radio on VHF High Band. The problem is that FM and DAB especially the ones with weak signal are heavily affected by LED TVs, monitors, LED light bulbs and you don't have a stable reception that's why I use an outdoor FM antenna. The Yagi FM antenna is the best. In some cases an active splitter may be necessary for a stable reception on weak stations.
AM is for us old guys. I live in the Ozarks and would like to get better reception as cable/internet are not available except by satellite and we all know how well that works.
I love am to i live in the ozarks in dallas county and can pole in all kinds of am stations like to listen to 650 am witch has the grand olay opry i have a blue tooth speeker that has fm and on fm i can get all kinds of stations from north west arkansas southeastern ks and alot of missouri i have puled up to 30 country stations before
Try turning your satle light intena in to a telavision intena if you have a dish i hear it works well are you in a lower portion of the ozarks
@@Peersoncasteell , yep southwest end of Tabl Rock lake just on the border.
Scott Johnston do you get ky3 chanel 3 on tv down there
@@Peersoncasteell , I don't know is that out of Springfield. Those stations can be tough sometimes. I'm going to get a better dual direction antenna because where we are it will work perfectly to just set it and I'll get Springfield and Rogers. We just moved and are figuring things out.
I've found that 2 75 cm. (length is important) pieces of wire works a treat. Connect one to one side of the antenna input and the other to the other side and orient them in a vertical plane with one wire going up and the other going down and you will have a significant improvement in reception. In my case I had 5 s points across the dial. A pretty good result for stripping the ends off the couple of bits of scrap wire. If you are using external antennas insure that they are mounted vertically.
My home is 75 miles from a major city in each direction and in the mountains. It was built wired for coax cable TV, which I don't use. I have a Philips version of the Bose table radio (better than the Bose BTW but not sold since around 2008)....and it has the coax antenna connection.
Hook it up to the cable and then unhook the cable junction for that room on the outside of the house. Plug in a outdoor antenna (in my case I just used a $7 TV dipole rabbit ears fastened to the roof eave) no drilling, no fuss.
crystal clear for 50 to 80 miles. Mountain helps a bit.
Tyler, your generosity of sharing your knowledge we are grateful for. I happen to be a fan of am radio for talk shows and ball games and sports talk. I seldom listen to music because it's just the same old stuff usually.
this is really a fun video, not only have I enjoyed listening to radio as a hobby, I am an amateur radio operator, so listening to discussion about antennas for radio whether it be for music or other purposes is quite fascinating. I didn’t realize that they were still dedicated outdoor FM commercial radio antennas available anymore so thank you for all the great information.
As operators we're expected to make our own antennas as needed. 73s
@@randyduncan795 Who says?
Remember when you could use cable TV to pull in stations? Pepperidge Farm remembers.
Once upon a time, cable companies would offer FM radio service as a byproduct. However, as capacity limitation was reached, the US FM frequency band was repurposed to provide three or four additional TV channels.
@@lcarliner In Europe all cable providers offer digital radio with digital TV, DVB-C is the standard we use. Most of the digital TV sets in Europe can receive cable radio which has different frequencies either on VHF or UHF. You can easily find them by changing the channels on your TV set usually they are on channel 800 or 900 using LCN. If you have a cable box there is a button on the remote for TV/Radio.
There are a few cable channels that overlap FM stations. 95 through 98 cable ready channels if I remember correctly.
@waldo1967, Yeah I do, now it's all "Music Choice" unless you live in Hawaii (according to Wikipedia) where local stations broker out cable channels for their broadcasts.
Thank you for making this video.
Antenna Man, your channel name implies an understanding of how antennae work. This video informs about some options but does not impart any understanding.
I believe you have the ability to produce a video which not only informs of options, but also explains the underlying concepts of how antennae work.
I look forward to such a video.
Thank you Antenna Man. I have a Yamaha receiver HTR 5240 which I acquired used. It had no antenna. For years I messed around trying to get radio reception; even contacted Yamaha. When I saw your video I ordered the dipole antenna thru your link. It works! Now my stereo can make superb radio. Thank you again.
i listen to sports talk radio on am
Excellent, I've been waiting for a video about FM reception. Thanks Tyler!
