far fm radio

Like Del the Cat, I also have high praise for northern Italy. It appears that you want improved reception at 98.4 MHz. You could use a dipole tuned for that frequency. If it doesn't give you enough sensitivity, then you need a low noise amplifier. If there are other higher power stations in the neighborhood, then you may indeed need a 98.4 MHz bandpass filter to protect the amplifier from overload. If there is only one high power transmitter that you are worried about, then you could also use a tunable band-stop filter to remove that one signal. These are relatively easy and cheap to find used on ebay. In the FM band, you are looking for the Empire Devices F1B/NF-105 (tunes from 60 - 200 MHz). Install filter in line between antenna and radio. It is designed for 50 Ohm coax. You tune your radio to receive the high power transmitter, then rotate the tunable filter knob until the signal is minimized. Leave knob at that position. This will only work well if the high power station and the desired station are separated far enough apart on the radio dial that the "skirts" of the stop filter are not attenuating the desired signal.

But there is another, perhaps simpler technique. Use a Yagi-Uda antenna that works at 98.4 MHz. Such an antenna has a lot more directivity than a dipole, and if the direction of the desired station and the undesired stations are different, then this antenna will give you lots of rejection of the undesired stations, when aimed at the desired station. It also has more gain than a dipole, as much as 10 dB more, depending on design. Here is a link to building a Yagi-Uda array for the FM band:

http://radio.meteor.free.fr/us/yagi_fm.html.

Note finally that if the Yagi helps, but you still need more sensitivity, the low noise amplifier can help out, and if the antenna directivity has been employed to reduce local high power signals, then you may not need the filter (the antenna is acting as a directional filter).

Hope this helps. Solving problems like these is always fun and satisfying (once the problem is solved). Feedback on what works/doesn't work, please!

Hello pasnu65:

After being a 'receiving' Ham enthusiast for more years than I care to remember, I do not have them set up at the moment and they are in my loft.

As has been said, you do not need an Oscilloscope, unless you want to use one of course. I seem to recall I had an impedance adjuster on my radio?

Leave everything until you have your Yagi as, any noise and reception difficulties may disappear when you use a good antenna. Is the name of your radio "preferite"? Does that have any figures after the name?

But I seem to recall I set my shortwave, though I realise you intend to get a Yagi, which is good, I used a straight wire antenna , actually a half-wave one, as I I seem to remember I had aa did not have room for a full wave.I had mine isolated from the house with ceramic insulators each end of the tuned length of wire antenna. Anyway that was for the short wave reception.

I would say it is a good idea to use the ceramic isolators with any antenna. They are usually out in the open and at that point are often the highest thing which means they can attract any lightening etc. If you do not use isolators that power can fry your radio and anything you have connected to it, including any earphones you might be 'wearing'.

Good luck.