Where to find FM antenna better than the FM6

skatingrocker17 · 2-Oct-2013, 7:18 PM

Where can I find a better FM antenna than the Antennacraft FM6? I know there are many out there but they all seem to be out of production and I can't find them anywhere. I would even buy a used one.

Centronics appears to have the Winegard 6055p but they're out of business.

I was able to find this but it's very expensive. How good of an idea would it be to stack two FM6s?

Thanks.

No static at all · 3-Oct-2013, 12:35 PM

Wow, that is a huge antenna. The specs say 6' 7" length, but it sure looks a LOT longer than that. Otherwise, the rest of the specs look great. Never can remember seeing an FM only antenna coming even close to 12 db of gain. And yes, it is a bit pricey (ouch)

You may want to visit the Digital Home site thread on stacking antennas to answer questions about stacking. You can generally expect a 2 to 2.5 db increase in gain when stacking 2 identical antennas.

ADTech · 3-Oct-2013, 1:03 PM

What do you mean by "better? Sturdier, better construction materials, etc?

What is the specific challenge that you are trying to overcome?

skatingrocker17 · 3-Oct-2013, 4:07 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by ADTech

What do you mean by "better? Sturdier, better construction materials, etc?

What is the specific challenge that you are trying to overcome?

Well I would like one of similar size, not a 12 foot monster with maybe a little more gain. The FM6 is great, but reception of some stations could be better. I'm not looking for sturdier, but maybe more elements than 6 and a little longer. The Winegard 6055P seemed to be perfect but you can't find it anywhere.

How do you connect two antennas? Just connect one terminal to another using a 300 ohm cable? Then from there use a 300-75ohm transformer to coax?

GroundUrMast · 3-Oct-2013, 6:57 PM

Here are some links re. stacking/ganging: http://forum.tvfool.com/showthread.php?t=1024

To ADTech's point, are you simply looking for more gain?

skatingrocker17 · 3-Oct-2013, 7:10 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by GroundUrMast

Here are some links re. stacking/ganging: http://forum.tvfool.com/showthread.php?t=1024

To ADTech's point, are you simply looking for more gain?

Yeah, more gain.

Referring to this article.... You use a combiner and not a set of twin leads to link the antennas. Is that the best way to go?

No static at all · 3-Oct-2013, 9:59 PM

Is there any metal near the FM6 where it is mounted? Have you considered modifying it to improve the pattern?

I have both the FM6 & Winegard 6055 & find the 6055 slightly better, but not by a lot. The modified FM6 is a stellar performer. It see's stations up to 150 miles away (not listenable, but they are heard pretty much 24/7) even inside an attic.

skatingrocker17 · 3-Oct-2013, 10:09 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by No static at all

Is there any metal near the FM6 where it is mounted? Have you considered modifying it to improve the pattern?

I have both the FM6 & Winegard 6055 & find the 6055 slightly better, but not by a lot. The modified FM6 is a stellar performer. It see's stations up to 150 miles away (not listenable, but they are heard pretty much 24/7) even inside an attic.

The mast is metal but I followed the intstructions and made sure there is at least 2" of clearance between the mast and those zig zag things that run down the antenna (forget what they're called). The HD stacker is mounted about 36" below, I'm likely going to take it down when I can find someone to buy it. I can get all the same stations VHF and UHF with the FM6 with the same signal quality.

Are the 2-3dB gains across the whole 88-108Mhz spectrum?

No static at all · 4-Oct-2013, 10:37 AM

If stacking 2 identical antennas the average gain increase is ~2 to2.5 db across the entire band.

No static at all · 4-Oct-2013, 12:26 PM

I see your HD Stacker is for sale on Ebay. The FM6 is WAY too close to the TV antenna & may be compromising your FM reception.

Once the Stacker is removed, I suggest raising the rotor higher if possible & then put the FM6 5 feet above the rotor. The added height & removal of the Stacker may help clean up 101.5 & other stations you are trying to improve.

skatingrocker17 · 4-Oct-2013, 2:58 PM

Yeah I'm probably going to take it down today or tomorrow. I have the stacker on Craigslist too but I doubt it'll sell which sucks because I really don't have anywhere to put it.

skatingrocker17 · 4-Oct-2013, 7:31 PM

I plan on taking the stacker down but I moved it all the way down the mast so there's a good 4 feet separation between the two antennas. Right now seems like a perfect day to see if there's a difference. 101.1 is perfect / slightly staticky at times and after moving the stacker all the way down, it didn't seem to change. Some days all Detroit stations come in 100% clear but today seems to be a bad day. 88.7 is still good though.