You are very articulate and knowledgeable! Thanks,Tyler!
We appreciate you and looking forward to utilizing your tips!
Thank you for helping Mike. Nothing like classic oldies.
In Vancouver, BC, we have an AM station that is 24 hour traffic reports. It repeatedly gets higher ratings than our two all sports stations.
I believe Rush Limbaugh is the most listened to radio personality (AM)
Also Coast2Coast AM
He is, for all the racists and klu Klux Klan members. Like I said there's nothing good on AM except stuff for bigots.
@@jhr2112 I had made a similar reply to another guy talking about rush & hannity on AM. I might just toss my old AM radio if that's all that's on AM!
He’s dead.
Thank you, thank you, thank you! This is the on I've been waiting for you. The oldies station is a bonus. Again, Thank You!
I like am radio I look for away stations with a special antenna only nite I live LA I'll get az nv tx
Years ago, my grandfather was listening to the radio one night, and he told everyone the weather man said we had some really bad weather coming. He was really concerned about it. Turns out that he was listening to a station in Del Rio, Texas. We are in eastern Ohio.
@@mothman-jz8ug That station claimed to be in Del Rio Texas but it was across the river in Ciudad Acuna, Mexico. XERF's transmitter had at least 5 times the power allowed to AM broadcast stations in the USA. I listened to it regularly from Illinois after dark when the AM broadcast frequencies open up. In the 60's I spent some time at Guantanamo Cuba. After dark we listened to WLS in Chicago and WABC in New York. They both had 50,000 watt transmitters, the most powerful permitted in the AM broadcast band in the USA.
WLW 700 in Cincinnati was a Westinghouse station that really pushed the power. Liquid-cooled vacuum tubes for transmitting! It got out so well that it is said during the Soviet era, KGB school would use it in Russia to train agents in English language and American culture. World's Largest Wireless, indeed!
@@bwtv147 Back in the early days of radio some AM stations ran much more than 50,000 watts. Some topped out at almost half a megawatt . I believe KDKA was running 400kw at one time.
@@eminence_front6043 I looked it up. From 1934 til 1939 WLW had an experimental license to run 500KW.
www.neh.gov/humanities/2015/mayjune/feature/in-the-1930s-radio-station-wlw-in-ohio-was-americas-one-and-only-sup
Medium wave or better known as AM is still very much alive though greatly diminished. Where I live there is a local class D station that airs "When radio was" on weekday evenings for two hours. I listen to it regularly and the station comes in as good as it ever could, sounds fantastic with the old reruns.
Update as of one week ago this station is no longer on AM. It has become an Internet only station but the format remains the same. Now I am no longer able to get that crisp old time AM sound on the reruns :( So now I'll have to go with the stream.
New update! as of the past week or two the AM station has changed formats again! it is now an Oldies hits format. This change is a much needed one as the local market had been needing an AM oldies station. With a good radio the sound is right as it must have been when AM was king and before interference got bad far enough away from the transmitters.
AM radio has the most soul
I still listen to AM, albeit in the wee hours of the morning on the way to work for news, weather, and the like (WBZ 1030 Boston). Trip back home, or other trips, FM.
AM still has the ability to go very far with low power. WBZ is a 50KW station, can easily be picked up over the Canadian border, and maybe in your area (it can hit PA). Granted, the noise and blocking can be bad, but in an emergency, an AM station may be working where the FM one isn't, being AM travels farther, it might be out of harm's way. That depends though.
WBZ 1030 AM Boston is receivable in Brantford, Ontario, Canada. Also get (WABC 770, WCBS 880 - New York) 700 WLW, 890 WLS Chicago, WJR 760 Detroit.
Zommer radio am 740 and a few other stations can be picked up in my town of Erie pa.
comicdude1996
Ok great, I'm in Brantford, Ontario, Canada. AM740 is a oldies station from Toronto, Ontario I heard the CBC owned that frequency years ago. AM740 at night covers the eastern half of the United States. As for Erie, Pa. stations I get here in Brantford, Ontario ......WRTS 103.7 comes in good here, Rocket 104.9 is low powered not great, 88.5 WMCE is a oldies station but low power to here, I get 102.3 in Simcoe, Ont. only low power north. No Erie, AM Radio stations.
