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This is our first choice of antennas. With a large spectrum of radio waves, you can stay connected to both FM and AM broadcasting frequencies, thus giving you the opportunity to always be able to listen to your favorite music podcast. Ranging from AM 54 up to AM 130 and going from FM 88 to FM 108, it gives you several chances to keep yourself entertained with news, music, and traffic.
Reception versatility
Its compact size allows you to position this type of antenna almost anywhere in your home, as it provides great reception from sports, news, music, and talk radio in your areas. Easy to connect and install, you will not have to worry about not being a connoisseur of electronic equipment. Stylishly designed, it will make your housework more interesting while keeping you company and providing you with additional information and news.
Improved quality
It has a built-in amplifier which improves signal reception, its strength, and clarity, making it able to receive a multi-directional pattern with over a 50-mile AM/FM radio signal range while keeping noise away. With a balanced reception, you can listen to your favorite radio stations in seconds because thanks to its high and wide reception pattern, not only are you able to receive more channels, but there are fewer blind spots, as well.
Exquisite design
Created in a streamlined, modern bow design, you can match it with any equipment you already have in your home, as it will fit right in next to your radio. While keeping in mind certain rules, like not placing it behind or inside any metallic objects, installing the antenna as high as possible or near a window for better reception while keeping it away from other devices to avoid interferences, it is a spectacular device that will give you the freedom of listening to what you like.
| PROS
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CONS
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- Has both AM and FM frequencies
- Has multi-directional wave pattern recognition
- The built-in amplifier makes the sound clearer and stronger while keeping the noise away
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- Some complained about its features not matching their radios
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| VERDICT
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| A great multi-directional AM/FM antenna, it makes the sound from your radio stronger and clearer, offering you a wide range of channels to listen to. |
2. ANTV Radio AM/FM Antenna
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This is our second choice of indoor radio antennas. Built in a slick and fashionable design, made to fit all places as it stands vertically, this device comes with a series of benefits that will enhance your overall radio experience. Firstly, it comes with two signal recognition patterns, as it is able to distinguish both FM and AM frequencies. With its 50 miles reception range, you can receive several HD stations with great music, interesting news and radio talk.
Secondly, the built-in amplifier makes your radio listening experience high quality. Lowering the noise while amplifying the signals, it improves radio reception with just a cable plug-in. Using its stereo antenna you have free channels as it can connect to music, news and sports podcasts. No matter the model or the radio brand you use, it is a perfect match with it, as it has several ports and connectors like screw-type, 2-pin or 3-pin, making it a fit for all radio types. With its multi-directional pattern reception and its 6 ft. cable you can move it wherever you want, in order to take advantage of your room’s space. However, be sure to put it as high as possible to prevent any kind of external interruptions, like trees, tall buildings or mountains.
| PROS
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CONS
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- Multi-directional pattern reception
- Has both AM and FM frequencies
- Built-in amplifier for less noise
- Multiple connectors to fit your radio
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- Some complained about reception
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| VERDICT
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| Practical design, good construction made with a fingerprints-free vertical design, it is economic, lightweight with flexible binding, this device is ideal if you want to diversify your radio posts while enhancing your listening experience. |
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This is our third choice of antennas. Made to be used outdoors, this type of gadget has omnidirectional pattern recognition, making it an outstanding reception device for all FM broadcast stations. Able to pick up the frequency from 87.5MHz to 108MHz, it gives you the opportunity to listen to several music channels, news, sports and radio talk channels.
An excellent antenna if your house is more on the remote side, near mountains or woods; or if you simply do not wish to keep an antenna indoors, it can receive signals from about 20 miles away. Moreover, if you wish to increase the signal’s power and clarity, you can stack more of them together to receive a better transmission. Simple to install and use, it comes fully assembled making it ready for immediate installation. However, you have to put it on an already existing mast pipe, or if your house allows you, in the attic, in order to be able to receive all radio channels around, including the HD ones. Depending on the direction your stations are placed according to your house, you might have to rotate it in order to catch the radio channel at its highest quality.
| PROS
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CONS
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- Works even in remote places
- Easy to install and use
- Brings a lot of new radio stations
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- For some worked better indoors than outdoors
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| VERDICT
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| Easy to install and use, this type of outdoor antenna will diversity your radio channels, offering you a variety of new music posts. A great addition to all types of houses, remote or not, it comes with the possibility of increasing its power and clarity by stacking more of them together. |
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Another type of FM antenna, this device is created to improve the stability of your signal. Designed like a cable, rather than in a more ‘solid’ form, this indoor antenna is an F type male connector. It is a bit pretentious when it comes to what devices it can match as it will fit only certain brands like Yamaha, Pyle, JVC, Sherwood, Pioneer, Denon, Panasonic, Onkyo, Sony audio systems, and tabletop stereos.
