AM/FM Radio Boosters

[dukeswing]

Has anyone ever used an AM/FM radio booster?

[W1NGin1T]

Just Curious....why? If you have poor reception check the antenna connection under the seat.

Mark

[kwthom]

Has anyone ever used an AM/FM radio booster?

Quite a long time ago...in a different application.

The concept is to amplify the Radio Frequency (RF) signal from the antenna to the receiver to help it process signals better.

The issue on the Wing is that the antenna system itself seems to have the majority of the issue. There are others out there that can vouch that the radio itself isn't too bad.


Does that explain it?

[ssncob]

Used to use one back in the 70's when traveling from Denver to Dallas quite a bit, and some cross-country runs. It's just a standard signal booster, boosts the weak signal --- and everything else. Was an auditory pain in the ear. It did help and work with getting a weak station out in the boonies. Around civilization it brought in a lot of cross-channel inteference that was painful to listen to.

Nowadays, really not much of an issue to needing one. More stations out there, I personally don't have a "favorite" station that I have to listen to the extra 50 - 100 miles worth, and have the mp3 player if I want to listen to some tunes.

End result - while you can still find them available, I don't think they're worth it.

[LarryM]

It's hit or miss, usually miss. There are many things that cause poor reception, and an amp can't fix most of them. There are also some really junk RF amplifiers out there.

The antenna is not the problem. It's the radio. The tuner in our radio has very poor sensitivity. And even with a strong signal, separation is not very good.

If you want to give it a try, stick with a name brand amplifier, and accept right from the start that it could end up being wasted money.

The general rule of thumb is that for an RF amp to be successful in clearing up the reception, you have to start with a decent quality tuner. RF amps are designed to pull in far away stations, or stations that are low power, not to help compensate for a poor quality tuner. If you are having trouble picking up strong local stations, it probably won't work.

[dukeswing]

Thanks everyone for the feedback. We were just curious if anyone had tried an antenna booster. Our radio goes in and out of stereo mode which is very annoying and we were wondering if there was anything that can be done about it. We have been looking at the J&M New Digital Music Player/Changer with Bluetooth and would like to know if anyone has tried this system and is it worth it.

[kwthom]

Thanks everyone for the feedback. We were just curious if anyone had tried an antenna booster. Our radio goes in and out of stereo mode which is very annoying and we were wondering if there was anything that can be done about it.

Make sure that situation is only happening on a few stations - or, if you are "out in the boonies", you may need to get closer to a populated area & see if it's the same.

If your antenna is disconnected or damaged electrically, the same symptom could occur. Does it work at all on AM?

As Larry stated, the radio itself really isn't that great...but, it is what it is.

We have been looking at the J&M New Digital Music Player/Changer with Bluetooth and would like to know if anyone has tried this system and is it worth it.

I have the one without BT, and it works well. There are plenty of other threads out there that discusses this device.

Luck to ya!

[stuna]

I HAVE ONE WORKED WELL UNTIL HID LIGHTS HOW ABOUT 15 BUCKS SHIPPED . IT IS A GOOD UNIT REC AMENDED BUY A ELECTRONIC REPAIR GUY