Aerial Installations for FM

All FM receivers benefit from a permanent FM aerial installation. If your FM radio has an aerial
socket it should be connected to an external aerial to enable it to give you the best sound quality
and to enable you to receive as wide a range of stations as possible.
Select a good directional aerial and make sure it comes from a reliable manufacturer proud to
display the company name. Check that it covers the whole of the VHF/FM Band 87.5 - 108 MHz
(most do).

Aerial Positioning

Raise the receiving aerial as high as possible. Usually the signal will
be stronger as the aerial is raised above the ground - the screening
effect of hills, trees and buildings lessens with increasing height. The
safest recommendation is to position the aerial at roof-top height at
least 1 metre clear of the roof and other aerials.

The aerial is normally best mounted for horizontal polarisation, with

the elements parallel to the ground. All main transmitters and most
relays are mixed polarised, with equal horizontal and vertical
powers. When the listener is at some distance from the transmitter, it
can be beneficial to try both polarisations.

Some small relay transmitters broadcast only with vertical

polarisation, and these require the aerial to be mounted with the
rods vertical.

Position the aerial critically if reception is difficult. Sometimes it is

beneficial to have the aerial positioned so that part of the house roof
blocks out unwanted FM signals which cause interference. Shielding
from road traffic interference can also be achieved in this way.

Check if there is hiss in the background of the FM station which

diminishes or disappears when the radio is switched to mono. If you
live in an area of low signal strength a larger aerial with a greater
number of rods may be needed.
Cabling Use good aerial cable such as the low loss coaxial type used for
television reception.

Avoid cable joins if possible, but if you need to, use good quality
soldered plug and socket connectors

Never twist wires together.

Never have sharp bends in the cable and never use staples.

Use cable clamps and saddles of sufficient size to avoid

compressing and damaging the cable.

The FM aerial can be connected to an existing television aerial downlead, but combiner and diplexer units
must be incorporated to isolate the radio and television signals from one another.

Use a splitter/combiner if more than one radio is to be fed. A passive unit may be used in areas of high signal
strength but in other areas a unit incorporating an amplifier may be necessary (known as a distribution
amplifier.
More information about radio reception can be obtained from:

BBC Reception Advice

Television Centre
London W12 7RJ
0870 0100 123 (UK only - national rate call)
http://www.bbc.co.uk/reception
Ceefax page 698