When I lived in Central Florida, I put a quick disconnect connector on the end of the coax, and only physically hooked the antenna to the tuner when I was listening. The rest of the time the cable was disconnected. Ground wire on the antenna connected to rebar driven deep into the ground would be the more direct path for lightning.
I looked up your radio - the pictures don't give a clue about the quality of the tuner, but I notice it is also a phone dock. That is a huge clue in itself. iPhones are huge interference producers, as are most smart phones, so keep your phone off the dock when you are listening to the radio.
The good news with a good outdoor antenna is that it is going to make up for even a so-so radio. I've connected my yagi to a very modest GE desktop in Palm Bay, FL - and all the major stations from Miami were solid as a rock on it. That is about 200 miles.
The bad news is that all - as in ALL of those indoor amplified antennas have been tested by the tuner information center folks (fmtunerinfo.com) and found to be junk. Absolute junk. The ONLY thing I have found that has any gain at all is made by Godar - it is a log periodic antenna shrunk down into a flat package you can put on a shelf. It seems to have a small gain compared to a dipole - on stations on the top half of the band. Most people use it wrong - the coax end goes TOWARD the station under test. But before you spring for one, you should test your radio with a dipole, mounted at or on the ceiling, broadside to your stations. If that works, maybe a Godar will. If not, you will not find any indoor antenna that will do the job. The stations you list should not be a problem from your location, so your issue is either interference or not enough antenna gain. An outdoor antenna will address both problems. It doesn't have to be big, because you aren't going for 200 mile stuff. But getting clear of interference and adding real gain is the way to go in this situation.
You are not alone - many people have reported having to put up outdoor antennas even for local HD stations. Just be glad if you aren't on the approach path of a local airport, many people report HD reception is impossible less than 10 miles from full class C stations if they are under approach paths for an airport.[/QUOTE
rbrucecarter5, I learned two things from you about this radio. I didn't know the I-Pod, I-Phone clip in front of this radio could make it difficult to pick up stations that should be able to pick up. I would not have bought it if I knew about that. I have an I-Pod but no I-Phone so it really wasn't necessary. I do live near St.Petersburg-Clearwater Airport about 5 miles away. I can see planes taking off and landing over the trees in my backyard. I didn't take that into consideration that HD would be affected that way. I tried to talk my wife into letting me buy a yagi and put it up outside she didn't go for it. When you told me that you could pick up stations in Miami-Ft. Lauderdale and you are near Melbourne, tells me that yagi would help. I would also agree that even antenna would make my radio so-so. I appreciate your insight with my question. I was frustrated with this receiver but now I know it would take a miracle to get it to work the way I would like it to work. Thank you for knowledge.
Tea Men
