Wow ! That's a big one......

[Spectral Morn]

Hi Guys

Slightly shorter write up than usual (there is only so much you can write about this topic), but as the description of SOG includes more or less what has happened I thought this item should go hear.

As many no doubt are aware, I recently did a write up on the Leak Trough-Line FM tuner ( see Link 1 & 2 below) and one of the key aspects of any tuners performance is the aerial its connected to. Well I have been using an Antiference Omni aerial for many years both where I live now and when I lived with my parents. It works well with modern tuners such as my Revox 260-S (which has excellent sensitivity and selectivity) but it is not as good with vintage tuners such as the Leaks I use. In order to improve things a bit I added an FM amplifier to the aerial and while this works well it did on occasion mean I had to go upstairs to switch it on and switch it off (going upstairs while not hard for Dalek's , is a bit of a drain on the power reserves ).

The partially assembled FM aerial




Steve (Aquapiranha) came to my rescue with an unwanted Yagi based Antiference aerial a 5 element design with good pick up ability and well up to feeding a vintage Leak quality signals to reproduce. As you will also have read Steve (Aquapiranha) came to visit recently (see Link 3) and just before he came over he posted the aerial which arrived on the day he called in for a listening session.

With the weather being slightly cooler today I decided to fit it in my cramped loft (installing any aerial in a roof-space is not ideal as you will loose some of the aerial's signal strength). Having no real choice about this into the loft it went.

The existing Omni FM aerial and Anti-ghosting TV aerial in the roof-space.


This aerial is big with a very long, over 2m length and elements that are about 1m long, and there are 5 of those. I had an idea whee I wanted to put this aerial but after having a quick look in the crowded roof-space I had to abandon the first location and put it near the TV and original FM aerial.

Now where am I going to put this ?


After a lot of difficult and having to move some empty Hi-Fi boxes (a large percentage of the roof-space is full of such boxes ) and settled on a position and built it. While not ideal the aerial rests on some boxes and starts just behind the Anti-ghosting TV aerial and the original Omni unit (thankfully this close proximity has not caused any problems among the aerials )

Its big !




Fitting the co-ax cable was easy...however I had to use a connecting cable and good quality coupler, as the original co-ax used was just enough to reach the old aerial's mounting position. After making the connection I went downstairs to see what the signal strength was like on the Leak tuner....excellent slightly more than had been the case with the combination of the old Omni and the FM amplifier.

It was however obvious that the fit of the Belling-Lee connector was not as tight on the old co-ax cable so I decided to solder the plug on. Very fiddly in the roof-space and it took a few attempts to get a really solid solder joint. I checked on the Leak tuner and I gained a little bit more signal...so it was worth the hassle and sweat (Dalek's do sweat by the way).

What it was all for


If I were doing this from scratch and not using pre-existing cable I would buy a drum of the best low loss co-ax I could get, and make sure there were as few breaks/connections in the cables length as I could do. However as some of the cable in my home goes under floors, and behind heavy furniture I will have to work with what I have, but its not ideal.

So well worth doing, and really an absolute if you want to get the best from any tuner but particularly any vintage ones.

Thank you for the aerial Steve, you and others who have been generous and helpful to me recently are very much what this community (Art of Sound) is all about....its a great place but only because its members are too.



Link 1 History of Leak Trough-Line tuners http://theartofsound.net/forum/showthread.php?t=2837

Link 2 Review of sound quality of Leak Trough-Line tuners http://theartofsound.net/forum/showthread.php?t=2883)

Link 3 Steve's visit http://theartofsound.net/forum/showthread.php?t=2933


Regards D S D L


Edit No part of this review can be reproduced without written permission...content is copyrighted to ...NK

[aquapiranha]

Neil I am glad you managed to fit it into the loft with not too many problems! I think a good tuner deserves nothing less than the best signal you are able to give it, and I am glad you are able to make better use of it than I was.

I hope it rpovides you with years of good service.

[Spectral Morn]

Neil I am glad you managed to fit it into the loft with not too many problems! I think a good tuner deserves nothing less than the best signal you are able to give it, and I am glad you are able to make better use of it than I was.

I hope it provides you with years of good service.

Once again Steve thank you very much for your generosity. Yes despite DAB...FM switch off, if ever ? Please never....it is worth fitting a great aerial to get the best signal and sound from your tuner.


Regards D S D L

[Barry]

Hi Neil,

First of all let me say that your excellent SoG piece on the Leak tuner has cost me some money!

After reading it I realised I missed the Leak Troughline Stereo tuner I used to have (not the Troughline III, that I stated) and based on your enthusiasm, as well as that of half of the staff of Hi-Fi World magazine, I have bought a replacement. Will report on it's performance when it arrives, but from memory I expect it to be better, musically, than the Quad FM3 that I have used and enjoyed for the last 30 years.

