Stewart Pinkerton wrote:

Hee-hee. Mine are enjoying chasing Swedes around the stables at the
moment to keep them occupied. The veggies BTW, not the people LOL!!

You can tell the difference between ABBA and root vegetables? :-)

LOL!!

BTW, the coat hanger advice is fine, or you can just trail a long wire
around the place. Purist engineering hell, but it usually works!

Great, thanks )

Jaqy


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Ian Bell wrote:

Your aerial is too long. The wavelength of 102MHz is about 3 metres
and your aerial is a quarter wave whip, so it should be about 75cms
or 30 ins long in total. Assuming there's about 6 inches inside the
radio then your add on bit should be no longer than about 2 feet.

Yikes!! Thanks Ian. I'd never have thought that it could be *too* long.
I'll make sure my coathanger one isn't too big. Thanks again.

Jaqy


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Version: 6.0.545 / Virus Database: 339 - Release Date: 27/11/2003

Ian Bell wrote:

Your aerial is too long. The wavelength of 102MHz is about 3 metres
and your aerial is a quarter wave whip, so it should be about 75cms
or 30 ins long in total. Assuming there's about 6 inches inside the
radio then your add on bit should be no longer than about 2 feet.

Yikes!! Thanks Ian. I'd never have thought that it could be *too* long.
I'll make sure my coathanger one isn't too big. Thanks again.

Jaqy


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Checked by AVG anti-virus system (http://www.grisoft.com).
Version: 6.0.545 / Virus Database: 339 - Release Date: 27/11/2003

"Ian Bell" wrote in message
...
MC_Emily wrote:

Hi everyone

I'm hoping someone can help me with this problem and I'm sure the
solution
is very simple )

Because of the bad weather (!) my horses are spending a lot of their
time
inside, so I've got the radio on for them for a bit of 'human' company.
However, the aerial is broken and only has a stubby bit left on, you
know,
the bit with the other bit that turns it round. So, at the moment I'm
using, well, I don't know what it is really. I think it's a length of
tube
from a caravan awning. It's about 3' long. I found it hanging around
and
it seems to work....to a point. I just sort of balance it on the stubby
bit
and lean it against the wall. It's certainly better than nothing but
the
reception is hopeless! The type of building might not help either -
it's
part block, part wood, with a metal roof and concrete floor.

Anyway, I like to have it on Lincs FM (102.2) but like I said the
reception is hopeless

Your aerial is too long. The wavelength of 102MHz is about 3 metres and
your aerial is a quarter wave whip, so it should be about 75cms or 30 ins
long in total. Assuming there's about 6 inches inside the radio then your
add on bit should be no longer than about 2 feet.

HTH

Ian


also depends if theres any inductive loading inline, to make a shorter
Antenna seem longer.

"Ian Bell" wrote in message
...
MC_Emily wrote:

Hi everyone

I'm hoping someone can help me with this problem and I'm sure the
solution
is very simple )

Because of the bad weather (!) my horses are spending a lot of their
time
inside, so I've got the radio on for them for a bit of 'human' company.
However, the aerial is broken and only has a stubby bit left on, you
know,
the bit with the other bit that turns it round. So, at the moment I'm
using, well, I don't know what it is really. I think it's a length of
tube
from a caravan awning. It's about 3' long. I found it hanging around
and
it seems to work....to a point. I just sort of balance it on the stubby
bit
and lean it against the wall. It's certainly better than nothing but
the
reception is hopeless! The type of building might not help either -
it's
part block, part wood, with a metal roof and concrete floor.

Anyway, I like to have it on Lincs FM (102.2) but like I said the
reception is hopeless

Your aerial is too long. The wavelength of 102MHz is about 3 metres and
your aerial is a quarter wave whip, so it should be about 75cms or 30 ins
long in total. Assuming there's about 6 inches inside the radio then your
add on bit should be no longer than about 2 feet.

HTH

Ian


also depends if theres any inductive loading inline, to make a shorter
Antenna seem longer.

In article ,
MC_Emily wrote:
Is there anything better I can use as an aerial? Does it need to be
higher up, like close to the roof, to pick up the signal? Or am I just
stuck with this because we're a bit out in the sticks? I'm sure the
original aerial worked better than this!!

Maplin do a series of telescopic aerials - one might be a direct
replacement for the original.

--
*Cover me. I'm changing lanes.

Dave Plowman London SW 12
RIP Acorn

In article ,
MC_Emily wrote:
Is there anything better I can use as an aerial? Does it need to be
higher up, like close to the roof, to pick up the signal? Or am I just
stuck with this because we're a bit out in the sticks? I'm sure the
original aerial worked better than this!!

Maplin do a series of telescopic aerials - one might be a direct
replacement for the original.

--
*Cover me. I'm changing lanes.

Dave Plowman London SW 12
RIP Acorn

Ian Bell wrote in message
...

Your aerial is too long. The wavelength of 102MHz is about 3 metres and
your aerial is a quarter wave whip, so it should be about 75cms or 30 ins
long in total. Assuming there's about 6 inches inside the radio then your
add on bit should be no longer than about 2 feet.

I've got one of those big "T" aerials wired up to my Arcam tuner, it must be
about 6 feet long in total. I presume it works on a different principle as
subjectively reception seems very good on R3, but then the only other radio
I listen to is in the car. Hows that work?

Ian Bell wrote in message
...

Your aerial is too long. The wavelength of 102MHz is about 3 metres and
your aerial is a quarter wave whip, so it should be about 75cms or 30 ins
long in total. Assuming there's about 6 inches inside the radio then your
add on bit should be no longer than about 2 feet.

I've got one of those big "T" aerials wired up to my Arcam tuner, it must be
about 6 feet long in total. I presume it works on a different principle as
subjectively reception seems very good on R3, but then the only other radio
I listen to is in the car. Hows that work?

"Doki" wrote in message
...

Ian Bell wrote in message
...

Your aerial is too long. The wavelength of 102MHz is about 3 metres and
your aerial is a quarter wave whip, so it should be about 75cms or 30
ins
long in total. Assuming there's about 6 inches inside the radio then
your
add on bit should be no longer than about 2 feet.

I've got one of those big "T" aerials wired up to my Arcam tuner, it must
be
about 6 feet long in total. I presume it works on a different principle as
subjectively reception seems very good on R3, but then the only other
radio
I listen to is in the car. Hows that work?



On the first paragraph above: the length of the aerial only matters if it is
impedence matched. As most portable radios have a relatively high impedence
input the length of the aerial is largely immaterial - basically the longer
(within reason) the better, although it will have some directionality if it
is anything other than vertical.

As for the 'T' aerial - what you have is probably a half wave dipole, which
for a wavelength of a little more than 3m you would expect to be of the
order of 1.5m or 5ft long.

You don't say if it is vertical or horizontal? If the latter then you would
do well to change it to vertical as when horizontal it is somewhat
directional, whereas vertical it is near omnidirectional. With very few
exceptions all VHF transmitters in the UK now use mixed polarisation for the
benefit of car radios - that is the signal contains both vertical and
horizontal components (actually achieved by placing the transmitter antenna
at 45 deg!)


--
Woody