As for Erie, Pa. TV Stations prior to 2009 in Analog we got WICU 12, WJET 24, WSEE 35, WQLN 54 and Fox 66.
After going digital lost all but WQLN 54.1 to 54.4 and Fox 66.1 to 66.3 I
Hopefully with ATSC 3.0 4K I may get those lost Erie, Pa. stations back. In Analog they where full power, going digital in ATSC 1.0 in 2009 they reduced power, which is stupid. Because you lost viewers that watched ads. In short (going digital in 2009 was a disaster, because some nights all I get on most stations is a No Signal)
@@diycarhome9151 I know at my dad's 2nd house 50 miles south of Erie you can barely get 24 and maybe 66. I feel that he might not get any Erie stations. So don't feel too bad about losing a lot of my town's stations. Glad you can get 88.5 as it is hard to get with most radios. It would make sense you would get star 104 and rocket as they are the most powerful FM stations in Erie. Too bad you can't get some of the Erie am stations. Seems like a lot of them either something wrong with their transmitter or maybe it is Sun spots.
comicdude1996 I drive to Simcoe, Ont. each day from Brantford, Ontario and listen to Star 104, a bit of Rocket 105, and. WMCE 88.5, sometimes the 102.3 Classic Rock. But Star 104 (103.7) is the most powerful one in the car. Now if I was to direct a FM Yagi Antenna at Erie, Pa. on a 30 foot tower to a FM Antenna 88.5 and Rocket 105 would be a stronger signal. You may get my hometown station in Erie, Pa., CKPC 92.1 a 80,000 watt signal. Covers a fair part of Ontario up here.
I love AM radio- there's nothing like tuning into a football game on Saturday afternoon while working in my garage- it's a sound quality all its own. I also love the AM talk radio, oldies, the farm report, and there are some good sports talk stations out there in my area.
THANK YOU . This is the ONLY video on TH-cam on this topic.
DUDE YOU SAVED MY LIFE .
Thank you so much .
I love am radio, love listening to it late at night. Trying to catch really far away stations, i like to pretend im catching stations from centuries ago
The CCrane EP PRO has AM/FM antenna inputs. It`s amazing! Comes with AC adapter or you can use four D batteries. AM reception is incredible!
1. On one of your speaker wire antennas, try splitting the two wire at the end not connected to the receiver, for about 28 inches (a bit under0.75m), and extend the two ends in opposite directions, and preferably not along the remainder of the wire going to the receiver (a "T" configuration). It should do noticeably better than the piece that is still joined. If you're going for stuff at the low end of the FM band, make the arms slightly longer; high end, slightly shorter, but it shouldn't be all that fussy.
2. Some receivers have a little jumper wire for you to connect or not to one of the terminal screws (or maybe optionally to a third ground screw). This choose between 300 ohm and 75 ohm impedance. For a dipole, including the T configuration above, 75 ohm is the better choice. In the old days we used to have "folded dipole" antennas, also a T configuration, but made from 300 ohm twin lead, including the arms of the T. The conductor path is like drawing an outline around the T (you can look at it as a squashed loop. The extra conductor going across the top manages to make this antenna about 300 ohms at resonance, which is a good match to the feed line portion going to the receiver, which is what those 300 ohm screws were designed for.
3. It's also worth trying a single wire connected to just one of the 300 ohm screws, try each screw in turn to see which one is better than the other. Or if you just have a 75 ohm F connector, try connecting a single wire to the center connector (sewing pin in the hole and a clip lead is good enough for testing. The length is probably best around 28 inches (about 1/4 wave at 100 MHz, reduced slightly for velocity factor). Try to route the wire so that it spends as little of its length as possible close to the receiver or any of its wires. If you've ever had a portable radio with a telescoping antenna, that's the scheme that we're going for here. (The radio and its other wiring act as a ground plane or counterpoise, and the impedance is lower, often quoted as 50 ohms, though it's quite variable depending on the details of the counterpoise and other conductors around.)