I compared tv stations between the two antennas too. All often UHF stations are 100% with the stacker and mostly in the mid 70s to 80s on the FM6, which is to be expected because it's not a UHF antenna. The fm6 gets stations from the opposite direction though so doing a channel scan with the fm6 resulted in 4 more channels. VHF tv is a little better on the stater too but it also has a pre amp and it aimed more for VHF high band.

I bought another FM6, we'll see what that does.

Pure_RF · 5-Oct-2013, 2:23 AM

They make an 8, 11, 14, 17 and 18 element FM antenna.

http://www.innovantennas.com/antenna...category_id=26

Quote:

Originally Posted by skatingrocker17

Where can I find a better FM antenna than the Antennacraft FM6? I know there are many out there but they all seem to be out of production and I can't find them anywhere. I would even buy a used one.

skatingrocker17 · 5-Oct-2013, 8:11 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Pure_RF

They make an 8, 11, 14, 17 and 18 element FM antenna.

http://www.innovantennas.com/antenna...category_id=26

I wonder how well they would work for FM since they're 144Mhz. Anyway, the 10 element one would be over $200 anyway. My 2nd FM6 should be here Saturday morning. I live only about an hour from Solid Signals shipping facility so it always comes next day.

Pure_RF · 5-Oct-2013, 11:37 AM

Good on your FM-6. I have a friend using the larger Wineguard and it works well. Where he feels the antenna falls a little short is F/S and F/B performance. But then, its a 6 el antenna on a bit of a short boom. You stack a pair and that should improve plus, you'll pick up around 2.5 db gain.

Ummmmm.... the Inno's linked are not 144 mHz at all. Look at the specs for the 17el, below. Center frequency is 98 mHz. While I think the numbers below have a bit of "blue sky" included and $528.81 USD is a hefty price, with APS being gone, these are high performance alternatives.

Performance:

Gain @ 98MHz :13.26dBi
Max Gain: 13.78dBi
Typical F/B: 28dB
Max F/B: 42.7dB
Gain at 98MHz 10m (33') above ground: 19.01dBi

Quote:

Originally Posted by skatingrocker17

I wonder how well they would work for FM since they're 144Mhz. Anyway, the 10 element one would be over $200 anyway. My 2nd FM6 should be here Saturday morning. I live only about an hour from Solid Signals shipping facility so it always comes next day.

skatingrocker17 · 5-Oct-2013, 2:56 PM

You're right, I was looking in the wrong section.
This is the 88-108Mhz section.

I really like the 8 element, but it's $200 dollars plus whatever it cost to ship it. It's so strange that almost every good FM antenna is out of production.

skatingrocker17 · 5-Oct-2013, 3:04 PM

I'm wondering how far apart the antennas should be. The Stagger Stacking has some distances on the last page for stacking. But I'm not sure how the distances would change for vertical stacking.

I might try 3 feet.

ADTech · 5-Oct-2013, 3:09 PM

Quote:

It's so strange that almost every good FM antenna is out of production.

For the same reason that you can't find buggy whips in production anymore - lack of demand.

You should be consulting the reference in post #2, not the stagger stacking reference. There is math that you must do, otherwise you're just wasting time and resources. Also see http://www.kyes.com/antenna/stackluge.html

A correctly done stack will offer up to a 2.5 dB gain AT ONE FREQUENCY only. It will not offer that benefit across the entire band and will most likely have some detrimental effects at frequencies away from the peak.

Typical stacking distance is between 2/3rds and .94 wavelength.

skatingrocker17 · 5-Oct-2013, 3:46 PM

Okay, so correct me if I'm wrong.

This article gives the following formula: 467 / (lowest frequency).

So... 467 / 88Mhz = 5.3 feet.

Stereocraig · 5-Oct-2013, 4:12 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by skatingrocker17

Okay, so correct me if I'm wrong.

This article gives the following formula: 467 / (lowest frequency).

So... 467 / 88Mhz = 5.3 feet.

That's right for half wave, unless you're talking about each side.
I don't know the exact value, but I've seen it rounded off to 468.