Need a good AM-FM antenna?

[mperlst216]

What are you using for better am-fm radio reception? I boat on an inland fresh water lake, and do not want to put an 8ft antenna on my 21 ft boat.

 

[Strypes]

We got our radio antenna at West Marine.

 

[NotHerDecision]

Mine is a glomex. Looks and works great


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[Steve195]

Wish I could help, but I don't think I've listed to terrestrial over-the-air radio for at least 5 years. Pandora, iTunes, SiriusXM or iHeart is all I ever listen too. I do listen to local AM talk radio sometimes but even that is via iHeart.

 

[Strypes]

Good for you.

 

[dpmulvey]

I've seen a lot of boats with 15 or so inch antennas. No complaints from anyone on performance inland to a few miles offshore. They are nicknamed Rubber Ducks and are on Amazon.

 

[Steve195]

Good for you.

I wasn't trying to be an a$$, just making a comment about how I "receive" radio/music. I use the streaming services because I've found that the reliability of the signal is better than grabbing them with an antenna. On the lake I boat on, radio reception is sketchy, but cell service is consistent. I added a wifi hotpot on my boat and use that as the "antenna" to pick up any radio station (local or remote) I want.

You might want to consider that instead of an antenna. Just an idea!

 

[ttmott]

I have the Shakespeare 96" 5235 XT. It's an great off shore high gain antenna albeit a bit expensive.

As an alternative you could use a band splitter like the Shakespeare 4357S which will tap off of your VHF antenna the AM/FM frequencies; that splitter is much less costly than the antenna.

If you don't have a VHF then there are many alternatives for 36 inch and hidden antennas. I like Shakespeare as they are basically the defacto standard and if I wipe one out or break one they are always available locally. A lot of the decision depends upon where you boat....

 

[John Leyden]

I have the Shakespeare 96" 5235 XT. It's an great off shore high gain antenna albeit a bit expensive.

As an alternative you could use a band splitter like the Shakespeare 4357S which will tap off of your VHF antenna the AM/FM frequencies; that splitter is much less costly than the antenna.

If you don't have a VHF then there are many alternatives for 36 inch and hidden antennas. I like Shakespeare as they are basically the defacto standard and if I wipe one out or break one they are always available locally. A lot of the decision depends upon where you boat....

You might take a look at the Digital 634-TB 8' Antenna but Expensive!

 

[JVM225]

I use the Shakespeare splitter to get it off my VHF antenna. It works, but isn’t great.

 

[Arminius]

A 4 ft long wire as high as possible inside the gunnel provides some AM reception. A commercial bow-tie FM antenna inside the gunnel works well. On my prior trailer boat, I had a 2.5' black flexible whip which was not a success as it mechanically interfered with the mooring cover and was often broken. I tried an amplified antenna but got better results shortening the connecting co-ax down to 18". The antenna amplifier really only helps to compensate for the 12' co-ax runs that come with these devices. I am open to better ideas. The trailer boat had a VHF whip which I seldom put up so that was less useful.

May try windshield frame for AM as it is not bonded to sterndrive and should have fastener accessible from underneath. Also thinking about the auto shark fin antennas that work so well.

Thank you for the Digital and Shakespeare suggestions. Research indicates the AM signal is vertically polarized and a taller whips sounds like it would work best. I'm more into a concealed product that would pull in local stations occasionally.

 

[Cocktail Time]

You should be able to receive plenty of stations by just using a cheap plug in from westmarine or an auto parts store that is hidden right behind the radio. They are less than $10.

 

[Arminius]

You should be able to receive plenty of stations by just using a cheap plug in from westmarine or an auto parts store that is hidden right behind the radio. They are less than $10.View attachment 77206

Found one in my parts bin and that will be my next evening project. Still think I will buy a functioning GM or Ford Shark Fin on Ebay. Don't trust the new replacement products.

