unclemack Posted June 25, 2017 Share Posted June 25, 2017 I've connected my Pioneer tuner using some standard speaker wire as an antenna. Only getting half strength signal so not ideal. This may be due to my location but I would have thought the abc would be pretty good everywhere. So I thought maybe the speaker wire might be a factor. Any suggestions? Also, I've connected it like this. This also may be wrong. Any advice would be welcome. Cheers. M Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Addicted to music Posted June 25, 2017 Share Posted June 25, 2017 (edited) Try a coat hanger, and you may get the full strength..... Edited June 25, 2017 by Addicted to music 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
VanArn Posted June 25, 2017 Share Posted June 25, 2017 (edited) If you have a TV antenna installed and you do not have reception problems , then I would suggest that a splitter box that has an FM co-ax outlet be fitted and that you use a 75 ohm cable to the Pioneer tuner. Otherwise you may have to have a rooftop antenna setup if you happen to be in a weak reception area. What I have missed in your photo ,is that the figure 8 cable (speaker wire) has one end going to ground. It should be to the 300 Ohm terminal ,next to .'BAL'. Edited June 25, 2017 by VanArn 4 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
eltech Posted June 25, 2017 Share Posted June 25, 2017 https://www.jaycar.com.au/fm-indoor-antenna-300ohm/p/LT3002Should do the trick 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
eltech Posted June 25, 2017 Share Posted June 25, 2017 If you just want to get ABC FM with speaker wire you need to adjust the length to be (I think) quarter wavelength of the frequency in question. Try a longer wire, and if no good, then try a shorter wire. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
t_mike Posted June 25, 2017 Share Posted June 25, 2017 The sticker indicates that you got it right. 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stevesie Posted June 25, 2017 Share Posted June 25, 2017 With that type of antenna/feeder you should be using the two 300(ohm symbol)BAL thumbscrew terminals. My understanding is that the GND terminal is for the AM section. So move the left wire along one terminal. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Zaphod Beeblebrox Posted June 25, 2017 Share Posted June 25, 2017 (edited) The correct way to use the speaker wire, is to connect between the 300 Ohm balanced connections. NOT one 300 Ohm point and earth. Treat the cable like a 'T'. Keep the wire joined for (say) 1 Metre, then spread it out, horizontally, about 600mm on each arm of the T. It's not critical. Speaker cable is not really 300 Ohm characteristic impedance, but it will do in a pinch. This is probably a little better: Edited June 25, 2017 by Zaphod Beeblebrox 6 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rockpig Posted July 2, 2017 Share Posted July 2, 2017 @Zaphod Beeblebrox Is correct. I have used speaker wire in the past configured like that and it worked pretty good. Did no necessarily have the width dimension as wide but it worked. And as said in a prior post do not used GND, both wires go on the 300 ohm terminals for FM antenna. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
audiofeline Posted July 3, 2017 Share Posted July 3, 2017 I use a 75-ohm antenna wire from my tuner to a splitter plugged into my TV antenna. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Roumelio. Posted July 7, 2017 Share Posted July 7, 2017 (edited) On 25/06/2017 at 10:57 AM, VanArn said: If you have a TV antenna installed and you do not have reception problems , then I would suggest that a splitter box that has an FM co-ax outlet be fitted and that you use a 75 ohm cable to the Pioneer tuner. Otherwise you may have to have a rooftop antenna setup if you happen to be in a weak reception area. What I have missed in your photo ,is that the figure 8 cable (speaker wire) has one end going to ground. It should be to the 300 Ohm terminal ,next to .'BAL'. Modern UHF antennas block out most of the over air radio signal, it wont work that way. You need a VHF antenna, or better yet a Yagi on your roof, properly aligned, this will work better than a dipole pointed every which way. You can find the polerisation for your antenna on the ABC website http://reception.abc.net.au/Reception.aspx. You can try the old fashioned rabbit ear antennas if you have a good signal strength in your area, adjust appropriately until you find a signal, otherwise go for the on-roof solution. Speaker wire will not really handle a 300ohm load, you should use AV coaxial cable and connect it to a proper antenna, failing that, you can get some 300ohm cable and an antenna off a place like fleabay. Edited July 7, 2017 by Roumelio. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Zaphod Beeblebrox Posted July 7, 2017 Share Posted July 7, 2017 On 7/3/2017 at 0:34 PM, audiofeline said: I use a 75-ohm antenna wire from my tuner to a splitter plugged into my TV antenna. The majority of TV antennae are either not 'cut' for the FM band. Therefore, they will not perform optimally for FM reception. You would be better off using a dedicated FM antenna for this purpose. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Addicted to music Posted July 7, 2017 Share Posted July 7, 2017 2 hours ago, Zaphod Beeblebrox said: The majority of TV antennae are either not 'cut' for the FM band. Therefore, they will not perform optimally for FM reception. You would be better off using a dedicated FM antenna for this purpose. Experience shows that any 75ohm outdoor antenna will out perform the indoor 300Ohm ribbons especially for properties with steel roofs. from experience I can never get a 300 ohm optimised to to have reception like an outdoor TV antenna but that's just me. