Indoor 75ohm FM aerial recommendations

[SteveR750]

Recently acquired a late 90s Denon tuner. 8ve got a cheap wire dipole that's pretty disappointing. I don't want to go to the trouble of a roof aerial which would cost several times the price of the tuner. There are multiple options on amazon with built in amps, but mostly advertised for use as TV aerials. Any recommendations so I don't have to resort to rolling a dice, or just putting the tuner in the loft....

 

[Al ears]

Recently acquired a late 90s Denon tuner. 8ve got a cheap wire dipole that's pretty disappointing. I don't want to go to the trouble of a roof aerial which would cost several times the price of the tuner. There are multiple options on amazon with built in amps, but mostly advertised for use as TV aerials. Any recommendations so I don't have to resort to rolling a dice, or just putting the tuner in the loft....

I'd try speaking to a professional aeriel installer and pick their brains, you might even get it trade price....

 

[Gray]

.... or just putting the tuner in the loft....

An aerial in the loft would probably be better than anything lower down.
But you might still only get the strongest signals - and even then, with hiss.

There may well be indoor aerials with 'boosters'.....but they can't boost nothing.
Anything less than a decent roof mounted one though, is not doing a decent tuner justice.

 

[abacus]

It depends how far you are from the transmitter (In my last house I could get full signal with a wet piece of string), also the dipole aerial you have tried is directional, so make sure your try moving it about first.
Most One for All powered aerials do both TV and FM.

Bill

 

[SteveR750]

It depends how far you are from the transmitter (In my last house I could get full signal with a wet piece of string), also the dipole aerial you have tried is directional, so make sure your try moving it about first.
Most One for All powered aerials do both TV and FM.

Bill

I'd forgotten the directional bit. It's been 35+ years since I owned a tuner....

 

[SteveR750]

Just moved it around, made no difference. R2 and R3 are fine, R4 noticeable hiss which I can't eliminate. The wire dipole isn't big enough to reach the ceiling so that doesn't help. I notice that the sound is much stronger in the upper bass compared to BBC Sounds streamed via sonos, which is surprising given the reviews of the Denon in its day.

 

[Gray]

...get R2 with a screwdriver stuck in the back of mine.....still use directional roof aerial - that's when it compares favourably to other sources.

I do wonder how many people never heard the potential of their FM tuners....before taking them to the dump

 

[SteveR750]

...get R2 with a screwdriver stuck in the back of mine.....still use directional roof aerial - that's when it compares favourably to other sources.

I do wonder how many people never heard the potential of their FM tuners....before taking them to the dump

I have an aerial, but the cable run is about 20m and over a door. That's not going to happen anytime soon. I know it would be on another level if I could though.

 

[Din5]

Do you have decent FM reception in your house ?, if so maybe an aerial mounted in the loft is sufficient. If not, then I think you need a roof mounted aerial, the higher the better, and the more elements on the aerial will increase the signal gain.

 

[SteveR750]

Do you have decent FM reception in your house ?, if so maybe an aerial mounted in the loft is sufficient. If not, then I think you need a roof mounted aerial, the higher the better, and the more elements on the aerial will increase the signal gain.

Yes its pretty good. The challenge is the tortuous route across the lounge. If there was a device that could transmit a wireless connection across a room, that would be a good solution.

 

[nopiano]

Yes its pretty good. The challenge is the tortuous route across the lounge. If there was a device that could transmit a wireless connection across a room, that would be a good solution.

Like Airplay from the BBC Sounds app you mean?

I thought I was wedded to FM, and I’ve even bought/sold three tuners in the last five years to try, though my old Hitachi FT-5500 from about 1980 still beats them all to my ears. But I scarcely bother now as Airable radio via my Linn streamer carries all the BBC channels, Classic FM, Scala, Times Radio etc., without a trace of background noise. Plus things like Paradise and Linn’s own Clasical and Jazz channels in HD (320kps).

BTW, the Denon TU-260L is terrific too, if that’s the one you have.

 

[Din5]

When I used my Technics tuner, it had bad hiss caused by low signal strength when picking up stereo broadcasts. So I bought an 8 element flying v type (Triax make) and I mounted it on an outside wall bracket bolted high up on the gable end.
I lifted the lounge carpet and routed the FM coax cable on the inside of the carpet grippers, it was not such a difficult job, about 10m in total. The result was really perfect reception.
However, we got the house roughcasted, the aerial mount was taken downand the aerial was trampled over. I now just stream radio via my Arcam CDS50.
There is something special about using a nice tuner at night, with the warm glow of the dial, buttons & meters etc, - man & gadget .... a streamer doesn't come close in my opinion.
I don't think a small amplified combined indoor TV aerial will give a good result at all, but you could always try one via Amazon and return it if not suitable ?
Here's some interesting info that may help...
Can You Use A TV Aerial For FM/ DAB Radio? (smartaerials.co.uk)
And
FM and DAB radio - A.T.V. Poles, Brackets, Clamps & Aerials (aerialsandtv.com)
And
Aerials & Antennas - Indoor, Car & DAB Aerials | CPC (farnell.com)
And
Radio Aerials, DAB & FM Aerials - Blake UK (blake-uk.com)