Is there any reason I shouldn't use a car antenna base like this for fm?

[Mixter]

I'm re-configuring my stereo and location. With that, I'm deleting the original placement of the am/fm antenna just to the right of my door. Need to replace my antenna, and could either use the original style on the street side near where the fridge is, OR I could put one of these streamlined short antenna's on the roof for a cleaner look.

Am FM Stereo Radio Car Black Antenna Base for Nissan 350Z US Stock Seller | eBay

I have a shorty on my car, and it works fine. My only thought is that nothing can replace size, and I'd get better reception with the original long on? That said, the one that's on there now wasn't very impressive...

So that's the dilemma...

Thanks!
Mic

[Protagonist]

Little-known fact, television antennas make great FM antennas. But only if you route the signal around any in-line amplifier (amplifiers usually include an FM "trap" to reduce interefence).

Get yourself an "FM band separator" Winegard CA8800 FM Band Separator/Coupler FM Tap (CA8800) from Solid Signal and install it in between the antenna and your amplifier. Then route the TV signal from the separator to the amplifier, and the FM signal to your radio.

Not sure how well a television antenna works for AM radio, so I can't say whether you'd need a separate AM antenna.

[Mixter]

Interesting... I heard that, but have steered away because I want AM too, and heard that the separators are able to pull out FM, but not AM. That said, I found this, which appears to do what you're saying- PLUS the AM.

Amazon.com: Shakespeare 4357S Band Separator: Sports & Outdoors

Anyone have any success with this kind of setup? I'll be using the JACK antenna.

Thanks!
Mic

[Mixter]

Any other input out there?

Got this response from King Controls re: their JACK antenna. Not sure if it is a canned answer as it is not the "intent" of the antenna, or if it truly wont work for some reason.

I am sorry but our Jack antennas will not pick up AM/FM radio stations.

King Controls
Tech Support
952-922-6889
King Controls

[Protagonist]

Originally Posted by Mixter

I am sorry but our Jack antennas will not pick up AM/FM radio stations.

Remember in my earlier post that some antenna amplifiers contain an "FM trap" to cut down on interference with television signals. The Jack antennas may have such FM traps, so you'd have to tap into the antenna cable between the antenna proper and the amplifier. Which of ocurse the sales rep wouldn't mention.

[DKB_SATX]

Originally Posted by Mixter

Any other input out there?

Got this response from King Controls re: their JACK antenna. Not sure if it is a canned answer as it is not the "intent" of the antenna, or if it truly wont work for some reason.

I am sorry but our Jack antennas will not pick up AM/FM radio stations.

King Controls
Tech Support
952-922-6889
King Controls

My guess would be that since the amp is integral to the antenna unit on the Jack, there's no way to separate the signal before the amp.

[Mixter]

Yeah- that's what I was thinking. Cant tell where the amp is. The "head" is sealed- so I dont know if the amp is up there (doesnt really sound logical to be there?), but then the coax comes down through the base and splits- 1 plugs into a signal meter that mounts on the ceiling and the other goes down to the wall coax receptacle, which provides power to the antenna and splits to TV1 & TV2 (also allows for external cable hookup too).

Wonder if the powered wall panel is the amp?

[Jammer]

Originally Posted by Mixter

I'm re-configuring my stereo and location. With that, I'm deleting the original placement of the am/fm antenna just to the right of my door. Need to replace my antenna, and could either use the original style on the street side near where the fridge is, OR I could put one of these streamlined short antenna's on the roof for a cleaner look.

Am FM Stereo Radio Car Black Antenna Base for Nissan 350Z US Stock Seller | eBay

I have a shorty on my car, and it works fine. My only thought is that nothing can replace size, and I'd get better reception with the original long on? That said, the one that's on there now wasn't very impressive...

Hi Mic

Depends how strong of a signal you want

Neither the original antenna nor the "shorty" are really intended to pull in FM stations over any sort of distance. They will work insofar as they will provide some signal if you are reasonably close to the transmitter (30 miles more or less) and the transmitter is high power. In essence you'll get reception comparable to what you'd get in a car with the OEM antenna and radio.

The widely used amplified Winegard Sensar antennas do have an 18 dB FM trap in the amplifier, which is in the antenna head itself:

Winegard - Sensar (Batwing) series FM reception

The 18dB trap will more than overcome any gain from the antenna itself.

Unamplified Sensar antennas are available, and don't have a trap. Winegard also makes the HA-0130 and RV-7020 antennas, both outdoor antennas that mount on a wall, extend above the roofline for use, and collapse for travel. Any of these would be an excellent choice for FM reception.

My stick house is only 50 miles away from most of the nearby tv/fm transmitters but seeing as how it's right behind a big hill I have to go to great lengths to pull in a good hdtv signal. I have a 91XG and a VHF Yagi which is about as far as you can go without buying the really expensive stuff for the cable TV headend market.

[DKB_SATX]

Originally Posted by Mixter

Yeah- that's what I was thinking. Cant tell where the amp is. The "head" is sealed- so I dont know if the amp is up there (doesnt really sound logical to be there?), but then the coax comes down through the base and splits- 1 plugs into a signal meter that mounts on the ceiling and the other goes down to the wall coax receptacle, which provides power to the antenna and splits to TV1 & TV2 (also allows for external cable hookup too).

Wonder if the powered wall panel is the amp?

The wall panel is just a power inserter, the amp itself is almost always up close to/on the antenna itself.

[Mixter]

Ok.... so I'm hearing that the objective of a factory RV FM antenna is to reach far distances so you can still have signal when removed from the city.

If this is the case, I might be ok with shorter range... I think we'll be more "glamping" than boondocking.

Am I correct in this thinking?

If so, I might be able to take apart the JACK antenna and get around the amp. If not, then maybe a shorty would work well for city AM/FM signal.