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Zaphod Beeblebrox Posted July 8, 2017 Share Posted July 8, 2017 (edited) 3 hours ago, Addicted to music said: Experience shows that any 75ohm outdoor antenna will out perform the indoor 300Ohm ribbons especially for properties with steel roofs. from experience I can never get a 300 ohm optimised to to have reception like an outdoor TV antenna but that's just me. In some locations, that is correct. In ALL locations, a proper FM antenna will always work best. And those goes double for those who use a TV antenna amplifier. Antenna amplifiers (at least the good ones) always employ an FM band filter to alleviate interference with Channel 2 VHF. Edited July 8, 2017 by Zaphod Beeblebrox 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
audiofeline Posted July 8, 2017 Share Posted July 8, 2017 6 hours ago, Zaphod Beeblebrox said: The majority of TV antennae are either not 'cut' for the FM band. Therefore, they will not perform optimally for FM reception. You would be better off using a dedicated FM antenna for this purpose. Thanks, I did not know this. I will try the 300ohm ribbon at some stage and compare. I rarely use my tuner anyway, so it's not a huge problem and my reception is OK. But I do like extracting the best possible sound from what I have, so I will experiment! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Darren69 Posted July 8, 2017 Share Posted July 8, 2017 I sourced some ribbon antenna for my old sansui tuner from eBay, works great. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Weka Posted July 8, 2017 Share Posted July 8, 2017 Can a car radio whip antenna be used effectively via 75ohm coax with an AV receiver? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Zaphod Beeblebrox Posted July 8, 2017 Share Posted July 8, 2017 37 minutes ago, Weka said: Can a car radio whip antenna be used effectively via 75ohm coax with an AV receiver? Only if you have a proper ground plane. IOW, it's not worth the effort. This is what you really need: https://www.hills.com.au/fb608010a-y3fm-vhf-antenna I've installed (or had installed for me) a few over the years. Excellent. This is another: https://www.matchmaster.com.au/digital-tv-antennas/03mm-1efm/ I have not tried one, but Matchmaster has an excellent rep, so the product should be fine. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
catman Posted July 8, 2017 Share Posted July 8, 2017 G'day all, I've built a few of these over the years for FM tuner applications with good results despite limited antenna gain, and we are around 75 miles from our 'local' FM transmitters. In moderate to high FM strength areas, this simple antenna will work very well. It can be fed with 75 ohm co-ax or 300 ohm twinlead if using a folded dipole driven element. Regards, Felix (vk4fuq). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Weka Posted July 8, 2017 Share Posted July 8, 2017 2 hours ago, Zaphod Beeblebrox said: Only if you have a proper ground plane. Wouldn't a metal roof act as a ground plane? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Zaphod Beeblebrox Posted July 8, 2017 Share Posted July 8, 2017 2 hours ago, Weka said: Wouldn't a metal roof act as a ground plane? Yep. However, a whip antenna is not as good as a proper dipole. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Zaphod Beeblebrox Posted July 8, 2017 Share Posted July 8, 2017 14 hours ago, Weka said: Wouldn't a metal roof act as a ground plane? I should elaborate a little on this idea of using an omni-directional antenna for FM. FM in cars requires the use of an omni-directional antenna, because the car is always moving and pointing in different directions. A static FM receiver is, of course, in the same place all the time. With the type of antenna suggested by me earlier and catman's home-brew one, we are using a dipole with a 'reflector'. This type of antenna dramatically reduces the amount of signal from the rear of the antenna. This can be particularly useful in urban areas, where large metal structures (bridges, high rise, etc) cause reflections of the FM signal. This is known as 'multi-path' and is exactly the same as 'ghosting' in the old analogue TV sets. The result is an unpleasant form of distortion. That is why whip antennae are a bad idea. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Addicted to music Posted July 8, 2017 Share Posted July 8, 2017 19 minutes ago, Zaphod Beeblebrox said: I should elaborate a little on this idea of using an omni-directional antenna for FM. FM in cars requires the use of an omni-directional antenna, because the car is always moving and pointing in different directions. A static FM receiver is, of course, in the same place all the time. With the type of antenna suggested by me earlier and catman's home-brew one, we are using a dipole with a 'reflector'. This type of antenna dramatically reduces the amount of signal from the rear of the antenna. This can be particularly useful in urban areas, where large metal structures (bridges, high rise, etc) cause reflections of the FM signal. This is known as 'multi-path' and is exactly the same as 'ghosting' in the old analogue TV sets. The result is an unpleasant form of distortion. That is why whip antennae are a bad idea. You find that most vehicle manufacturers are no longer supplying whip antenna, and are most definately having a ribbon type like you have suggested stuck on the rear or side window. This has 2 advantages; height clearance and no chance of being physically damaged. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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