FYI. This used boat came with an amplified antenna loosely hanging behind the quality Kenwood deck. The bow-tie component was pulling FM in well but no AM. The 4' lead from the center of the bow-tie was the AM antenna and the installer had wrapped it to the co-ax back to the deck which was the worst place to unroll it as the co-ax has a grounded shield. So that wire is the AM antenna I've now stretched back high in the gunnel giving me some AM reception.
Experience has taught me the antenna amplifier is only there to compensate for signal losses in the co-ax. Without any need for the long co-ax, I did a resection eliminating all but 18". The antenna amplifier power lead was connected by the installer to the deck's power elevated antenna lead giving it 12v whenever the tuner function was selected. I put a temporary switch in that circuit. As suspected, the amp only introduces noise into the system now that the signal is no longer attenuated by 12' of co-ax coiled up by an installer reluctant to cut it. I'm leaving the switch in till I experiment on open water though.

I see there are cheap white rubber ducky antennas on Amazon but the structures look like the same flimsy black ones I used to break off when rushing to deploy the mooring cover on a former boat. Better to have something that looks nice and holds up. They did work somewhat and were cheap to replace. A VHF mount would look better if I were to drill holes.

Meanwhile, I envision a matching ivory shark fin unobtrusively on the panel shelf just behind the windshield over to the left of the compass. We'll see: It's a long time till boating season (after Winter & Spring).

 

[dtfeld]

I took the splitter out and ran a separate antenna. I have this on the port side and the VHF on the Starboard. I like the balanced look.

https://www.amazon.com/Shakespeare-...ocphy=9010753&hvtargid=pla-568413796782&psc=1

Also we are 35-60 miles north of the main city so this really pulls in whats available.

 

[NorCal Boater]

A lot of boats your size and larger use the bow rail for the antenna. You can buy a lead that plugs into the antenna port on the stereo. The other end has a ring terminal. Find one of the screws coming from a rail stanchion and attach the ring terminal to it. It works great....I've used this for years on several boats.

 

[Arminius]

Thanks! A stainless rub/ornamental bumper surrounds my boat but I'm not getting increased reception from it. I may work on this further after I try out my Shark Fin from Ebay. AM radios used to have little carbon (ferrite) rods inside them and work great w/o an external antenna. I'm hoping the Shark Fin will have the modern equivalent.
The shark fin was too complicated to use and I am going back to a long wire.

 

[Arminius]

View attachment 77771 View attachment 77771 View attachment 77771

My solution is about 4 feet of bare, solid copper .125" wire (#8 ?) as recommended by Cocktail Time. Better if it has plastic insulation as found in Romex but I used the ugly old piece of ground wire depicted in the photo. My final installation used white nylon 1/4" cable clamps which can be drilled out to fit over existing 3/16" and 1/4" machine screw stubs up in the gunnel where I hid it. The black ones shown grab the drill and come apart. Note how I ran the wire through a gutted plug so the wire end fits into the radio. Soldering the tiny stranded core of coax to a wire extension would be doomed to failure from vibration. The aerial should not be tied parallel to another wire or cable but may cross at a right angle to avoid cross-talk and signal attenuation. My observation is that co-ax is counterproductive, diminishing signal strength, and the outer shielding should be eliminated. Commercial antennas with 10' of co-ax won't work because the AM signal is lost in transmission through the co-ax. Some antennas have amps but these only compensate for signal loss through the co-ax and do not increase signal strength at the aerial's base. Any amp is going to slightly degrade the signal by introducing noise. The radio's ground is critical and my garage testing became more realistic once I jumped the boat's drive unit to a water pipe. Reception will differ based on type of boat as my stern drive will only have a couple feet of drive and prop in non-conductive fresh water while a sail boat with a metal keel in salt water would be much better grounded. Those rail or windshield frame ideas might work better with a better ground but I had not thought of the water pipe jumper when I tested them. So, all is well. Susan can now hear Rush when Summer arrives!