Signal booster for portable Radio
Signal booster for portable Radio
Author
Discussion

cliffords

Original Poster:

2,932 posts

41 months

Thursday
quotequote all
Hi
My elderly mother in a care home. I have bought her a simple portable and mains radio. It's a type suitable for elderly or those with dementia. I set it up at my house and it's good. I delivered it to her today and it can't get a signal on Digital and weak on FM. It has a simple retractable aerial and no other inputs or outputs. Talking to the home today, building in concrete and steel framed , very poor reception in all rooms . My phone does not work there either. The radio has to be very very simple for her to manage. Is there some kind of booster system I can add. She has the radio by a window. Everything I searched just now appears to need to plug into the radio. It has no inputs. Any suggestions welcome.

megaphone

11,294 posts

269 months

Thursday
quotequote all
I don't think there is much you can do, unless it can take an external aerial which I doubt.

Can she use a TV remote? Freeview has some radio channels on TV, we used to set up radio 3 for my mum when she was in a home.

lancslad58

1,512 posts

26 months

Thursday
quotequote all
You could try one of these, it clips to the aerial and is retractable.

https://www.amazon.co.uk/XHDATA-Antenna-Combinatio...


OutInTheShed

12,414 posts

44 months

Thursday
quotequote all
An old school non-DAB FM radio might have better sensitivity.

Are 'WiFi Radios' still a thing?

Tymb

200 posts

113 months

Thursday
quotequote all
Does the radio have a FM mono setting? My mum has terrible reception DAB useless, FM stereo very crackly but the FM mono setting is much better. I have wound a piece of wire around the aerial before to extend it and it did make a difference so the gadget above might help.

cliffords

Original Poster:

2,932 posts

41 months

Thursday
quotequote all
Thanks all. I have ordered the gadget let's see .
The radio itself has to be super simple. It basically has a big on and off, a big volume and three preset stations .

The reception is poor though. I don't think it has mono FM.
The TV has radio but unfortunately she is unable to take on the notion of radio on a TV.
Internet radio is a good call, but holy fish they are expensive.

Thanks for the suggestions.