Get new FM receiver or better antenna?

Kotta,

Your suggestion for the C. Crane antenna looks interesting. It appears to be a fancy and more versatile version of a simple dipole antenna at a not unreasonable price. They give good advice on alternative configurations of the dipole legs.

Dipoles can work reasonably well, but, they do have to be oriented toward the preferred stations to work well. That can be a problem when signals are coming from all directions. The vertically oriented whip antenna might be better when signals are coming from all directions.

The Magnum Dynalab ribbon antenna which I use (sort of like a rabbit ear antenna) can be oriented in different directions and "tuned" to different frequencies by changing the relative lengths of the dipole legs vs. the vertically oriented leg. Still, there is just so much any of these kinds of antenna can do.

I tried a couple of signal boosting type antennas and returned them all. The Dynalab whip has worked the best of any I have tried. But what really tricked it out was connecting the unit, then walking it around while my wife watched the signal strength meter on my tuner. The spot it ended up in surprised us both. I never would have tried it in that location. Parhaps try it with the one you have. You may find the golden spot in a most unobvious location.
Good luck, John

You will not know if your tuner is good or bad until you get an OUTSIDE antenna. I have/tried a Terk Pro-- it is barely ok and will not give you a strong signal if you have a weak signal now.

You say you are in a rented house. Isn't there an existing antenna pole ? Add a Radio Shack FM antenna(FM only - maybe $40 ) to the pole and run the best shielded coax thru the existing holes in the wall(alongside the other antenna wires) to your tuner. That will give the best signal possible.

A FM antenna will work good mounted in the attic -- not as good as outside, but way better than other indoor antennas.

Even a FM whip antenna mounted outside the window mite work. Drill a hole in the window frame and caulk around the coax wire. There is no "hole in the wall". When you move you simply caulk the hole when you remove the wire and whip. Of course first try the whip antenna thru the window before drilling any holes to see if it gives a good signal!

Buying a better tuner mite help a little, but prob not. You need a good signal for anything to work!