how to get the best am/fm reception?

reddogg

Petty Officer 1st Class
Joined
Jun 3, 2011
Messages
379
Re: how to get the best am/fm reception?

Longer, higher antena = better recpetion. Good idea to always mount them as high up as you can and with a 360deg "clearance" around them if you can. When I put a radio on my back deck I got crappy signal so I took an old shakespere 12' fibreglass antenna and modified it. Mounted it on my roof and now have the best reception I've ever had.

red
 

Beefer

Lieutenant Commander
Joined
Aug 4, 2008
Messages
1,737
Re: how to get the best am/fm reception?

Before you dump a lot of coin into a 3/4/8' antenna, check your reception with your current setup. I just installed a new stereo, and had the cheap rubber 12" whip stuffed under the console. Reception was great 15 miles offshore, and the antenna is roughly 25 yrs old to boot!
 

smokeonthewater

Fleet Admiral
Joined
Dec 3, 2009
Messages
9,838
Re: how to get the best am/fm reception?

a good quality radio will pull in WAY more than an old elcheapo too
 

smokeonthewater

Fleet Admiral
Joined
Dec 3, 2009
Messages
9,838
Re: how to get the best am/fm reception?

ugh... I'm thinkin pioneer, clarion, jvc, kenwood or poly planar...... dual, jenson (although they've come a long way) and the like aren't my first choice for reception in remote areas...

just my $.02 tho
 

mrdancer

Petty Officer 1st Class
Joined
Aug 21, 2008
Messages
235
Re: how to get the best am/fm reception?

FM reception will depend on the radio and the antenna both. The whip antennae are standard on mobile applications, but if you have room in the boat, try one of those dipole antennas that generally come with TVs, indoor radio/stereo setups, etc. They are cheap to buy and really pretty effective if set up correctly.

AM reception will depend mostly on the radio itself, and there are few radios optimized to accept an external AM antenna (CCRadio is one, for example). AM antennae generally consist of wire coiled around a metal core - the length of the wire tends to determine the location within the band that has the strongest signal. The reception on the AM band is more directional, so you may need to rotate the boat or radio to improve reception. There is an external wireless antenna that CCrane sells, where you match the band on the AM radio to improve reception - it is a bit pricey for what it is, but it does work for radios that have poor AM reception to begin with, but not so much with radios that already have excellent AM reception. Also, the antenna does have to be in close proximity to the radio, and it would be rather inconvenient to use in a boating setup.

Also, check out the little old-school portable am/fm radio made by Sony ( model ICF-S10MK2 ). They have excellent AM reception for a small radio and you would have to probably spend upwards of $100 for anything better. You can get it Amazon for under $10, or I saw one in kmart the other day for around $11. You should get one quick, though, as it looks like Sony quit making it (it is no longer available on their website).

Also, in general, shortwave radios tend to have better AM reception than most consumer models. They are more expensive, but they are kinda cool to listen to anyway...
 
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