Reply To: Dome light

[Robert Coates]

The chicken wire is not a good idea for the FM band. AM is a different animal, and the longer the antenna, the better the reception. My grandfather was an electrician starting in 1918. He used to use the 1500 watt light bulbs as an AM antenna. He lived in Cincinnati, and could receive stations from up to 1000 miles away!

FM is known as the 4 meter band due to its wavelength. The optimum antenna length for radio receivers is one quarter of the wavelength. In the FM case this is one meter, or 39 inches. If you can hide an antenna 39 inches long from a newer car above the chicken wire, then run a quad shielded coaxial cable down to the FM receiver, it should help your reception quite a bit. Again, either soldered or crimped connections would be best.