Thanks Larry...You top posted, so I will to. I really am a technical person
and know a little bit about this stuff, and there is no doubt that the
tuner/antenna circuitry in the older Panasonic is more sensitive (ie
better). I will try Richards comments and let you guys know what happens.
And if that doesn't help than maybe I will try your suggestion. Thanks for
taking the time to comment. Have you ever been to Walmarts. You are lucky
if you are able to plug anything in. Believe it or not I did plug the
display of the one I bought in. Most of them are all a mess and you can't
plug anything in :-) .

Pete

Larry Gauthier (K8UT) wrote:
Pete,

The real difference between antennas and receiving FM stations versus
AM stations has nothing to do with the modulation, but with the
frequency on which these signals are transmitted. For optimal
reception, you need an antenna that corresponds to the wavelength of
the transmitted station. For AM radios, that is usually a real long
length of wire wrapped around a magnetic rod within the radio. For
FM, it is usually a telescoping whip antenna.

If you find yourself with two radios that are similarly-equipped in
terms of antennas, but one gets your favorite stations while the
other does not, then the one that does not is either broken or has
designed-in lousy sensitivity.
How can you compensate for lousy sensitivity? If the low-sensitivity
radio is _close_ to working (evidenced by its being able to hear your
favorite station by putting your hand near the antenna) then you may
be able to substitute a slighter better, directional antenna for the
telescopic whip and get the stations you want. A cheap-and-dirty
experiment would be to purchase a Radio Shack "Dipole FM Antenna
[$3.00] and connect one lead to the whip (fully collapsed) and the
other lead to a nearby ground connection in your workshop (center pin
of a 3-prong electric outlet). Elevate the antenna as high as
possible, and stretch the "T" sections horizontally. The best signal
reception will be from the sides of the "T" -- so if you know the
location of your favorite station's transmitter, you can rotate the
ends of the T for best signal capture.
THEN AGAIN... you may just want to take it back to Wal-Mart for an
exchange. Experiment with the available radios by collapsing the whip
antennas and seeing which one gets the most stations and has the
least "buzz" from the store's fluorescent lights.

-larry
K8UT
"Pete" wrote in message
...
Hi everyone,

I am new here, so please excuse my ignorance about antennas, or if I
am in the wrong ng. I could not find any help getting the answer to
my question by googling.

I have a cheap boom box radio that I recently bought at Walmart and
it plays great music, and cd's, and cassettes. Unfortunately it
will not play my favorite FM oldies station (97.5 MHz) either in my
workshop, or my house (it plays several other stations fine). My
other boom box will play the station (and its 20 years old), and
they are both of relatively equal value (the older one is a brand
name - Panasonic). If anything, I would think the new one should
have 20 year newer technology in it, and it should play at least as
good - dunno. They both have a telescopic whip antenna (I hope that is
the right
terminology), and the new one will not play the station I want by
either rotating the antenna, or moving the radio to different
positions. I have tried everything. The only way it will play the
station I want, is to put my hand on the antenna (or even around the
antenna - ie I don't even have to touch it - interesting - I guess
my body makes a real good antenna - I have always wondered about
this phenomena). I tried touching it with other metallic devices
(eg, wire, coat hanger etc), and it has no effect. The only way it
will play the station is by getting near the antenna with my hand.

I see no way of mounting an FM antenna to the receiver (ie the
antenna is factory mounted to the back of the radio.

I have a couple of questions if you will allow me :

- Is there anything I can do to the existing telescopic whip antenna
(such as wrap it in aluminum foil or something else weird like that)
that will enable the radio to pick up the station I want. And also,
please explain why it plays the station I want when I put my hand on
or around the antenna.

- I thought AM and FM antennas were different technologies (so to
speak - eg amplitude modulation versus frequency modulation). How
come portable AM/FM radios only have a single telescopic whip
antenna (please excuse me if that is the wrong terminology). Is the
whip for FM, and the AM is inside the radio, or it uses the cord
(just a guess). Any comments would be greatly appreciated. Thanks...Pete