pole barn radio reception

[mgraw]

Do any of you folks have a good method for radio reception in a pole barn? I can't seem to find the answer. Thanks for your time

 

[Mike M]

I hope we get some good answers too. I can only get 1 station.

 

[Anonymous-0]

put up a exterior antenna I installed a XM antenna and now I can listen to over a hundred shows.I think look up antennas on ebay or radio shack has AM- FM antennas

 

[Chris(WA)]

Use a car radio and put the antenna outside on the roof.
Metal buildings are a great shield for radio waves.Kind of like a tin foil hat...

 

[D beatty]

I have a modified U shaped steel building and have two radios. I can pickup most of the station in the area and the large stations but a few I can't. I have a 10 foot piece of one of those flat wire antenna fastened to the wood fram across the top of a 12"X10" over head door.

 

[old]

Old TV antenna or if you have some old flat lead antenna wire around make a simple Dipole antenna cut a piece 5 foot long. Strip back the ends just enough to tie them together and then in the center on one of the 2 wires cut and hook a lead to them and back to your radio. This can also be made with 2 say #14 gauge wires laid out so they stay 5 foot wide. I have that set up in my shop which is pretty much all steel sided. Steel and radios do not get along well since the radio signal bounces off and away from your radio

 

[Butch(OH)]

If the radio has an external antenna terminal attach a 6" length of bell wire to it and move it around to see if it helps. If not drill a hole in the siding and run it outside the building several feet. If it doesn"t have an external ant terminal you sometimes can attach the wire to the antenna. Years ago there was a device available that you plugged into any wall socket and it turned your electrical wiring into a huge antenna for TV or Radio,probably not any of those around any more but they worked extremely well.

 

[ss55]

AM or FM? Flourescent lights hurt reception. Moving the radio closer to a window or an open door helps. Beyond that add an antenna or install an outside antenna, old VHF tv antenna work great for FM signals.

 

[hanovertom]

Not sure if you are looking for AM or FM.
C Crane

http://www.ccrane.com/antennas/

Has an AM antenna amplifier that works well

 

[don t-9n180179]

I've got a cheapie am/fm radio w/an external ant.
I took a 10' or so piece of scrap 14 ga wire, wrap around radio ant. Climb a ladder and move the 14 ga wire around til you get reception. Still fades in and out on occasion, but better than it was.

HTH....don t. ....

 

[RayP(MI)]

Probably the best solution is to get a old radio out of an automobile. Mount the antenna exterior to the building. Power with a battery eliminator of some sort. Your building is a RF shield, and getting radio waves through it may well be near impossible. Radio geeks call it a faraday shield. Bet your cell phone doesn't work worth a darn in there either.

 

[pete black]

my radio uses its electrical cord as an antenna so i simply plugged it into an extension cord, folded the excess up and placed behind the radio. reception improved dramatically and does not fade.

 

[Super Steve]

i bought a cheap radio with an antenna cable on it, cut the casing off the wire a couple inches down and attached it to the steel siding of my shed, seems to work good and can pick up any stations i want

 

[Anonymous-0]

Thing is, is there really any thing on over the air radio worth listening to?

 

[504]

We never had any trouble till they put in the new high intensity lights, now the only way it works is with the doors open.

 

[PJH]

Satellite (XM Sirius) with an external antenna is the only way to go. If you like music, it's worth the cost. Mine comes on with the shop lights. There's nothing fit to listen to on our local stations.

 

[PJH]

I used to disconnect the antenna wire inside the radio and solder it to the headphone jack. Then you could mount an external antenna and plug it in. A local disabled guy listened to his radios constantly since it was about all he could do, and I rigged several like that for him. Not "kosher" but it worked. He used a cheap scanner antenna and an BCA to 1/8" phone adapter to make the connection.