I've been using a home made J-pole antenna I made out of 3/4 inch pipe. Super easy to make if you have a torch. If you use pipe make sure to cap the ends so you don't get water inside.
You're going to find a lot of J-Pole fans here (and for good reason) but those are almost always homemade since it requires very few parts from the hardware store and basic instructions from various websites describing the dimensions and procedures for setting it up. If I recall correctly a J-Pole will have around 2.5dbi gain over that of a basic dipole. Problem with these type of antennas is that properly tuning up for a match can be cumbersome. I used an SWR meter *and* a field strength meter since SWR isn't always the tell all method to see if it's properly tuned with this type of antenna. Also it requires a balun or a few turns of coiled coax at the base of the antenna to keep out unwanted currents from traveling back down the cable.
Very first antenna I ever used was a basic 1/2 wave dipole antenna. Possibly the most easy antenna to setup and can be built out of just about anything including even wire strung up. For any beginner this is the most recommended antenna to start playing with.
Next antenna I tried was a 1/4 wave ground plane. Mine was homebuilt and performed alright. A slight improvement over the dipole.
Finally I settled with the jpole which seemed to roast the other antennas when properly tuned.
5/8 wave antennas is another place to investigate. Many hams use 5/8 wave antennas and can have the same gain as a jpole and performs as well.
For store bought jibbyjobs I would at bare minimal suggest a dipole for FM. You can buy prefabricated ones from Ramsey Electronics but seriously for the price it's so much cheaper and fun to build your own. I believe Ramsey also sells a 5/8 wave antenna for FM broadcasting.
There is also the "dominator" antenna if you can shell out some good money from other sites.
Circular polarized antennas is yet another option but really not practical for low power operation in my experience. If you are on the outskirts of your town you may want to consider a directional vertical "beam" type antenna so focus most of your signal into your town. Vertical polarization is really the way to go for lower power levels as most car radio antennas are vertical.
Oh and I assume you're inquiring about FM broadcasters. AM broadcast band and shortwave is a whole other beast ;D
Thanks for the reply guys, I just got my amp in yesterday but can't hook it up until my connectors come in. I am running a 1/4 wave gp tuned to 96.3 so I will see how it performs with the new amp, if I can cover my target area I'll just leave it alone. Sixer
Well I had no luck with the 1/4 wave gp so I built a 1/2 inch copper j-pole (before I saw Kage's jpole vs diapole forum) the j-pole was not much better (now I see my measurements were off a little) so I ordered the 5/8th wave from AAREFF they seem to know about small scale radio and I've heard a lot of good things about (him,them) so in 5 to 9 days I should have my new antenna, I will let you know how it is... sixer
So I got my new antenna up on the roof today (5/8wave replaced the un tuned j-pole) everything is better now, more range, less static out farther etc. I posted all about it in the diapole vs J-pole thread so if you want a little more information jump over to j-pole vs diapole. Thanks all. Sixer
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