Need an am/fm stereo receiver antenna for my barn

[hornadylnl]

I've got an older stereo receiver that I'm going to put in my all steel building. I'm wanting to get an am/fm antenna to mount on the peak of my barn. I'm not much of an audiofile so I'm not sure what works or what to get. I'm going to need about 50' of wire. TIA

 

[snapping turtle]

Where are you located from your stations and are you in hill country. I understand the the steel roof cuts down signals well.

If it is a steel building. You might be able to tie to the steel frame. I have do this on ATV's with radio, Just basically turned the frame into an antenna. Am/fm is very forgiving on antennas. A lighting storm may eventually cause you a bit of trouble.

If this is not working a quick trip to radio shack/fry's you can pick one one under 10/20 dollars indoor powered am/fm/hdtv. Here in the flatlands of east central it should work well.

If you want to put it on the roof. It will cost you a bit more and You need 75 ohm coax with ends and at least one 75 to 300 ohm cinverter. A hole in the building with sealant to weather proof. A clamping system to the antenna and the antenna. I would look at adding TV if you are going this way. I have been putting in a mesh (looks kinda like a fence) TDTV's they rock.

 

[femurphy77]

I bought one for just such purpose a few weeks ago. When I get home this evening I'll add the info. I'll tell you right now that the Radio shack STORES are useless. When I asked them for an antenna they handed me what looked like a paper plate standing up on edge. I explained to their blank stares what I wanted and one of them told me that they had never seen anything like that at any Radio Shack!

I'm going to install mine on the end of a piece of 1 1/2" conduit that I'll attach to the end of the building using unistrut lagbolted to the side of the building. This will place it abou 8' above the peak of my roof. You'll want to be sure and use a ground wire down to a good grounding point, I'm planning on driving a seperate ground rod.

 

[woowoo2]

You'll want to be sure and use a ground wire down to a good grounding point, I'm planning on driving a seperate ground rod.

Needs to be said again.
You also need a static discharge block (Grounding)on the coax.

 

[edporch]

-Snip-
I'll tell you right now that the Radio shack STORES are useless.
-Snip-

This has been true for some time.

Time was when a person could design a circuit, go to their local "Radio Shaft" and most if not all of the individual components would be there, from the parts to build the power supply on up.
And at least SOME of the people that worked there knew something about electronics.

TODAY, their #1 mission is to sell you a cell phone.
And they have shelves full of Red Chinese made electronic "gadgets".
Then off in a corner somewhere they have a cabinet with some drawers that have a very few components, and nobody that appears to know anything about electronics.

They're a mere shadow of what they once were, sadly.

 

[hornadylnl]

I'm at least 25 miles from any station I listen to. It's an all steel building in a woods so I think I'll want something up on the roof. I'm thinking I'd like to get something that will mount right to the top of the gable vs mounting a pole to the side.

 

[gunman41mag]

I'm at least 25 miles from any station I listen to. It's an all steel building in a woods so I think I'll want something up on the roof. I'm thinking I'd like to get something that will mount right to the top of the gable vs mounting a pole to the side.

I guess a wire hanger to the radio antenna is out of the question

 

[pute62]

I guess a wire hanger to the radio antenna is out of the question

Wire hanger and lots of aluminum foil always worked for me. I'm surprised the guys at Radio Shack didn't know this.

 

[femurphy77]

Ok as promised this is the antenna I ended up with. I searched some of the audiophile sites and this one came in ranked pretty decent for those guys so I figured it'd be perfect for my use. IIRC it was only about $25 shipped and it's made right here on our shores, as it should be.


Amazon.com: Winegard HD-6000 FM and HD Digital Antenna: Electronics


I got mine from The Price Pros, they're out of Michigan and it only took a few days to get it. I'm planning on installing it today between raindrops hopefully.

 

[hornadylnl]

Let me know how that works out for you and a pic of how you mounted it if possible please. I wonder how that would work in the underside of my roof.

 

[inxs]

Why not an automotive antenna? Its omni-directional which most of the others aren't- and will seal to the steel roof well.

 

[hornadylnl]

Why not an automotive antenna? Its omni-directional which most of the others aren't- and will seal to the steel roof well.

I'm hoping to go with more of a whip style antenna. If I get an automotive type, I'm not sure how I'd hook that wire up to my receiver.

 

[femurphy77]

O.k. after much delay the new antenna is fantastic! My wishlist station was one in Columbus, I'm in Mooresville. As the crow flys it's about 32 miles, this antenna is directional and I wasn't paying attention when I installed it but I ge the desired station with just enough static to know it's there. I'm hoping that once I get it pointed in the right direction that the static will go away.

If you want to use a standard car antenna the wiring isn't a problem. Just cut the plug from the end of the antenna lead, then carefully strip back the insulation exposing about 4" of the braided shield wire then strip back the plastic insulation that surrounds the inner core wire, you should only need about an inch of that exposed. Twist the braided wire together just like you would regular stranded electrical wire then attach this to the ground screw that should be on the back of your reciever. Then take the center wire and land it in one of the 75 ohm connections on the back. This is how I hooked my antenna up since I used coax cable from the antenna down to the receiver. I'll get a picture or two of my mounting method in a day or two, sorry about the long lead times but I've been pretty busy lately (when I'm not goofing off on INGO)

I'm also planning on installing an antenna rotator to help fine tune the signal.

 

[femurphy77]

Horny, check out my "stuff" album. There are a couple of photos of my install. I used a couple of pieces of unistrut thru bolted into the stud frame of the wall. The mast is a piece of 2" conduit. I mounted a coax grounding block on the mast, ran a ground wire down to a dedicated ground rod at the base of the wall. My next move will be to install a rotator to enhance the signal of the furthest signals I'm trying pick up.

 

[hornadylnl]

That's a nice installation. I'm hoping to pick up some stations in Indy and they're about 50-60 miles away. My vehicles do it alright some I'm hoping an antenna up by the roof would do it. I wonder how an antenna like yours would do up about 16' just under the ceiling would do.