Improving FM radio reception

[Stormy Kromer]

Hello all,

I live a long ways from any large town, and even further from a metro area. I like it but one drawback is radio reception. I can only get one FM station over the air. I have Sirius XM in the house and like it very much, however I'm limited to that one particular radio. I would like to get live radio from the area from some stations just out of reach.

I would like to know if anyone has had any success with FM radio antenna boosters or amplifiers ? Do they help draw in signal from a further distance ? Any recommendations (brand, store, features to look for....)

Thanks for any input or suggestions.

 

[RobbieB]

The best performance will be an outdoor highly directional rooftop antenna with a rotator.

 

[tfudtuckerpucker]

Have you considered listening to (streaming) your station online? Many (most?) FM and AM stations have a live website. Here's a listing of 15000 online US radio stations.

 

[Stormy Kromer]

Have you considered listening to (streaming) your station online? Many (most?) FM and AM stations have a live website. Here's a listing of 15000 online US radio stations.

I thought of that, but my main goal is to be able to listen to a few stations in my work shop. That is out of wifi signal.

 

[OldShooter]

At FM broadcast frequencies, transmission is basically line of sight. IOW the two antennas need to be able to see each other. If that isn't happening, then amplification will produce marginal or no results. Anything beyond maybe 30 miles starts to be rooftop antenna territory. I have a similar situation at our lake home and have been considering an omnidirectional antenna like this one: https://www.amazon.com/FM-Loop-Antenna-Outdoor-Attic-mount/dp/B006SLV25C or, for a few more bucks: https://www.dxengineering.com/parts/dxe-afhd-4 DX Engineering's market is mostly ham radio operators. Hams are fanatics about antennas, so I would be very trusting of one of the DX Engineering products. Their tech support should be able to help with with a tripod and mast to support your antenna or you can save a few bucks by hitting Amazon for those.

In our installation the omnidirectional antenna would be about 25' above ground on the garage or house roof and about 60 miles from the most distant FM station. I'm expecting very solid signals. If your situation turns out to be marginal, then a directional antenna may be the next step. Channelmaster is a well-respected brand for these. You won't need a rotator if all the FM stations you want are the same direction from your home. Rotators are a pain. To avoid one I would even supplement an omnidirectional antenna with an an amplifier, Channelmaster again.

Before doing anything I'd suggest calling the FM station and asking to talk to one of their engineers. The station's goal is always to add listeners and they have probably been consulted before, maybe by one of your neighbors.

If you want to go a little nerdy, there are calculators like this one: https://www.translatorscafe.com/unit-converter/el-GR/calculator/radio-line-of-sight/ that you can fool with.

 

[HawkeyeNFO]

That is out of wifi signal.

If the distance isn't too far, get a wifi extender. They are cheap and effective.

Is your cell phone plan unlimited data? That might be another option.

 

[OldShooter]

I thought of that, but my main goal is to be able to listen to a few stations in my work shop. That is out of wifi signal.

If wifi streaming is an option, there are many extenders and also router antenna options that might suffice and keep you off the roof. I would look first at the new "mesh" wifi systems.

 

[Chuckanut]

There are a few companies that still make a good table radio for people who live on the edge of the broadcast range. I have a Tivo myself, and it is very good though I have to play around with the antenna wire now and then. Also, an old GE under the counter radio has a great tuner. Most of the other radios in my home are junk when it comes to pulling in distant and/or weak stations.

 

[Big_Hitter]

what FM antenna are you currently using?

 

[tfudtuckerpucker]

Maybe another option would be to use a wifi over powerline extender, like this. That's assuming you run power from your house to your shop.

 

[njhowie]

Have you considered listening to (streaming) your station online? Many (most?) FM and AM stations have a live website. Here's a listing of 15000 online US radio stations.

Even better - there are a number of cell phone apps. I personally like Simple Radio on Android. As long as you have a cell signal, you're in business.

 

[Aerides]

I have Sirius XM in the house and like it very much, however I'm limited to that one particular radio. I would like to get live radio from the area from some stations just out of reach.

I can't help on the FM side, but if a wifi extender is possible your sirius can come with you on your phone or tablet. There is so much content on sirius I haven't ever flipped back to FM.

 

[pb4uski]

.... I have Sirius XM in the house and like it very much, however I'm limited to that one particular radio. I would like to get live radio from the area from some stations just out of reach. ..

Can you take the Sirius XM radio in the house out to the workshop? Or get another one for the workshop and use the same subscription? (I don't have a subscription so I don't know how possible that is.)

Otherwise, I think streaming is your best bet.... I just say "Alexa, play WXYZ on TuneIn" and, voila, radio.

 

[Alectoris]

https://ccrane.com

They make some good products in my opinion, you might find something there that meets your needs.

 

[latexman]

The best performance will be an outdoor highly directional rooftop antenna with a rotator.

And, buy a good quality receiver that has a signal strength indicator.

Make a list of your favorite stations and the position of highest reception so you don't have to search for it each time.

That's what I did. Maybe there's an electronic gadget now that automates this.

 

[Time2]

You didn't say if you were using an antenna now. If not try a simple 300 ohm twinlead antenna cut for FM frequencies.
https://tinyurl.com/y6ke38vm
Easy to make one yourself, but if you don't already have the twinlead, buying a prebuilt unit is cheaper.
I stream stations on my phone daily, but I have unlimited data.
If you can find a spot that receives well, you could plug an FM transmiter into the receiving radio that good location, then use another radio to receive the signal from the FM transmitter. The downside, if you want to change stations you need to go to the other antenna connected radio.
I did that for years before I got my smart phone.
I had two radios, an all band AM/ham band radio and my internet radio, I could switch to either and listen to the signal anywhere in my yard on another radio where I was working. It worked great.

 

[UnrealizedPotential]

Of course it depends on ones situation, but after years of playing with TV and radio signals , for me it's just easier to stream the radio station over the internet. But in reply to your question about boosters and amplifiers and whether they help the signal or not, I would say not much in most situations.

A booster or amplifier is only going to amplify the signal it is receiving and if that's really quite weak it won't help much. You can try of course, but I say in your situation go with online streaming. Find a way to extend that wifi signal, in the long run it's worth it IMO.

 

[mountainsoft]

I thought of that, but my main goal is to be able to listen to a few stations in my work shop. That is out of wifi signal.

Music or News?

If you just want music in the shop pick up a bluetooth speaker that can play from SD cards. Copy as much music as you wish to the card. Many shop headphones have audio inputs also that you could connect your phone or MP3 player to.

For news, if you don't mind being a day late, you could always record a station for a day and play it back as described above?

Is the shop close enough that you could run a speaker cable out to the shop from your computer or home stereo?

 

[Ncc1701]

I used to have Sirius but realized iHeartRadio was so much better....and FREE

 

[Telly]

If I was going to put up an outside antenna for the FM broadcast band, I would put up a vertically-polarized antenna. In increasing order of gain (and cost and mechanical complexity): an omnidirectional whip (a 1/4 wave vertical); a vertically-polarized dipole (still omnidirectional); a vertically-polarized yagi (assuming your desired stations are all the same direction within say 30 degrees of arc or so, so no antenna rotator needed.)

 

[target2019]

I thought of that, but my main goal is to be able to listen to a few stations in my work shop. That is out of wifi signal.

What is the distance?

I increased WiFi coverage outside by adding a 2.4 GHz WiFi router to the back bedroom on 2nd floor. If I placed it closer to the bedroom window I could go even further. The router connects with CAT5e to the main router two floors below.