Any success with an indoor FM antenna?


I am currently in a situation where an outdoor FM antenna is not possible.  Do you have any experience with what is a good indoor FM antenna?  Thanks
whatjd
Exactly right, cleeds.  In my case, it's an HOA regulation. As it worked out, I'm happy to have found internet radio, there are so many stations to choose from and the quality is much better than I expected.
jsbail
... There is an FCC law, you have a legal right to have an exterior antenna
Not so.
First, the FCC has no authority to make law. It makes regulations.
In many states, HOAs can have broad authority, and it absolutely can extend to forbidding antennas.
rcprince, There is an FCC law, you have a legal right to have an exterior antenna.
For years I used half of an old rather large roof antenna, (originally mounted at top of masonry chimney for television)  placed in the attic of my home. I tended to have reception problems with three of the eight preset FM stations I listen to. The reception problems varied from day to day, sometimes hardly noticeable other times unlistenable.

A few months ago while looking at Amazon I decided to try an Omnidirectional FM Antenna made by Stellar Labs. Its basically two elements in an 18" diameter circle, simple and inexpensive. You have to assemble the half's together, that was a pain in the A**, then just hung it high in the attic. I was surprised to find quite the improvement from this small (just a fraction of the old ones size) antenna.I am glad I decided to try it, figured if it didn't work out I would just return it. 

Good luck,
Gary
I have had the same problem here in my townhouse unit, where I can't have an outdoor antenna.  Apart from the suggestion about an attic antenna, I agree with Spiritofradio's suggestion. In my case, I bought a Magnum Dynalab internet tuner and use internet radio, running the digital signal through my EMM Labs' player's digital input.  Gets me my local PBS station here, plus the ones I used to listen to in NY and all over the world (I particularly like the BBC classical station).  Sound quality may not equal what I got in the past with an outdoor antenna and a Day Sequerra tuner in the NY metroploitan area, but it is still quite good, particularly with some of the internet stations.  I tried running this tuner with a Magnum Dynalab indoor antenna, but that just didn't do the trick--the internet radio easily surpasses it..
I've tried a few different antennas and the one that seems to work best is the Magnum Dynalab - SR100.  Second best is the cheapo dipole antenna that comes with most tuners.  If your tuner has two antenna connections (I have a couple that do), you'll find that one may work better with some stations than the other.  A long piece of coaxial cable connected to an unused cable outlet also worked surprisingly well.
I am using a Bic Beam box FM10 for environments for many years purchased used on ebay .... for me it is an excellent product.

Do you have an attic?  Is it possible to mount something up there?

A Magnum Dynalab antenna up there would do wonders.

Hey, this may not be what you had in mind but I gave up and listen to terrestrial radio on my streamer over the Internet.  The local stations that I care about and many good stations across the country (some familiar from where I’ve lived over the years: NY, Chicago, Los Angels) all have their broadcasts set up on the Internet.  And the biggest thing about this is that it sounds great.  So much better than any antenna I’ve ever tried.  
You can get a little $40 - 100 gizmo to try it or spend 550 to get a Bluesound node2i that will maybe give you more options (digital out particularly) that you can use for a music subscription.  
You may be surprised what a simple, inexpensive dipole can do. 
Performance is like real estate-location. 

https://www.parts-express.com/fm-dipole-antenna-with-f-connector--210-608

I get a strong 8/9 out of 10 signal strength with the Classical and Jazz stations on my Mac MR71. A proper rooftop, is the only way to hear what the FM can really sound like.
Indoor antennae are all pretty much the same in my suburban experience, you do need “something “, but costly ones were not much better than cheap ones. That’s for where I live and can’t be a general rule.
Sadly I've had plenty of bad experiences. The amplified antennas rarely helped. What does help is being able to set up an antenna as high as possible and turning it. Even the cheap free antennas that come with a tuner/receiver are pretty directional.