Any radio specialists out there?

Question

I bought a cheap $5.00 AM/FM alarm clock radio for my office so I can listen to some tunes while working. The problem is I can only receive certain stations. I am in the Boston area and would like 107.3 (or 97.7) but can only get 108 or 106.7. This radio has a wire antenna. I work in a solid brick building with very few windows (none near me).

Is there some way I can adjust the antenna to get better reception?

Do I need a better radio? (I can't afford too much...)

Any suggestions?

Answer 1

take a wire and wrap it around the power chord, (or antenna if it has one) and extend it straight up..... it might help, it might not

Answer 2

Usually the cheaper the radio, the worse the reception.

Most commercial buildings are built out of steel holding them up, and can help block signals come in and out of the office and depending upon where you are in relation to the stations, you won't be able to get a good reception with out some kind of booster or a better radio.

Usually on the portable side it means leave the cheaper stuff alone as usually reception on those are lousy when it comes to picking out stations and you would need a more expensive radio such as the supertuner III but forget the $10-$20 for good reception.. at least not like my jambox from 20 years ago that does rings around today's radios

Answer 3

Buildings can affect radio reception in many ways.  You said that you are in a brick building.... It could be worse, you could be in a steel building where you would get a;almost no reception.  Fluorescent lights also interfere with radio reception, but there is not much you can do about that.  

To gain better reception you can get yourself some wire (Any wire will do) wrap it around the wire antenna you already have on the radio and try to putt the other end of the wire as close to a window as possible.  You may have to experiment with where to place your new longer antenna.

You can also hook a cheep pair of "rabbit-ears" up to the radio.  Doing this may help to pull in some FM stations you could not get before.  If you are trying to listen to AM stations you can buy a very inexpensive "Loop" antenna to get more stations.

I hope I was able to help you out a little.  If you have any other radio-related problems or questions feel free to email me anytime.

jam