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FM Car Radio Antenna Boosters: A Quick Look
In past years, FM radio was still in its infancy and not that well developed yet. AM radio ruled the airwaves because there was no other option at the time. High-fidelity sounds were not expected since the AM radio had a very limited bandwidth so its frequency response was very poor.
It also easily succumbed to both man-made and natural noises emitted from the earth and outer space. Through free enterprise, another technological breakthrough came into being. The launch of the FM radio marked a significant step forward in the development of the car radio.
FM broadcasting appeared to gain popularity overnight because of its outstanding qualities such as having improved upper and lower frequency response, and a crisper sound with less background noise. Since then, automobile manufacturers decided to install car stereos with both AM/FM reception capabilities. After which, consumer demands for better sound escalated.
Soon after, a lot of innovations came forth, much to the delight of the car radio aftermarket. This in turn piqued the interest of the car manufacturers. They thought of equipping their automobiles with FM car stereos but needed to be sure that the FM radio antenna boosters would be efficient enough to pick up a weak or strong signal. Henceforth, research and development and targeted marketing efforts were used to come up with a laudable FM radio for the car.
Car manufacturers started to provide their customers with car FM radios that produced better sound to attract more car buyers. The plain Dolby™, Dolby B™, and the Dolby C™ features were included in the car FM and AM radio specs to give users a "cleaner" sounding system. The development of AM/FM car radios has now reached the point where CD players, MP3 players and now IPod docking staions are included in car stereo systems to improve the listening experience for drivers and passengers. Whether you buy from aftermarket manufacturers or car dealers is your choice. Just do your homework first.
The most important component of the radio is the antenna which promotes or hinders the quality of the picked up signal to the FM/AM radio. The radio antenna may appear as a very simple component yet its operation is indeed complex. The antenna intercepts radio signals as they pass through the air which in turn gets transferred by cable to the car radio.
There is a small amount of natural electrical interference emitted from the local environment which is picked up by the radio antenna and transmitted to the car radio tuner. Antenna pre-amplifiers are useful because they automatically adjust the sound quality, and the background noise is filtered according to the strength of the signal. If the antenna pre-amplifier is made from good quality materials, the FM tuner can work to its maximum potential.
The FM radio antenna booster itself comes in the form of a "black box". It is plugged in between the antenna and the tuner. Aftermarket manufacturers of FM radio antenna boosters make different antenna products which will contribute more to the functionality of the car radio than actually boosting FM radio signals. Another disadvantage when using FM radio antenna boosters is living to close to the source of an FM signal. A feedback sound may be so loud that it hurts the ears.
FM radio antenna boosters have their advantages and disadvantages. It is advisable to consider whether an antenna booster will benefit your FM radio experience or not.
Author
Mike Labram is the owner/webmaster of The Wired Gazette. Squeeze more out of your home theater dollars with our money saving tips, articles and reviews.
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