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Hi, Have recently moved my hi fi into a another room which sonically speaking is much better. However the one snag is there s no connection to roof top aerial,
so just wondered if someone has tried indoor one thats kind of semi decent ?. Missing my radio 2/ 3 live broadcasts :(
Idiot, this should be elsewhere. Sorry
Don't worry - I have moved it.
An internal aerial will never be as good as a roof top mounted one (or even one in the loft), but some 'active' set-top antennae are good.
BBC Radios 2 and 3 will be broadcast at high power (EPR) so you ought not have any difficulty. Do you know where your local transmitter is?
Seems to be the biggy at Crystal Palace. As a little aside our tv H D channels are a bit hit and miss, few dropped out over the last year.
Thanks.
Were near Belsize Park tube, which is not that low down but we are surrounded by Hampstead Heath and Primrose Hill. No idea if that affects anything ?
According to https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Crystal_Palace_transmitting_station, your FM transmitter is at Wrotham in Kent with an ERP of 4kW.
Which way is your roof-top aerial pointed?
If aesthetics are not too important, you could try taking a piece of 75Ohm coaxial cable and stripping the outer insulation away for a distance of 720mm, separating the inner and outer conductors over that length and arrange the whole horizontally. If that works, then there are several aethetically acceptable dipoles you can buy for little cost.
Barry my DIY skills are zero mate :lol: so more interested in the active antennae you mentioned. Our aerial seems okay, in that it s pointed the same way as our neighbours ( roughly towards Kent :lol: )
Just to mention were the bottom flat of 4 storey victorian house, but presuming that wound nt matter much ?. Is that ERP reading any good ?. Thanks for your help this afternoon :)
Brian,
I have the same problem as you. I have tried an indoor active antenna with mixed results. Some stations are clear and strong, others are static and fuzz. I haven't found a solution as yet, but I think I will try this one next:
http://www.magnumdynalab.com/st-2-omnidirectional-fm-antenna/
It is apparently very good. But it will mean running a cable to outdoors. Not sure if that's doable for you.
Have you tried a simple dipole ribbon? If you have a spot to discretely spread one out, say a 6 ft. span, that might be all you need. Cheapest solution too. I don't have the space for one, unfortunately...that WAF thing, you know.
Let me know how you make out with this.
Best,
Svend
Thanks Svend. Woo , that looks good but a bit beyond me price wise I m afraid. There s a few options on eBay, amazon etc so probably give one of them a go first.
Whats big in Canada DAB or are you all fm dinosaurs over there ?
Yup, pretty much in the antediluvian stage here still. FM and AM only. They tried DAB years ago, but it was slow to catch on and eventually abandoned. I think we just don't have the population here to support that, combined with a huge geographic area. We have 10,000,000 sq. km of territory, compared to the UK at 250,000. Distances between major cities are huge compared to Europe/UK. Logistically and financially unviable to do things like that here. That's one reason why our mobile phone rates are so high here, is the infrastructure needed to cover the land area vs. a relatively small population.
Anyway, not a tale of woe :). We have terrific FM stations here (Toronto area), so always good stuff to listen to. Sound quality on a good FM tuner is great.
Cheers,
Svend
Mike Reed
01-03-2019, 22:20
We're near Belsize Park tube, which is not that low down but we are surrounded by Hampstead Heath and Primrose Hill. No idea if that affects anything ?
My old happy hunting ground in the swinging sixties. How come you have a roof-top FM antenna on a 4 storey house when you live in the ground floor flat? Is it not possible to re-route the coax from where you used it to where you are now? Even creating an extension cable might prove superior to anything indoors, especially on the ground floor. Okay, Belsize Park isn't Hampstead Village but it is pretty high, unless you're down towards the West End and lower heath.
Hi Mike, No, pretty sure its an ordinary tv aerial up there, but when in my previous room I could connect through tv socket in wall for perfect fm radio reception.
Surely that would mean trailing cables through the flat though ?. Sorry, not very techie, maybe misunderstanding you ?. Were in between Chalk Farm and Hampstead village.
Very close to the old Haverstock pub, where you may have sipped a pint or 2. Keep thinking that speaker might out grow you btw :lol:
Mike Reed
02-03-2019, 13:14
Hi Mike, No, pretty sure its an ordinary tv aerial up there, but when in my previous room I could connect through tv socket in wall for perfect fm radio reception.
Surely that would mean trailing cables through the flat though ?. Sorry, not very techie, maybe misunderstanding you ?. Were in between Chalk Farm and Hampstead village.
Very close to the old Haverstock pub, where you may have sipped a pint or 2. Keep thinking that speaker might out grow you btw :lol:
But Belsize Park IS half way between Chalk Farm and the village. Ah, TV aerial ! Yes, you'd get a signal but not a good one, esp. if it's a communal aerial (horrors !) I think you may be lumbered with an internal one, which might work better if your room is on the side of the heath and without too much impediment in the way. As I get sufficient signal to support an old Sony receiver in the kitchen from a coax trailing up the wall (with transmitter 9 crow miles away), try that first as it's cheap/free. Strip back to the core about 25% of the length. Worth a punt !
I was more than happy with reception through tv aerial, at least no nasties but I suppose dedicated FM/ a is another step up. Yes will try something next w/k , thanks for advice.
The even worse problem though is tv hd with even BBC 1/2 etc dropping out today, might try there helpline ?. Might need the modern day Ron Smith up there to have a look who knows !
Were on primrose hill side unfortunately with some huge houses in between, so maybe thats not helping ? b w.
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