That does not make it any less effective than the others. On the contrary, by receiving FM signals, it will guarantee you a high-quality sound experience with several channels to listen to. Choosing the best antenna for your device is a crucial task, so, be sure to check what type of device you have, to make sure it fits. Plus, be sure to place it as high as possible, in order to get the best signal there is. With no extra noise or other surrounding signals standing in its way, this type of antenna will offer you crisp reception. Moreover, the 1.5 m long cable will be enough to reach most tuners.
| PROS
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CONS
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- Low cost
- Easy to connect and use
- Crisp, strong and clear FM signal
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- Does not come with an adaptor
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| VERDICT
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| An ideal product that enhances your radio listening experience, offering you the best and clearest FM reception there is. But be sure to check your device first, to make sure that the male connector antenna fits. |
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Our fifth choice, this type of indoor 75 Ohm FM antenna is designed to increase your signal power, thus offering you a larger and wider reception area. A great help in improving and stabilizing your FM radio signal, the 4.9 ft. long cable makes it easy to connect with your device. Created in the shape of a cable, however, this type of antenna has an F type push male plug, so you have to check your device and see if it fits.
On the one hand, this gadget works with several brands like Yamaha, Pioneer, Denon, Panasonic, Sangean, Onkyo, Sony, Luxman, Samsung and Sherwood Harman Kardon. On the other hand, it does not work nor does it fit with Bose Wave. Ideally placed in high areas for better reception, this antenna offers an excellent sound quality regardless of its location. You can set it anywhere you want as it can work by standing on your tabletop, in your office and even inside your garage or basement without dropping the clear quality. With a widened range of channels and radio stations, it will improve the quality of your life as it offers you several new possibilities to listen to. Offering a simple and effective solution to radio diversity, this antenna is a great acquisition for everyone that wishes to widen their radio frequency.
| PROS
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CONS
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- Easy to use and install
- Great sound quality improvement
- Brings several new stations and channels to listen to
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- It does not work with all models of appliances
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| VERDICT
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| A simple solution to an, otherwise, complicated problem this type of FM antenna is efficient and does not require a set location, as the quality it provides is not dependent on its placement |
Last but not least, this 12-section device is easily attachable to your radio, giving you more variety in what broadcasts you can listen to. When fully extended it can reach up to 28.5 inches, that is with the F connector length included as well, made to fit several radio and TV models. Some of the main brands it is compatible with are Sangean, Tivoli, Musicsystem, Sony, Yamaha, Denon, Teac, Pioneer, Panasonic, Onkyo, Marantz, and Sansui. Thus, if your radio brand matches one of them, you can be sure your radio frequency will extend, offering you several new ways to pleasantly spend your time.
Easy to use and install, all you have to do is to make sure your device’s plug matches the antenna’s plug. You can attach it as it is, if it doesn’t bother you, or, if you’re looking for more stability and safety, you can attach it through its installation tool. Thanks to its groove ability to extend up to 12 sections, you can simply enhance your signal by expanding it, as a higher-placed antenna will be able to catch more waves.
| PROS
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CONS
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- Easy to use and install
- Great sound quality improvement
- Brings several new stations and channels to listen to
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- Some complained about its stability
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| VERDICT
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| Quickly to install and easy to use, this device will provide you with quality radio channels to listen to, improving not only your mood but your efficiency, as well. |
Radio Waves and Their Use
As technology evolves more and more, new devices and gadgets appear. Making our life easier with smart appliances, we tend to take them for granted, as they are, without understanding the concept on which they operate.
Radio waves, for example, are almost everywhere in our life, without us even noticing them, but using them on a daily basis. AM and FM radio broadcasts, garage door openers, wireless networks, radio-controlled toys, GPS receivers and cell phones, all are just a few examples of the technology we use every day, based on radio waves. It might seem extremely difficult to use these waves, at first. But the concept behind it is so simple, that you can make your own radio just with a few, cheap, electronic components.
Do It Yourself
To make your own ‘radio’ is easier than you might think. All you need is a 9–volt battery and a coin. Tune an AM radio to static and put the battery near its antenna. Quickly tap the two terminals of the battery with the coin, to connect them together for just an instant. If you hear a crackle on the radio is because you connect and disconnect the battery.
Your home-made device is called a transmitter. While you cannot transmit anything useful with it, just statics, as it is not optimized to do more advanced things, you can use the Morse code to communicate a few inches around. This might not be useful in a city where other, more modern and efficient methods of communication are around, but in dire situations when a radio signal might be the only thing keeping you alive, it might show its usefulness.
Practical Use for Radio Transmitters
- Baby monitors – a transmitter is put in the baby’s room while the parents, using the receiver, listen to the baby.
- Cell phones – an almost indispensable item nowadays, they come in different shapes, sizes and colors offering a wide range of features according to their models and brands
- Compasses – using the electromagnetic waves, they will always point north. Extremely useful when you go hiking, traveling or exploring, it is a trusty friend in need as long as other magnetic waves do not interfere with it.
The Difference between AM and FM waves
While both are ways to broadcast radio signals, and both of them transmit the information in the form of electromagnetic waves, they work in different ways. AM (audio transmission) is the ‘carrier wave’ modulated in amplitude by the signal which is going to be transmitted, while the FM (frequency modulation) is modulated in frequency.
With poorer sound quality compared to FM, AM is cheaper and can be transmitted over long distances. In addition, AM is more susceptible to noise, as it affects amplitude whereas FM is transmitted through a varying frequency, making it prone to less noise.
All in all, the type of antenna will be highly dependant on your needs. But you have to keep in mind your device’s plug type and your house structure before deciding which one fits your needs best.
