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Antenna wave length

Posted: Fri Apr 18, 2008 9:25 am
by radioservice
Hi,

I'm trying to pull in an FM frequency in the 88.5 FM range....can anyone tell me how long my antenna should be?

Re: Antenna wave length

Posted: Fri Apr 18, 2008 9:43 am
by escomm
A fullwave on the frequency is a little over 11 feet, so do your math for quarter, half, 5/8 etc based on that.

Source: http://www.csgnetwork.com/freqwavelengthcalc.html

Re: Antenna wave length

Posted: Sun Apr 20, 2008 2:54 pm
by kf4sqb
234/freq. (in MHz) gives you 1/4 wave length, in feet. 234/88.5=2.644067797'=2' 7 3/4".

Re: Antenna wave length

Posted: Sun Apr 20, 2008 5:45 pm
by Tom in D.C.
I suggest that a half-wave, rather than a quarter-wave, will work better.
Assuming it's a broadcast station you're listening to then the antenna should
be horizontally polarized. Also, if you intend to listen to the entire FM Band
then you probably would want to cut the antenna for 98 mHz (the middle of
the band). Exact antenna dimensions are not critical as long as the antenna
is used only for receiving. Last of all, if the signal you receive on 88.5 is noisy
then you'll need a beam antenna.