Wx Radio Signal Help - Any Ideas?

[Robb Ellis]

Hey all,

I know there are a wealth of radio and tech folks on this forum, so I thought it would be a great place to post this. I hope any of you can maybe provide some ideas.

I just recently was doing normal shopping at Target, when I ran across this :

I had seen it before, and it's a decent little WX Radio, but the price had been dropped to $19.98. It was a pretty good deal, so I picked up 2. One for home and one for the Weather Office at work (I work for a TV station, and our old WX radio needed an upgrade).
The radio at home works great. Great signal, TONS of features, S.A.M.E, ability to put in 20 FIPS codes, and ability to turn off and on the siren for specific *types* of warnings. Meaning I can have it ONLY go off for TOR warnings. Great stuff! I know there are better ones out there, but for less than 20 bucks, it's a steal. Check Target near the clock radios if ya want one. They are on clearance so likely going fast.

Of course, because I'm inside a rather sturdy building (it's a 50 year old concrete and steel building), I can't pick up a single Wx Band and barely pick up any AM/FM bands. I'm sure all the TV equipment/transmissions from the station have something to do with it. It's a good bet that some of you have run across similar problems. How do I get a better signal? It does come with a Coaxial cable antenna, but essentially it's just a wire. That does allow for an antenna to be attached, but before I invest in more , is there a simple soultio? Our weather center is located in an internal room within the tv station. I can pick up a signal in some of the outer rooms.

Any suggestions?

Robb

 

[Jesse Risley]

The problem probably is the building. NOAA WX radio operates on VHF-high frequencies, which is great for line of sight, flat terrain operation, but it can have considerable signal loss inside concrete or steel buildings (UHF is generally superior here), sometimes as great as 30dB.

I think your best solution would be an external antenna. However, just to be sure, I would test another WX radio in the same general spot to be sure it's not an issue with the product itself. I've operated portable WX radios in high RF environments like that, and I've never had any issues. I can't say the same for a basic scanner.

 

[Rob Wadsworth]

The problem probably is the building. NOAA WX radio operates on VHF-high frequencies, which is great for line of sight, flat terrain operation, but it can have considerable signal loss inside concrete or steel buildings (UHF is generally superior here), sometimes as great as 30dB.

I think your best solution would be an external antenna.

What about a passive radiator type antenna on an outside/nearby window?
Might need a ARRL antenna manual to formulate the freq.

 

[Jesse Risley]

What about a passive radiator type antenna on an outside/nearby window?
Might need a ARRL antenna manual to formulate the freq.

I've heard of those being used in conjunction with Yagi beams inside of factories and tunnels, and the results are usually very favorable. Either way, the unit "as is" will likely need some sort of an external antenna to compensate for the high signal loss inside of the building.

 

[Tyler_Costantini]

Crack the thing open and add and external antenna... It shouldnt be too hard, just find the wire that connects the internal antenna and hook on. You shouldnt even have to dissconnect the internal antenna, It's not like you are transmitting so impedence is not an issue. It wont take much of an external antenna to make it work nor is it imporant the electrical size of the antenna. You are just receiving.... If you want to do that and need some help let me know I'm a radio mod junky heh.

 

[rdale]

Crack the thing open and add and external antenna...

No need to crack open - note his comment: "That does allow for an antenna to be attached, but before I invest in more"

 

[david diehl]

It's not like you are transmitting so impedence is not an issue. It wont take much of an external antenna to make it work nor is it imporant the electrical size of the antenna. You are just receiving.... If you want to do that and need some help let me know I'm a radio mod junky heh.

If you want optimal reception the atenna would still need to be tuned, sence this is a High RF environment, I would have the thing tuned, just to be sure.
If you do use an external antenna, I would use RG-8 Coax, it is a bit thicker, and a bit more shielded.

Just my 2 cents

 

[Eric Friedebach]

There are some good suggestions about adding an external antenna here, but it may be the brand of radio you have that is the problem. Emerson is a low-cost brand, and you may be asking too from a radio that costs less than $20.

 

[Benjamin Rock]

i have a Yagi tape measure antenna that we made for fox hunts. I just ran a second lead with a BNC male on it from the radio antenna to a BNC female on the Yagi. I taped it to the window and Poof, instant great signal for receive. I live in an apartment complex and the reception is horrid here as well. One of the guys in the local radio club suggested i try this. so I did. There are online instructions you can print out to make one. Just google "tape measure Yagi". It takes about 20 minutes to build the first one. we made 10 and it took 5 guys about 2 hrs to make them all. each made 2 to clarify.

 

[John Erwin]

I'm sure all the TV equipment/transmissions from the station have something to do with it.

Not necessarily. I suspect the weak reception you are experiencing is due primarily to the buildings construction, and perhaps also related to the cheap manufacturing used in your radio.

In addition, many TV stations don't have the high-power transmitter facilities on-site; a remote transmitter is used. Not sure in your case.

It does come with a Coaxial cable antenna, but essentially it's just a wire. That does allow for an antenna to be attached, but before I invest in more , is there a simple soultio? Our weather center is located in an internal room within the tv station. I can pick up a signal in some of the outer rooms.

First I would ask, how did your other radio perform? If it worked well (other than being outdated) than you may simply need to buy a better radio.

Otherwise I think the fact that you are located in an "internal room" might negate the ability to utilize a window for any improvements. Here's a few other ideas:

- Does the newsroom have a scanner in use already? Is there an external antenna already being used for that? Many scanner antennas are designed to cover frequencies that would include the NOAA wx freqs (which run between 162.4 and 162.55 MHz btw). If so you can use a splitter-like device called a multi-coupler to share the antenna with your weather radio.

- If there's no other antenna in use you may need to obtain a decent antenna for your radio. There are purpose-built wx antennas however you could also use a cheap scanner antenna that covers the frequencies in question. You could also try "home-brewing" one. A decent model could be fabricated from surplus 14 ga copper wire into a 1/4 wave ground-plane antenna. Another type that I've used is a simple "j-pole" antenna made from TV-twin lead wire, subsequently inserted into PVC pipe for a nice clean installation. You can find plans for these types of antennas on the internet, or in the excellent "ARRL Antenna Book" which I think somebody mentioned earlier. Either model could be hung from the ceiling if you wanted to try it indoors first, however eventually there may be no solution other than to get an antenna outside.

Good luck!