4. Many newer homes have foil backed insulation in the walls. Much older homes may have something like chicken wire as part of the support for actual plaster. And there are usually wires in the walls. Most antennas will work better if not to close to such conductors. Even better if they can be outside of such a conducting (even partial) box, i.e.; outdoors, as we see with TV antennas. But there is a trade off between getting better signal by putting the antenna "over there" or "out there", and the losses in the "feed line" connecting the antenna to the receiver. So try the simple things first. With FM, once the signal is good enough to get rid of the static, it's not worth trying for more.
And I only rarely listen to AM, unless you want to count SSB on the ham bands. But that's a whole other kettle of fish.
You said it well.
Well said. We had a Good Channel Master VHF antenna on a 60ft tower, with a great Channel Master rotor. 40 miles north was Green Bay, Wisconsin. 40 miles south was Milwaukee, Wisconsin. So we had great variety of FM Stereo channels, for our late 70s Pioneer SX780 Receiver to pick up. It even had a signal strength meter, and tuning meter. Excellent Stereo.
I listen to MW/AM when stations air old time radio shows.
AM radio has been with me my whole life. I live near New York City and maybe that is why reception is not a problem. Are you going to find Rush Limbaugh, Sean Hannity, et al anywhere else? WOR 710 , Bloomberg 1130, and a few others are my go to stations. Even when I'm in my car, I split between AM and FM.
Those large stations are doing alright but many smaller stations are struggling.
I can hear those stations at night.
I just found this video today. I can share a report of success using Antenna Performance Specialties APS-13 outdoor FM antenna, which has a 16 FT boom. This in connected with RG-6/U to Sansui TU-9900 or Technics ST-G90L (quiet analog front end of the Sansui vs. the super narrow RF and super narrow IF selectivity of the Technics). No trouble to get FM stations from 200 to 300 miles away with decent quieting.
It's a shame that SW has sort of fallen away. It was fun to see what you could pull in. AM is still interesting if you're trying to get distant stations.
it hasn't fallen away at all you just need to know what you're doing, the problem is we're at the bottom of the solar ionospheric 11 year cycle so propagation is poor also idiots surrounded themselves with cheap chinese electronics which generate garbage and interference all over the spectrum
Shortwave is nothing like it was in the 1960s. I was an avid shortwave listener then. Many countries had English language broadcasts beamed to the US during prime time. Most of those broadcasts are now gone. Plus, we are at the bottom of the 11 year sunspot cycle, that prohibits a lot of Shortwave propagation, but it's a known fact, the Shortwave broadcasters of yesterday are gone.... 73 de KQ2N
There are plenty SW stations available. The problem is that very few channels are in English most of the are in other languages such as arabic, russian, turkish etc. I can get them very easy with a Samsung Stereo from 1990 all I had to do is hooking up a wire. Can get MW, LW, SW and FM in stereo.
You could pule in some wierd stations on short wave
@@Peersoncasteell You mean like number stations or weird digital sound?
Listen to AM all the time
I listened to more FM radio before the internet came out. On a 30 foot tower using a VHF Antenna that had VHF low and VHF high. With preamp FM trap out was able to pull in stations from Cleveland, Ohio 150 miles away. Plus using a larger Antenna you get better highs and better stereo separation. Plus with the rotor you can fine tune the signal strength. Personally all the FM stations suck in my area. One station I do get and like is WOMC Detroit 104.3 (Detroit's Greatest Hits).
As for long distance AM reception is to run a single lead wire from the radio outside to two insulators mounted on two different trees or two poles then run bare copper wire between the insulators and attached that wire coming out of the house to one insulator. Will greatly improve AM reception.
In Detroit we have one AM station that can be picked up in the Detroit-Windsor Tunnel. WJR was a powerhouse, but I don’t know of anybody under 70 that listens to it anymore. Then again I once picked up CKLW which is another AM station in Harrow, Ontario all the way down in Atlanta once.
I get traffic updates from WWJ AM when needed.
CKLW in Atlanta? The only station I can pickup out of Canada to my knowledge is CFZM and I'm in North Carolina.
This is very useful. Some of still work in factories. 12" thick building with tin roofs and high DC power usage. In the parking lot of my factory I probably get 25 stations, inside I get two.
