Radioshark Mod

**anthropod** · 04-08-2005, 12:50 PM

I actually used the fm antenna from the PCB just cut it down a little and soldered it to my BNC connector. I then used a BNC to motorola. It works great for FM.

Good to know on the 1/8" plug. Ground....

Did that work with AM?

**Piperclub** · 04-10-2005, 07:39 AM

reception is bad even with the 1/8" jack... i desoldered the original fm antenna and soldered my own in ...

its a lot better, but if I'm not line of sight with the FM broadcast antennas ... the signal sucks... i'm waiting for my signal amplifer to reach me... i'll test it and let you guys know how well things turn out...

**froop** · 04-10-2005, 07:58 AM

I only got my Radioshark this weekend, and so far I am pretty happy with it. I've already thrown out the case, and with the internal FM antenna straightened out, I can get all of Melbourne's major radio stations and most of the smaller ones - AM and FM. And that's with the Radioshark sitting in my study right next to the wireless router and my Xenarc (which seems to obey no FCC guidelines

). Some stations have a bit of static, but extending the FM out another metre gets them perfect.

Haven't taken it for a run in the car yet though.

**Piperclub** · 04-10-2005, 08:19 AM

well, i live in the city... so its heavily built up... when i take it out for a spin ... i get too much interference and signal fade offs... so i'm waiting for the signal amplifier...

**fordrule** · 04-10-2005, 11:08 PM

so has anyone test drove it yet, any results

**DrBuzzo** · 04-30-2005, 04:03 PM

Does anyone know if there is software to make the radioshark work with linux?

**inniss777** · 05-30-2005, 03:27 AM

So has anyone had any good FM or AM reseption results when using the vehicles stock antenna wired into the radio shark?

**Piperclub** · 05-30-2005, 08:56 AM

version 2.0 beta of the software improved the reception quality... but at certain parts it still has interference....

you can't install it stock... you need a lot of modifications to the unit itself...

**jabroni5** · 06-04-2005, 07:18 PM

Bummer about RadioShark's mediocre reception; I live in an outlying area, where reception isn't THAT great to begin with, and in a basement to boot. I haven't given up on the fin though (yet).

I bought an arial from RadioShack, along with all the proper gear for grounding and shielding, etc., and mounted it on my roof. Even without a signal amplifier, my new FM feed is remarkable; I pick up many stations that I didn't think that I EVER would.

Despite this success, only my stereo receiver seems to register the signal, not the RadioShark. After giving up on the headphone/aux. out jack on the base of the fin (I tried soldering my lead to the ground vs. the left/right channels of a 1/8" audio plug, as MP3Car.com user "Piperclub" suggested), I pried open the top of my RadioShark fin, and straightened out its internal FM antenna so that it sticks straight out the top (even this minor alteration seemed to improve the fin's reception markedly). Then I hooked a 75 to 300 ohm transformer to my coaxial arial antenna feed, and ran the lead wire to the tip of my RadioShark's exposed antenna. Although the signal DOES improve, slightly, station reception, across the band, isn't nearly as good as from my Harmon/Kardon AVR 100 stereo receiver.

Shouldn't a clear FM signal, with the proper 300 ohm impedance, improve the RadioShark's reception as well as it improves my receiver's reception? Thanks for everyone's help with this post!

Here's my new FM antenna:

...and my RadioShark mod:

**MikeH** · 06-05-2005, 07:26 AM

jabroni5,

It appears from your picture (kinda hard to see...) that you have your Radio Shack antenna backwards. The shorter dipoles should face toward your signal, not your house. Try flipping the antenna around and see if the reception improves.