Tuning FM Signals with a Great and Inexpensive FM Antenna
Week 5, 2003
Q) I have a 17-year old JVC receiver, Model R-X500. Recently the FM reception has deteriorated significantly. I listen only to WQED and WDUQ. Other sources- CD, cable, tape – have not deteriorated at all.
The symptom is simply that the FM signal fades out suddenly and completely. This often seems to happen when I walk by the receiver, but occurs spontaneously at other times as well. I’ve temporarily “fixed” the problem by setting the receiver to mono mode, rather than stereo, but I miss the stereo.
I use a jury rigged home-made antenna, which is nothing more than a 5′ length of 300-ohm twin lead affixed to the back of my entertainment center cabinet.
Should I take the unit to a JVC repair facility, or is it too old to warrant the expenditure? Perhaps I should just throw in the towel and replace it, but I hesitate doing so because the other inputs work so well. Furthermore, it occurs to me that perhaps QED and DUQ have been doing some work on their respective transmitters. I should mention that my small bedside table radio receives FM stereo quite well, as does my car radio. I live in Murrysville which is not all that far from the transmitters in question.
-Bob Robinson, Murrysville
A) It sounds like the stereo tuning section of your tuner is dying. If you are happy with your receiver, why not get an external tuner and use it with an input on your receiver? If your inputs are all used up, you can get a switchbox for less than $20 that will allow you to route multiple sources through a single input. Repairing your JVC, if possible, is likely to be costly as you will be paying labor charges. Many repair stations charge a $79 fee just to look at a piece of equipment, so I would avoid that route and get a stand-alone tuner if you want to continue using your JVC.
Stand-alone tuners are rare these days, but with some diligent internet shopping you can find one for under $150. You can also find very good ones on the used market for well under $100. Onkyo in particular has made very good tuners, as does Harman/Kardon. Some of their older models are much better than the tuners included in modern receivers. Many product testers have lamented the poor FM reception of today’s home theater receivers, as FM quality has largely taken a back seat to surround sound capabilities. You can find used tuners on ebay, or through used vendors such as Audio Classics, found at www.audioclassics.com. Used audio dealers cost a bit more than a private seller, but you have the security of a warranty and return policies to back it up.
For a great FM antenna, get a simple pair of rabbit ears normally used for VHF TV reception. A simple, unamplified $12 pair will do fine. If your tuner has twin binding posts, use the twin-lead adapter to connect the rabbit ears. The difference between a twin-lead wire antenna (usually included with receivers) and a simple set of rabbit ears is astounding. Last year a receiver in a bedroom in my home was having problems getting good FM reception. I switched from the twin lead to the rabbit ears, and the signal-strength meter maxed out immediately and the sound was crystal clear. I also received many more channels than before- it seemed like the “channel search” function was not working because it located a new channel almost instantaneously as I pushed the button.
