Some stations are really just intended for the local community and are not supposed to reach ten miles. With the proper equipment and techniques listeners can get a solid signal from many low power FM stations far beyond the limited area that was originally intended.
A key issue is how high is your antenna. It is difficult to get a station located ten miles away from the first floor, but most radios may bring it in on the second floor.
If reception suddenly gets worse, you may want to investigate the source of the interference.
Turn off your main house power and check for interference using a battery radio. If there is less interference with the house power off, you know that your house is causing it.
Have you moved any metal furniture or gotten a new appliance?
Is there construction in the neighborhood?
Did a new radio or TV station begin broadcasting?
Has a current station changed locations or boosted its signal?
Has it rained a lot?
Is the weather really icy or windy?
Keep a log of time and date log in the case of intermittent interference. Once you get some data, you can start eliminating possible causes.
High pressure weather systems which cause drastic increases in temperature and dry air may cause sizzling noises in the background.
Most reception problems on FM are caused by weak signal or interference.
Install a rooftop antenna on your building.
Use fully shielded RG-56 coaxial cable to attach the antenna to the fm input ports on your receiver.
If your receiver uses the 88-108 ohm ribbon type cable, use only the appropriate matching transformer to mate with coaxial.
Indoors, you can still go get a dipole antenna, a simple flexible T shape which you connect to the FM inputs on your receiver.
You can use an amplified antenna bought from an electronics store.
FM is the same frequency range as VHF, so TV antennas work great for FM.
You can use old rabbit ears. Place as high as possible, making sure the antenna doesn’t brush against the ceiling.
The suggested length for antenna is 32 inches.
Personal radios use the headphone cord as an antenna, to maximize effect, stretch cord out straight.
Some radios use the power cord as antenna, to maximize effect, stretch cord out straight.
In your car, the antenna may be incorporated into the heating element in the rear.
An external antenna is better.
Telescopic antennas must be cleaned to remove dirt or corrosion on the joints. Use light oil on an absorbent cloth
At frequencies between 88 and 108, radio waves travel in a straight beam, like a flashlight. If there is a hill or building in the way, at least part of the signal will be blocked.
Distortion of the s & y sounds into a shhhhh sound is called sibilance. It’s caused by objects partially reflecting part of the signal. Since the reflected waves take longer to arrive at the receiver than the direct waves, the direct and reflected signals interfere with each other, causing distortion.
Receivers need a stronger signal to decode the stereo component of a signal than just for mono.