Two options for improved AM band reception:
www.ccrane.com/item/ant_am_tr1/101105/terk_am_advantage
www.ccrane.com/item/ant_am_twin/101105/twin_coil_ferritereg;_am_antenna_signal_booster
I listen mainly to AM. First, even oldies stations, keep in mind that music recordings were made back in the 50s and 60s with the thought that they'd be played on AM stations and were tailored as such. They sound good on a good quality AM receiver. Remember the old chest high console AM receivers of the 1940's? They sounded great on AM. At one time, car radios sounded great on AM, manufactures now have played around with the AM band on car radios to try to supress static and ended up ruining AM in car radios.
I also think talk radio on AM sounds softer than FM. I have the option in this area to hear a talk station on AM and simulcast on FM, I prefer the AM. I'm also a DXer from way back and still enoy that, it's a nightly occurance not just e-skip as FM, which is limited basically to certain times mainly in the summer months.
Additionally, I spend a considerable amount of time in the Adirondacks, my radio with a loop such as a Terk AM Loop alongside gets me stations from all over. All one needs to do is place the loop in close proximity to the AM radio to passively RF couple it.
I have the Tecsun AN-200, and it works well with some , but not all radios. Lots of fun for late night DX'ing.
The Terk is a good antenna. I'm surprised he'd rip AM instead of giving advice on getting better reception.
Haha!
Yep Tyler, I'm one of the old few who listens to AM Stations - but as you said...with streaming.
Besides a few that's on FM, can't listen to what's on now.
Would appreciate you doing a video on the AM topic.
Thanks for another informative, funny video.
I have a Weingard dedicated fm antenna,30 bucks,hooked to a vintage receiver and its awesome!
I've been using my attic TV antenna for my FM for many years. It actually picks up stations from well over 80 miles away very clearly. This setup is now much improved with HD radio. I agree with you though, there's nothing on AM worth listening to so I never did hook up my AM side of my Denon receiver. If there was something on AM radio I would just stream that station, AM doesn't sound any better than ham radio does.
Wow! Amazed looking at comments how many still do radio. I am in my 60s and spoiled by new technology. Amazon (yes I have prime) Spotify (free version) and USB port in car. I just cannot do commercials anymore. Also cannot listen to all the mutants jobs calling in to talk radio. Do not even have a tuner in the house and in car USB , sometimes spotify thru phone and some FM (But change channel on comercials but find many stations run comercials at same time). Find most in my sons (2, ages 25 and 33) age bracket never listen to radio. Wife and I have huge lot of CDs and do not have a CD player either except in my truck , her 2018 jeep does not have a CD player.
RIP the CDs to MP3 and take flash drive with.
Very interesting video, amazed at how many still do radio especially AM.
There are still a few good stations out there on both AM and FM.
I used to do on am radio back when I was a young man. I switched to fm later to do my dxing on. That brings back memories
Tropospheric ducting. We used to call that skip.
I live around the same area. Loved seeing you tuning in 97.9x WBSX Hazleton! Best FM station! Also getting WNEP16 and WVIA. Great videos by the way! So cool watching you tuning in my same TV/FM.
My go to use to be The Fuzz 92.1 when i was up in that area. When it switched to Alt 92, it was all over. I dont even know if that station exists at all anymore.
I also listen to AM talk stations quite frequently. I also still do some AM band DXing.
I love AM, Thanks for all the info
My grandma was always like "stay here and don't move, it works better now" :-D
Thankyou Tyler. I’m 57 and hark back to the days in Southern England when picking up distant stations meant hearing at least 50% of uncommonly heard tunes . For example receiving a good quality fm signal from the next nearest Local FM station in Portsmouth ( 22 miles away ) was not only a cool technical feat because the signal only reached about 12 miles but their chart depended on sales from 4 record shops in the city . Alas beyond the technical feat of receiving some distant mast , the actual content of most stations in Southern England at least is generic , homogeneous, repetitive and predictable- stuck in the 1980s with the same tired old formats and tunes Perhaps I need the mother of all FM Aries pointing West ☹️👍keep up the good work
Tyler, could you do a vid on AM reception ? I live in a concrete high-rise building, in a major city. I’d think AM should be easier to receive.
