Improving Your Radio's Reception
Just like light, radio signals get weaker with distance. If you live far away from the tower where our transmitter is located, a signal that starts out strong may be weak the time it reaches your radio. Sometimes terrain is also an issue, as some people live in valleys or basins. Since it isn’t practical for you to move closer to a Strong Tower Radio tower site, you’ll need to install a high quality external antenna. An antenna is like a pair of binoculars for your radio — it makes the radio “see” the transmitter as though it was closer. Here are a few options for you.
Purchasing A More Powerful FM Antenna
There are hundreds of options out there when it comes to FM Antennas. We are recommending the “Terk FM Edge FM Antenna” as a more powerful option then the “Terk Tower FM Antenna.” This antenna captures radio signals and minimizes noise in an FM signal with a two-stage amplifier before boosting broadcast frequencies for less noise. It enhances reception sensitivity which helps lock onto signals in crowded areas. It also helps improve reception of lower powered signals. You can also adjust FM amplification (from 0 to +29dB amplification). There is a red LED light on the bottom front portion of the unit which glows more brightly as amplification is increased. The antenna connects to your radio’s antenna input connection and plugs into an AC outlet for power. It’s very simple to hook up and there is free tech support for this antenna. This antenna is available for purchase at Amazon.com or Walmart.com.
Purchasing A New Radio
Another way to improve your reception would be to replace your radio with a higher quality receiver. This is because an inexpensive radio can’t separate out other stations as well a quality receiver can. Before purchasing a radio, ask the sales person to recommend a radio with good sensitivity (the ability to “pull in” weak signals) and selectivity (the ability to ignore nearby unwanted signals.) Also, try to buy a radio that has antenna terminals so it can be easily connect it to an outside antenna. Once you’ve found a few good radios, compare prices to find the best deal. Make sure you can return the unit if it doesn’t work satisfactorily. A C Crane CCRADIO-EP, is a good choice for a small radio because of its good internal antenna (it also has a way to hook an external antenna to it). They’re available for purchase at solidsignal.com or ccrane.com.