Anyway, I am pleased to see that you are investing in a better aerial. Your Antiference Omni has remarkably good sensitivity and bandwidth, considering the deliberate lack of directionality. It's a sad fact that with aerials (not antennas - let's be British about this), sensitivity and directionality are more or less mutually exclusive. Think about it, if the dipole of the Antiference aerial was curved any more, the folded ends would be almost touching and their mutual interference would cause the sensitivity to plummet. It's to the credit of the designers of the Antiference Omni that it works as well as it does.

I use a humble external 3 element Yagi mounted on the chimney stack. I don't know how good reception is where you live, but for me, living about 35 miles from London, I am able to easily pick up a dozen or so stations, some only intended to be received within a ten mile or so radius. This doesn't really interest me, as all I ever listen to are Radio 3 and 4 (and sometimes Radio 2), but it does demonstrate the advantage of roof mounting.

The best place for the any aerial booster amp is as close to the aerial as possible. I can't see how your aerial splitter is installed - wouldn't use it to 'combine' TV and radio aerials, keep them separate if you can.

There is no real need to solder Belling and Lee connectors, although this is probably ideal, if you 'kink' the inner core of the coaxial cable, then this will allow it to make a sufficiently good connection with the tubular inner 'pin' of the plug.

Looks like you're going to get the best out of your Leak. Good news!

Oh! and by the way, I agree with you DAB sucks; maybe OK for the little portable radio in the kitchen, but hopeless for serious listening.

Regards

Barry

[Spectral Morn]

Hi Barry

The FM aerial cable is kept separate from the TV one, and is not split. The TV cable is split to provide for the master bedroom directly below and the living room. The FM booster is fairly close to the aerial as it is in the master bedroom below....however with this new aerial it should not be needed. I will leave it in position though just in case.

Mounting in the roof-space looses me some signal strength, but I don't want anything mounted on the chimney; and the layout of the house makes it messy to mount it anywhere else..plus the idea of a cable running across the roof tiles ERRRRRRRRRRRr. What kind of quality installer would do that lots...lazy sods.

Unlike London there are not many radio stations here...if you want choice Sky digital is the best option but the sound even through a good DAC is not that good. The Leaks are the Kings. There are enough stations, however to keep me happy.

Sorry to hear I have cost you money It will be worth it though.


Regards D S D L

[Barry]

..........

Sorry to hear I have cost you money It will be worth it though.

Regards D S D L

Trust you didn't take this as a complaint - judging from the smilies I don't think you did. . I had been on the lookout for one for a while now, your article clinched it and I bought one today. Perhaps I ought to learn to become more versatile with the use of smilies.

Barry

[Spectral Morn]

Trust you didn't take this as a complaint - judging from the smilies I don't think you did. . I had been on the lookout for one for a while now, your article clinched it and I bought one today. Perhaps I ought to learn to become more versatile with the use of smilies.

Barry

No certainly not.... I hope you enjoy it very much. What version did you buy ?


Regards D S D L

[The Grand Wazoo]

Barry,
I'm sure you'll find a Troughline to be an improvement on your Quad (though, there is something about those Quads!). It's good that you're able to latch on to a decent transmitter, because the Leaks need a strong signal.

[Beechwoods]

I'd be interesting to hear a comparison of the Leak v Quad - and if anyone wants to borrow my Sugden R21 to do a 3 way comparison via the same aerial and amplification chain I'd be happy to box it up!

I've been meaning to get an external FM aerial done here. When we got the TV aerial installed it was going to be an extra £150 to get an FM one up there too, and at the time we were severely stretched (loft conversion & extension at the time time ) so the FM aerial had to wait. I don't listen to or record enough radio at the moment to make it worthwhile. But a proper aerial is essential if you want anywhere approaching acceptable FM reproduction anywhere other than the car!

[Spectral Morn]

I'd be interesting to hear a comparison of the Leak v Quad - and if anyone wants to borrow my Sugden R21 to do a 3 way comparison via the same aerial and amplification chain I'd be happy to box it up!

I've been meaning to get an external FM aerial done here. When we got the TV aerial installed it was going to be an extra £150 to get an FM one up there too, and at the time we were severely stretched (loft conversion & extension at the time time ) so the FM aerial had to wait. I don't listen to or record enough radio at the moment to make it worthwhile. But a proper aerial is essential if you want anywhere approaching acceptable FM reproduction anywhere other than the car!

Such a comparative review would be well worth doing, but alas I don't have a Quad (otherwise I would have loved to do it) and shipping kit about the country...especially with vintage kit is asking for it a bit IMHO (even when well packed). Find someone local to you Nick with the Quad/Leak tuners....maybe another AOS member fancies having ago....I am sure someone here has the other two tuners. Consider this a commissioned review idea, so who would like to step up to the plate and have ago....? Ummmmmmm BARRY could it be you sir


Fitting a good aerial is absolutely vital for best performance and sound.....way to many don't use the best or ideal partnering aerial for their tuner (I was in that boat until I got Steve's unused aerial). One of the reasons for doing this write up was to encourage the getting of suitable aerials....or at the very least make readers think about getting one. Fm has years in it yet so the investment is not short term.



Regards D S D L