Additionally, I’d like to say this... The only reason that radio is having the troubles is because of the rise of internet streaming. As a HAM radio operator, I can tell you, AM is still very important. The EAS system relies heavily on 50,000 watt clear-channel AM radio as Primary Entry Points for the system. Here in South Dakota, AM 830 KOA is our Primary Entry station.
Needless to say...if the **** hits the fan...AM broadcast radio will be very important ! That, and amateur radio.
Our reliance on the internet has to be supplemented with over-the-air services. Services that have no need for internet connectivity.
he is too dumb to give you any relevant advice
@@andhanwer , well...it's as good a time as any for him, and the rest of us to learn. As with anything...if one is willing to learn, others can benefit.
If you have an HF Ham station where you live you should be able to pick something up using your HF antenna when not using it for QSO's
Dave, I have used my HF radio to listen to AM. It works okay...the problem being, my MFJ 1622 antenna is not that broadbanded. It will do 2 meters to 20 meters. After that...it’s not very good. It can get local AM, but not any good for anything outside the city.
@@brianfletcher9774 I know that problem. And if you have an antenna with load coils the problem will be worse. If you have a balcony you might try running a length of #12 around the perimeter a few times, then to your radio. Unfortunately there might be too much electrical noise in your building to do any good.
This is a great topic, I used speaker wire when I was a kid 30 years ago, It works the best in my opinion. The only reason I don't listen to AM is because of bad reception. Could you please explain a way that could work for AM. Thanks and keep up the great work.
Tyler, I live in Orlando, Florida, and our No. 1 station, Florida Man Radio, is on 660 AM. Here in Orlando, the FM spectrum is so crowded, FM reception is terrible and every couple of miles you begin picking up a new station and losing the other, therefore most stations here are on both AM & FM. My favorites are on 540 AM, 660 AM, 1360 AM, and 105.9 FM. I only like 1 FM station, and that’s the one I barely ever listen to. 1360 is Boss Hogg Radio, music of the 60’s through 2000. AM is more than alive here in O-Town!!!!
I listen to 1580AM & 107.7FM CKDO Durham's Classic Hits. I listen to the AM one. Also at my bunkie when I have my radio without the TV antenna I scanned 10 stations tops, half of them are static. but when I plug in the antenna I scanned over 30 with only a few static stations.
I picked up a station from the planet guzooption on am one nite
@@stevenmullens584 That's bull.
For improving the reception on internal ferrite rod AM antennas, place the wires of the external antenna wrapped up on top of the receiver. This would couple the signals to the internal antenna. You can also run a long speaker wire and terminate it in a loop to couple the signals to the receiver.
I listen to AM radio all the time to get local news and events. I also listen to FM, Shortwave, and 2 Meter Amateur Radio.
This Ant.Man is out of this world. Loved it all. And his home stereo is way beyond "classic".
Thats a killer set up. Great. Thanks.
Love how The Antenna Man has a picture of Mike The Mailman! Great stories! Love AM radio! And FM!
For the die-hard AM listener, a tuned induction loop like the one Tecsun offers is excellent at helping you get distant AM stations. The problem I have in UK is getting DAB stations. That is a whole other thing and so I got an Internet radio instead and that is fantastic.
I think theres another one by a company called turx or something like that.
I have an AN-200 loop and it's crazy how much it helps pulling in an MW/AM station and without any batteries.
I still listen to AM and short wave too
There are many shortwave broadcast bands where amplitude modulation is used.
Add me to the list that still loves AM radio. I'M 56 and have several tube radios and I like to dx . Run a 50 ft longwire outside and you'll pick up a lot of stations, especially at night, stations across the dial.Have Shortwave band on these radios also. Static not an issue. I know you can get most of these stations on the internet but dxing is a hobby for me picking up radio the old fashion way.
There are listeners of AM but the problem is it's hard to sell ads to the 55+ demographic. Most advertisers want 18-30. Combine that with high maintenance costs many AM stations are going dark.
I listen to AM radio every day. Some people enjoying hearing news, talk, weather and sports. On a good crisp night with no clouds or interference, I can pull in stations from Boston, CT and Pennsy listening in NJ. AM will never die.
