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Inline fm radio signal amplifier?

  • 27-04-2016 9:10pm
    #1
    actua11
    Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 148 ✭✭


    I have a quick question about boosting fm radio reception where headphones are used as the antenna. e.g for a phone, mini-personal fm radio etc.

    Basically I've found the signal that I guess is coming through the headphones to be quite patchy. Is there any adapter or other type of thing that I can use to better the signal reception I'm getting or am I just limited to what the wire coming from the 3.5mm connection picks up?

    I've tried to look around but can only find something similar for car radios, is there anything that might work for personal audio devices?

    Any help appriciated with this :)


Comments

  • #2
    Ghost Train
    Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 30,469 ✭✭✭✭Ghost Train


    Longer cable might help a bit, just some sort of extension. Don't know of any active aerial that exists


  • #3
    Capt'n Midnight
    Moderators, Recreation & Hobbies Moderators, Science, Health & Environment Moderators, Technology & Internet Moderators Posts: 93,567 Mod ✭✭✭✭Capt'n Midnight


    Not sure a longer antenna would help. Roughly speaking a 75cm long headphone antenna would be a quarter wavelength on FM which isn't a bad choice.

    mad stuff would be trying a Tiger's Tail. A wire from the negative on the battery dropping down to form an earth / mirror to match the antenna of the head phones above.

    get a radio with better sensitivity / listen to different stations / internet radio. If you are in a reinforced concrete building then it's never going to be good. Dense concrete and the metal of the rebar don't go well with radio or wifi.

    If at home and you have cable TV then check out the FM socket if you have one.


    If you want to waste money on a booster there are any number of "one for all" TV/FM/Digital boosters. they will boost the signal , but they also boost the noise and are pretty unidirectional so won't help separate signals from different directions like a proper directional antenna would. (proper directional antennas for FM are large.)


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