FM Radio, anyone?

My once favorite antenna solution was a pair of tunable rabbit ears specifically designed for FM that were once available from Radio Shack.  Much better (quieter!) than any powered antennas at the time. Nowadays I won’t put up with the look of those things, but I found a uniquely simple solution.  I only listen to one station so I cut a piece of slender, flexible wire to a length that matches the wavelength of the desired signal.  For example, for a station at 90.9 MHz, the full wavelength is 130.315” (wavelengths for different frequencies are easily found on the web).  I just cut the wire to 32.6” (quarter wavelength) and hooked it to the back of my tuner.  It gives me full quieting without fuss and it’s a simple matter to adjust the wire’s position for minimum multipath and tape it to the back of my cabinet out of sight.  Pretty much free and worth a try…

FM reception is like real estate: “location, location, location “.

Different tuner specs that have different advantages / disadvantages performance will vary with location. As will different antennas. With that said, I’ve had pretty good performance from Magnum Dynalabs unassuming in appearance and less expensive indoor “Silver Ribbon “ in different locations. Better than with their and others similar more expensive whip style antennas and any of the indoor amplified novelty shaped offerings. Heck, even the cheapest rabbit ear tv antennas worked better in my experience.  Being able to pick up the antenna and easily move it even a tiny amount can make huge differences between capturing different stations. BTW, the connecting cable between antenna and tuner might be significant. IME, good coax tends to work better than twin lead. It might require small, inexpensive modifications (perhaps with a balun transformer) to maximize performance, but it could be well worth it. YMMV!

I'm sure some of you remember Casey Kasem's American Top 40?  There are a couple of stations around me that currently rebroadcast his shows on Sundays.

It brings back a flood of memories for me.  I remember waiting in anticipation for his show every week to see who had the number 1 spot that week.  I made sure I never missed his show.  Found a lot of new, (back then) artists.

MD-90 here. I am 25 miles from my favorite stations.  Some days are better than others as reception goes.  Some cloud cover seems to help.  And Ernie H. will not be forgotten soon.

@mofimadness +1 for Casey Kasem's American Top 40. It was a "must listen" in the 1970s and 80s. He had an excellent voice for radio, clear, crisp, intelligible, with a great tone. Very much missed.