Damm I listen to AM. But for mostly sports and sometimes news. I am kind of done though with most major sports now so oh well. But I think maybe sports and sport talk keeps AM alive.
I think we all are done with overly political major sports...
The sad thing is that tyler acts like it is only conservatives talking on the radio. Even though he worked as a sports reporter for a tv station. Which might have a sport radio station like 99% of am is in my town. Heck, even the stations you hear politics on has it on for only the afternoon.
I’m an am radio listener. DXing on that band is actually really fun especially at night. During the day I get stations from 275 miles away in Boston and on rare occasions 460 miles away in New York City. I live in Saint Andrews, New Brunswick which is surrounded by water and if you’re not already aware am radio signals travel much farther through water than they do over land so I’m technically cheating the system when it comes to daytime DXing. But at night I’ve gotten stations from well over a thousand miles away. I’m honestly not sure what the most distant one I’ve received is. All I use is a few foot wire touching the ground which is definitely far from the best. I have plans on making a much better antenna setup in the future. Just go into am radio DXing not knowing what you’ll find because to be honest I have no idea what I’ll pick up sometimes.
I used to do that when I was a kid, now I just can't stand the sound quality of the AM radio and there's generally nothing good on anymore.
Much simpler to get a small AM Loop and place it next to your radio to passively couple it in. This one will work almost as well as any wire, plus it's directional if you want to null out any area. www.ebay.com/itm/Kaito-Tecsun-AN200-Tunable-Passive-AM-Radio-Loop-Antenna-AN-200/372576928596?hash=item56bf50c354:g:R6wAAOSwlEBcSJvl Just $24.99
I always listen to AM radio here in SoCal before getting on the freeways, because it will save you A LOT of time!
I had a 1990 Dodge that could get AM stereo. It was short lived.
Many years ago, I had a Radio Shack "twin drive" FM antenna. It worked pretty good.
Chrysler/Dodge were still making Stereo AM tuners into their receivers at least up through 2006, maybe even longer. My parents have a 2006 Town and Country and it has AM Stereo on the receiver and so does my 2000 Town and Country.
AM is mainly useful for talk-radio and sports radio listeners, at least where I'm at. The very few music stations are usually Spanish language, not my thing. As for FM, I suppose an outdoor antenna is especially useful if you have an HD radio tuner.
Thanks I've been wondering about an antenna for added strength.👍
I love AM radio and listen to it regularly and do a lot of people. Also it is used worldwide and is here to stay.
In the UK, people are moving from AM to DAB. A number of services have already closed down in some areas due to low listening numbers and cost of maintenance compared to DAB.
I listen to AM radio everyday...
You have underestimated AM radio. Without it I can't listen to Rush or Hannity. Twins games? That's on AM also. There's more people using AM than you think.
I'll skip the am band if rush and hannity are on.
Same here. Rush, Levin etc. Bypass the dinosaur media. 👍🏻💪🏻👍🏻💪🏻
Thanks again Tyler! You Rock!
You can also use a paper clip as an antenna for coaxial inputs, although it would only pick up strong signals. Speaker wire can be used for coaxial inputs by using a balun adapter.
Great video! I’ve always wondered about FM antennas. I still listen to AM everyday, I’d hate to loose my hometown am station that’s really an important part of our community. I sometimes wonder what will happen when the owners retire. I do listen to FM when I leave town but I usually cant find anything to land on so I mostly just listen to “scan.”
Whenever I am away from my home market I listen to my favorite local station on the online stream.
You need to step up and buy the station. :-)
My receiver has a "Female 75ohm" connector for the FM antenna - proving to be more difficult to procure. I miss Radio Shack.
I think most people watching Tyler's channel probably misses radio shack!
Steve D yep. I ordered one on ebay but who knows when it will show up. Refuse to give amazon my money whenever I have a realistic alternative. Wished best buy would have moved more to components and accessories when radio shack closed but it is what it is.
The FM radio broadcast band is between TV channels 6&7. A VHF TV antenna should work fine.
RoastBeefSandwich rip to radio shak you wil be mised by every one
Radio Shack still exist online
I love the MW radio. I practice MW/SW DX. I use tuners, receivers, portables, table radios... I ❤️ the analog radio. 🇵🇷