Entertainment Center: TVs, Stereos, VCRs and DVDs - Good place to get AM & FM antennas?

Hi,
I got a pretty good Yahama AV receiver (last year's display model) really cheap from Best Buy because there are a couple things missing:

no remote control (works with my Harmony remote)
no manuals (web),
and lastly, no AM or FM antennas.
Without the antennas, I can't receive anything. I borrowed one from another stereo and everything okay.

So... Can anyone suggest a good place to order an inexpensive AM antenna (two leads) and an FM antenna (75-ohm, coax) ?

Do you live out in the country? If not, for AM I'd just string some twin-lead behind my equipment. Otherwise toss some up over your roof, towards your neighbors. It'll be good enough to get Rush.

Matching the impediance of that FM input will be another matter.

You might be able to find a loop AM antenna and a dipole FM antenna at a thrift store.

I would just use some extra wire and see if it's adequate for the stations you want to receive. I used to have a 6-foot, multi-element FM antenna to pick up Dr. Demento when a local station stopped running his show.

Don't forget, you need to pick up Art Bell too, but it's on about 1/4 of the AM stations so you will be OK.

No, I'm not in the country and not picky... I just need something to make it work. What's required for a makeshift loop antenna?

mopo999- I wasn't exactly joking about the AM. Throw some wire somewhere. Seriously. Higher the better. This is called a random wire antenna. Sorta.


Don't forget, you need to pick up Art Bell too, but it's on about 1/4 of the AM stations so you will be OK.

Wish I could, but HAARP has aimed their beams this way in an attempt to distrupt his signal. :( George still comes through ok. Guess I'm stuck with FreakLink on the weekends.

Any TV antenna should be able to be connected to the 75-ohm FM port on the receiver. Most are already optimized for VHF, UHF and FM.

Okay, but I don't need something big. I have a 4"-long antenna with one hinge and then a coax connector, which came with my Dish receiver for the UHF remote. Something like that would be perfect. No one knows where I can find one of those and what it would be called??

The Dish antenna is a UHF antenna, tuned for much higher frequencies than FM. It doesn't need to be as long as an FM antenna because the wavelengths are shorter.

An FM antenna is roughly 3 feet long because it has to pick up frequencies between 88 and 108 MHz. Look at any car radio antenna ... er ... Hmmm ... why not? Just lop off the old connector and replace it with an F connector.

Okay, you make an interesting point. Maybe the reason the Dish antenna worked is not because it's an antenna for FM frequencies, but maybe I just need anything connected?

I've seen all kinds of things stuffed into antenna spigots: Paper clips, raw RG59 cable, Cat 3 telephone wire, a coat hanger. One guy posted on this site about an HDTV antenna he made from beer cans.

The closer your antenna gets to the specs for receiving the FM band with a 75-ohm termination, the better the reception.

It really depends on how nice you want. I have a large dedicated FM antenna ($30-40, online). For AM, you can use a small loop antenna ($5 Ebay, RS, etc). Don't invest too much time and effort on the AM side with your current reciever. If your really enjoy AM, I'd spend the money to get a dedicated AM radio ($50).

I would try Radio Shack.