Okay, I'm curious. The main reason I want an A/V receiver is for AM/FM in surround sound. Though I don't have the surround sound either yet in my home theater, I am getting it for radio use. Do these have an antenna attached on the receiver or is there a way to move the antenna to a different part of the apartment or somewhere outside? I have two different spots in mind for if it were outdoors. One is between two buildings and one could go on my TV antenna mount outside that is clear in every direction. Does it necessarily need no obstruction in its path especially when you hope to get longer reception? (I know radio waves are different than TV but I'd assume so.) Thoughts?
In the next few months looking to get an A/V receiver, can I and do I put the radio antenna outside?
- Thread starter edisonprime
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Most if not all receivers come with at least a rudimentary wire antenna, I've never used them as I don't listen to the radio around here except for High School football.
Pardon my ignorance, but what is a "rudimentary wire antenna" exactly? Is that one of those indoor antennas that would be attached to the unit?
Usually it is a piece of hookup wire, cut to a set length to be a 1/4 wave whip antenna.
Most reasonable receivers have what is called an F Connector for the antenna. This is the same sort of connector used for the antenna connection on your TV or cable box. It will accept a coaxial cable input. The source can come from several places. Many cable systems will include local radio stations in their feed. You can also use a roof mounted antenna, or use the one you have mounted for your TV by adding a signal splitter. You can also use the traditional "rabbit ears" antenna. For any of these, make sure that the antenna works with the VHF band. A UHF antenna will work poorly if at all.
Older receivers and some newer ones come with a pair of screw type antenna connections. These are 300 ohm balanced input and generally connect to a dedicated dipole style antenna. These can also be converted to the external antenna, by using something called a balun (available at Radio Shack for about $10)
Most reasonable receivers have what is called an F Connector for the antenna. This is the same sort of connector used for the antenna connection on your TV or cable box. It will accept a coaxial cable input. The source can come from several places. Many cable systems will include local radio stations in their feed. You can also use a roof mounted antenna, or use the one you have mounted for your TV by adding a signal splitter. You can also use the traditional "rabbit ears" antenna. For any of these, make sure that the antenna works with the VHF band. A UHF antenna will work poorly if at all.
Older receivers and some newer ones come with a pair of screw type antenna connections. These are 300 ohm balanced input and generally connect to a dedicated dipole style antenna. These can also be converted to the external antenna, by using something called a balun (available at Radio Shack for about $10)
If I use my powerful outdoor Winegard TV antenna for my TV, would I be able to get out of market stations for radio like I do for my TV like the Twin Cities, MN and La Crosse, WI here in Rochester, MN? Would I still get both AM and FM?
AM is a different animal. If the receiver has AM capability, it generally has a different antenna connector, and usually a loop antenna. AM stations are at a lower frequency and a TV antenna will not work. FM signals are between the old TV analog channels 6 and 7.
If you use the TV antenna you should be able to receive the FM signals from whichever direction the antenna is pointing, assuming the antenna has full VHF capability.
If you use the TV antenna you should be able to receive the FM signals from whichever direction the antenna is pointing, assuming the antenna has full VHF capability.
The incidence of surround sound songs or events on broadcast radio could be counted on one hand per week even in the largest markets. There just isn't that much surround sound in audio only titles. Absolutely none of it will make an appearance on the AM band.
What little surround sound there is was typically from live concerts that were recorded for video or mixes done for quadraphonic in the early '80s.
Your best shot at surround music is probably going to be MTV's Palladia HD TV channel where you'll sometimes find engineered DD5.1 feeds. Without encoding, the AVR has no idea where the microphones were placed so it can't "recreate" the original sound field.
Most VHF+UHF antennas will give you good FM performance. VHF only antennas are okay and UHF antennas probably aren't worth beans.
What little surround sound there is was typically from live concerts that were recorded for video or mixes done for quadraphonic in the early '80s.
Your best shot at surround music is probably going to be MTV's Palladia HD TV channel where you'll sometimes find engineered DD5.1 feeds. Without encoding, the AVR has no idea where the microphones were placed so it can't "recreate" the original sound field.
Most VHF+UHF antennas will give you good FM performance. VHF only antennas are okay and UHF antennas probably aren't worth beans.
Actually, a VHF antenna is more suited to FM since the FM band falls between channels 6 and 7. Best would be a double dipole FM antenna like this one: http://www.solidsignal.com/pview.as...ase&utm_medium=organic&utm_source=google_base
