ark (09/22/82)
I live in an area with terrible FM reception problems. I am about 10 miles from the transmitter (which is in Manhattan) in a huge high-rise building in which my windows all face almost directly away from the transmitter. There is a master antenna on the roof, but it seems to have some kind of trap to filter out the FM frequencies. The reception I get from a folded dipole indoors is better than that I get from the master antenna. I have seen ads for an indoor FM antenna called a "Beam Box", and tried to buy one. A funny thing happened: both stores I visited said that although they have them in stock, they don't think they are very good and therefore they declined to sell me one. I'm inclined to believe it if the dealers are so negative. Any have any other suggestions for improving reception? To anticipate some possible replies, (1) I have experimented to find the optimum orientation for the dipole, (2) I have a multipath meter on my tuner which indicates that multipath distortion is indeed the problem, (3) I cannot get access to the roof to erect my own antenna.
ark (09/22/82)
Let me clarify. My problem is not that the signal is too weak. It's quite strong. My problem is multipath distortion.
wm (09/22/82)
I don't think an amplifier will help in a situation where the major problem is multipath distortion. A good directional antenna, even if stuck out the window or even indoors, will help. wm leler - unc chapel hill
djj (09/23/82)
I have always gotten good results using one of those giant rotating monster antenna that sit on top of a TV set. The one I used to have consistently outperformed my dipole. New units sell for about $30, used ones for $10-15 (you really have to search!), and I've seen ones at garage sales for $1-$5 (the best bet). Might be worth a try instead of laying out $80+ for a "name" FM antenna. Dave Johnson BTL Piscataway (...!mhux*!pyuxjj!pyuxcc!djj)