Stupid Qestion #362
 

Hi,
I know nothing about electronics etc. My question is:

I have an old 12' dish that is no longer in use. Is it possible to use
that as a high gain FM antenna? I'm about 35 miles out of town, and
located in a low point so my FM reception is poor. This 12' dish is
stitting there rusting. What are the chances of removing the LNB and
getting some FM reception from it?
Any other uses for a 12' mesh dish? Astronomy? Radio Telescope?
At present I've got it pointed right at one of the neighbours houses
and it must be annoying...... :-)
Cheers

"Slim" wrote in message
...
Hi,
I know nothing about electronics etc. My question is:

I have an old 12' dish that is no longer in use. Is it possible to use
that as a high gain FM antenna? I'm about 35 miles out of town, and
located in a low point so my FM reception is poor. This 12' dish is
stitting there rusting. What are the chances of removing the LNB and
getting some FM reception from it?
Any other uses for a 12' mesh dish? Astronomy? Radio Telescope?
At present I've got it pointed right at one of the neighbours houses
and it must be annoying...... :-)
Cheers


It's too small to be of any use for FM broadcast band - diameter is only
about 1/10 of the wavelength.
Rather invest in a yagi or corner reflector for FM broadcast.

73
Roger ZR3RC

Won't get too much gain at ~100 MHz (FM radio band in the USA). Plus
you should have a line of sight view from you to the transmitting tower...

Scott


Slim wrote:

Hi,
I know nothing about electronics etc. My question is:

I have an old 12' dish that is no longer in use. Is it possible to use
that as a high gain FM antenna? I'm about 35 miles out of town, and
located in a low point so my FM reception is poor. This 12' dish is
stitting there rusting. What are the chances of removing the LNB and
getting some FM reception from it?
Any other uses for a 12' mesh dish? Astronomy? Radio Telescope?
At present I've got it pointed right at one of the neighbours houses
and it must be annoying...... :-)
Cheers

Put your ear at the feedpoint and you can listen to see if the neighbors are
upset about it.

"Slim" wrote in message
...
Hi,
I know nothing about electronics etc. My question is:

I have an old 12' dish that is no longer in use. Is it possible to use
that as a high gain FM antenna? I'm about 35 miles out of town, and
located in a low point so my FM reception is poor. This 12' dish is
stitting there rusting. What are the chances of removing the LNB and
getting some FM reception from it?
Any other uses for a 12' mesh dish? Astronomy? Radio Telescope?
At present I've got it pointed right at one of the neighbours houses
and it must be annoying...... :-)
Cheers

If it was solid, you could use it and a microphone to pick up sounds from
far away - like the ones they use on the sidelines at pro football games.
but being mesh - - I'm thinking a conversion to maybe a grill.
"Slim" wrote in message
...
Hi,
I know nothing about electronics etc. My question is:

I have an old 12' dish that is no longer in use. Is it possible to use
that as a high gain FM antenna? I'm about 35 miles out of town, and
located in a low point so my FM reception is poor. This 12' dish is
stitting there rusting. What are the chances of removing the LNB and
getting some FM reception from it?
Any other uses for a 12' mesh dish? Astronomy? Radio Telescope?
At present I've got it pointed right at one of the neighbours houses
and it must be annoying...... :-)
Cheers

Hi Slim,

First, your question is not at all "stupid" for someone with a non-
electronic background.

Second, I apologize for some of the members of this NG who take
the time to post replies, but then offer only snide remarks and
insults to the person with the question.

Now to your question... Your dish--big as it is--is not big enough
to make an effective reflector for the broadcast FM band. Your
best bet for fringe FM reception would be a high-gain FM-band
Yagi, which you could probably locate with a net search.

You might be able to have some fun with your big dish by putting
a UHF-TV bowtie or loop at the feet point, and pointing it at your
local sources of UHF-TV broadcasts (if any).

BTW, if you subscribe to satellite TV out there, the satellite
services have lots of nice music channels available.

Good luck, Ed

"Slim" wrote in message
...
Hi,
I know nothing about electronics etc. My question is:

I have an old 12' dish that is no longer in use. Is it possible to use
that as a high gain FM antenna? I'm about 35 miles out of town, and
located in a low point so my FM reception is poor. This 12' dish is
stitting there rusting. What are the chances of removing the LNB and
getting some FM reception from it?
Any other uses for a 12' mesh dish? Astronomy? Radio Telescope?
At present I've got it pointed right at one of the neighbours houses
and it must be annoying...... :-)
Cheers

I'll bet if you put a little microphone at the focal point, you could
hear things a long way away!

You could also line it with aluminum foil and use it as a solar oven. Be
careful, though! The focal point will get very, VERY hot. And bright.

Roy Lewallen, W7EL

Roger wrote:
It's too small to be of any use for FM broadcast band - diameter is only
about 1/10 of the wavelength.
Rather invest in a yagi or corner reflector for FM broadcast.

More like one wavelength: it's a bit over 3 meters. Still, as you
say, it's too small.

Elevation of the antenna will do more good than anything else, if
you're in a bit of a low spot. Pick an FM antenna with some gain
(Yagi, for example) and get it up as high as you reasonably can. It's
a lot easier to get an FM Yagi up a few tens of feet than it is to get
a 12 foot dish up that high!

Cheers,
Tom

"K7ITM" wrote in message
oups.com...
Roger wrote:
It's too small to be of any use for FM broadcast band - diameter is only
about 1/10 of the wavelength.
Rather invest in a yagi or corner reflector for FM broadcast.

More like one wavelength: it's a bit over 3 meters. Still, as you
say, it's too small.

Elevation of the antenna will do more good than anything else, if
you're in a bit of a low spot. Pick an FM antenna with some gain
(Yagi, for example) and get it up as high as you reasonably can. It's
a lot easier to get an FM Yagi up a few tens of feet than it is to get
a 12 foot dish up that high!

Cheers,
Tom

Oops! my mistake - I read inches instead of feet!
Not really used to ye olde english measuring system. Much happier in metric.

73
Roger ZR3RC