QUICK CONSTRUCTION

PROJECT
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BuildAn Indoor

FM Antenrra

I rsof thesame The antenna,ilselt n,n6 , of rod as lh.e le.gs I used co aps,ote repracement anlenna 'O0S whtch are avarlablefrom most raaro/TvsJp;ty .act .neta rod thalcan any shops In Oe w OrK eOInIO I ne CO nlgUr at io, r shown will serve the same function. The mini.num ength feqJrred however. s 28 inches The base of the antennais a sma b orojectbo-x-a plasticcase.wrlh a nel_t lnese are avarlaole '.ornRa- d al COVeL dro Shack Also.equred u f F-61"o"",it chassrsconnector,type ",u ano a 6 sol derl ug. : Yo,rwrllreed a dflll to corrptele lnrsH constrJction OrojectF rst.rrakea role i In the center of the plast,cp,oied; box s bo om Screwthe antenra rodin Sl

PARTS LIST

ne of the biggest barriers to di l terence. S i nce the antenna derrnve good FNy' receptionis the lack q.ri ha.r hara i s c^ Facv'o ol a proper antenna.The wire around,you can usuallytrnda positron dipole that comes with most receivers where recepl on is good and noise{ree. Yea'sago all Fl\.4 and tuners seldom does the lob, so stalons LSedhorrhere is how to build something with a zontalpo arization, which made il neclittlemore gain and greaterversatility. essaryto use a horizontal antennafor Tethered to the tunerby coaxialcable, receptiol in order to avoid a loss in this antennacan be moved about the signal strengthof 10 to 20 dB Now room to lind the spot for ideal recep- rnosl statrons use circularpolarzation, tion,and it can be put neatlyout ol the which works with both horizontal and verlcal antennas. way when not in use. I have Jound this antenna to be The antennashown here is a vaflaquarter-wave much more sensitivethan the usual tron on the vertrcal type plane ,s hor,zonwlre dipole.Perhapsthis is due to the UsLal'y lhe ground fact that it is lree-standing. A wire dl- tal,but herethe rodsthatlorrn lhe pole must be fastenedto a wall,which ground planehavebeenpolnted is sure to degrade its performance. downward Thisincreases the frorn The same antennaposltiondoesn'tal- impedance 50 lo 70 ohms, ways work for differentslalions,how- which is betlersuitedto FNy' ever, even when they sharethe same tunersand alows the rods to transmitting antenna.l/oving the an- serve as a trlpod to support s base tenna just a few feet can make a big the antenna 52 AUD O/JULY1989

4 Replacement masls(ea I I antenna RadroShack #15-232,t strl avdrt. I I able, or #270-1405). ! 1 Plasticprojectbox with metal cover I (e.g , R adi o Shack #270- 230 or { j #270-231) F-61 coax connector 1 Chassis-mount (e 9., Radio Shack #278-212). 1 75-ohm cablwithF conneccoaxial tors,lengthto suit(e.9.,Radio Shack 16 teet:or #15-15.34, #15-1531. 25 teet). (e.9., 1 75/300-ohm balun translormer Radio needed Shack#15-1253); only for tunerswithout 75-ohm inputs 1 Solderlug; il unavailable usesolde. less ring tongue(e.9., Radio Shack or #&-406). #64'3030, #64'3070, Miscellaneous: Short wlre, 4 washeG (optional) A cornplete kit of pa(s is available lor approximately $12 (plus salestax lor 1845 NewYorkresidents) from:Rivera, N Y 11204 Supplies 52nd St.,Brooklyn, ol kitsat this priceare lirn ted,however, enso send a self-addressed stamped youof velope and Rverawill advise dales, updatedprices and delivery whereneces5ary.

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RICHARD J. KAUFMAN

rekind ,psible )h ate ruPPlY at can rat i o n .rction.

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ie soloeF lio Shack 4-406). washers rilable for u for 1845 ?plres vever, d enou of

ance, both l nsi de and outsi de l he case, when selectrngwhere to drill these holes.Use a punch to "dlmple" the metal betore drilling. This keeps the drill bil from walkingawaylrom the spot you selected and choosing its own place lor a hole. lf you don't have a punch,you can use a hammerand a nail-just be sure to tap lightly Now pass the coaxial connector lhroughlhe 7s-inchhole and secure it with the nut that came with it. (The nut shouid be on the inside ot the box.) Attach the egs securely.Solder the sho(est possiblepiece of wrre to the solder lug on the anlennarod and to the solder tab of the coax connector. (Solderassuresa secure connection and preventscorrostonfrom degradFig. 1-Canstructrcn diagam. ing the electrical contact.)Securethe cover with the four screws provided place,wilh its retaining screw and lhe with the projectbox. solder lug inside lhe box. lt helps to Exlend each leg to a length of 28 bend the solder1ugbeforepassingthe lnchesand the antennarod to 27 Inchfor screwthroughit, to allowclearance the wire that will have to be attached. It's also not a bad rdeato use washers on the screw. Next, drill a hole for the coax conneclorin the centerof the metalcover. You wrllhaveto make a 7a-inch hole.lt is suggestedthat you startwrth a 7s-inch bit, or thereaboutsthen eniarge ,. the hole to % inch. Now ?r' use a ys-rnch brt. l1you don't have one, rt may be possrble to enlarge the hole with a rallailiile When lhe hole rs completed,smooththe edges with a lile. Next,make three holeslor lhe legsone In the center --2. of a shortside, the other two in lhe corners oJ the opposite side Be sure to allow sullcrentclear-

es, as shownIn Fig 1 Genfly lorce the legs apart, bending the melal cover

just enoush to j?ril^o^ut :llir l^"]"^9: P 'uvrus d udurv uc5v .

The coax cable shouldcome down to the surlace on whrch lhe anlenna rests belore beginning its horizontal run; thrspreventsinterference with the antenna.ll your tuner or receiverhas 75-ohm rnpuls, use lhem. Otherwrse, you will need a baluntranslormer even though rt slightly decfeases srgnal strength. You may also lind that minor adjustments to the rods lengthwtll improve perlormance. In general,rl your rods a low such telescoping, lengthenng the rods will yield good resultson lowernumberedstalons,whileshorter rods wril performbelter on the hrgher numbered ones. In my location,one length-2g inchesfor the legs,28 inches lor the antenna-works well fof all the stations I listenlo A

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