I know Youv’e seen this post on other forums, but not every one reeds them all.
1: short Te antenna on the reciever # 5471
2: **** short rang
3: If I add wire , how long from base of unit to top?
4: Can I add a loop @ top to hang it from above?
Thanks
Sean
Sean -
The antennae length for the receiver is not critical. The transmitter antennae length is, or you will screw up the match to the output transistors and either completely kill your range, or fry the transmitter. The latter is pretty unlikely in a low power device like the TE, but is easy to do to something like a CB radio.
First, be sure the wire on your receiver is stretched out, and at least 6 inches away from anything metal. I have my TE receiver on a shelf and pin the wire vertically to the wall with thumb tacks. It’s in the basement and I can communicate with it from the front yard. Straight-line is not that far, less than 50 feet, but the receiver is 6 or more feet below grade behind the foundation of the house.
I have another track-side TE in a gondola I use as a battery car. That antenna is wrapped around the car and in close proximity to the battery. Range is less than 15 feet.
You can add wire to the receiving antenna to try and improve the range, and/or to make the antenna reach to a window. As a ham, I used to cut my own antennas, but I’m a bit rusty. To calculate the exact length of a 1/2 wavelength Dipole antennae in feet, you divide 468 by the frequency in MHZ. 27MHz is close enough.
The most efficient antennas are cut to either full-wave, half-wave or 1/4 wave. For 27 MHz, 1/4 wave is about 8Ft 6in, so if you add enough wire to make the total wire length about 8’ 6" (or 102" which is the common length of the old CB Whip antennas), and stretch it as straight as possible, you should get optimum range.
Yes, you can put a small loop at the end of the wire to hang it from. It will not make enough difference to matter. Use rope or string if you need more length to reach the hanging point.
Hopefully, this was more than you wanted to know. 
Yes But.
You say 8’6" and Greg says 9.11’ ?
Sean
I get 9.11 ft
Of course, 11.1 meters is the “ideal,” but we’re looking to go maybe a hundred ft and receiver antennae aren’t very critical. He wants something that works better.
Now divide the 11.1 meters by 4. Vertical, unloaded antennas are typically 1/4 wave length. That comes out to about 9’.
If I built one wall 9.11’ and the other 8.‘6’’ I do not think there even close for government work!
Some things not right!
I suppose if I go with the 9.11’ first and if no improvement then I could go to 8’6" ?
Sean
Sean:
Here is a calculator that will give you the exact lengths for half wave and quarter wave antennas:
It is the one I use for the antennas on the (75 MHz) R/C firefighting vehicle we designed and built last year. The results from that calculator were exactly the same as the printed cutting charts that came with the commercial antennas we bought.
The legal frequencies for the 27 MHz R/C band are:
26.995 MHz – Channel 1 – Brown
27.045 MHz – Channel 2 – Red
27.095 MHz – Channel 3 – Orange
27.145 MHz – Channel 4 – Yellow
27.195 MHz – Channel 5 – Green
27.255 MHz – Channel 6 – Blue
Just type or paste the actual crystal frequency into the calculator, then push “calculate” and it will give you a result to something like 14 decimal places!!
Examples:
For 26.995 Mhz, the quarter wave antenna length is 104.01926282644934"
For 27.255 MHz, the quarter wave antenna length is 103.02696752889378"
I don’t have a TE, so am not certain of its actual frequencies, but it should be one of those listed in order to be legal.
Hope this helps.
Happy RRing,
Jerry
It’s a bit late to suggest it , but we have gone over to 40Mhz and 2.9 Ghz . Makes installation a lot easier ,
less interference from aircraft landing over the top of us , less interference from the ILS Glide slope pattern and maybe a few others .
Nothing wrong with 27 , except the environment . The Receivers and Servos are smaller at the higher frequencies .
Just a thought.
Mike M
I’ve got Futaba’s latest 2.4GHz for ALL my live steam r/c locos - that’s two.
No glitching - no discernible reduction in control over long distance, and here I’m talking about 100m, and the ability to put 99% of the antenna actually inside a metal box - the tender.
tac
www.ovgrs.org
That’s interesting , Tac , you find the same as we do . The thing I particularly like is the instant multiple frequency selection available-----one Tx , umpteen Rx .
Mike M
27 Mhz has proven to be so forgiving it doesn’t really matter what the length of the antenna is when you are making it longer.
The longer it is the better. It is best to mount it vertically.
So the length I’m using now is 70" or 5’10"
If I go with 104" or 8’8’ ,I guess I should see an improvement!
I hope.
Sean
One more question!
What gauge wire to use!
Sean
Wire size doesn’t matter. Light stuff is cheaper and easier to work with. If you already have almost 6 Ft of wire on it, I doubt you will see much improvement even if you cut it exact to the frequency.
I’m not here to argue the calculation, but rather to try and explain the different answers you got…
CB Radio was known as the 11 Meter band since the wavelength of the 27MHz frequency was close to 11 meters. Close, not exactly. Using 11 Meters as a generalization of the frequency skews the calculation, giving you the 9’ 11 inch number. As Jerry pointed out there is are on-line calculators that will give you the exact measurement for your exact frequency to as many decimal places as you want. Their calculations are the using a formula that equates to my 468/Freq=.5 Wavelength. Us old fart hams didn’t have the internet or Google, so we had to figure stuff out on our own. We liked the 468 formula because the numbers form a nice easy to remember triangular pattern on the calculator.
Again - Much more than you wanted, or need to know.
As Tony suggested, the measurements are far from critical. I’d suggest that your problem is not antenna length, but either low batteries in the TX, or some interference source between the TX and the RX. Cable TV is notorious for leaking trash in the lower frequency ranges and could be your problem.
Lewis would tell you to buy the Revolution 
No TV just DSL
Doesn’t need to be your Cable TV line. If it runs down the street on overhead wire it can give you fits. But that’s only one of millions of sources of junk leaking from today’s electronics.
Mike Morgan said:
It's a bit late to suggest it , but we have gone over to 40Mhz and 2.9 Ghz . Makes installation a lot easier , less interference from aircraft landing over the top of us , less interference from the ILS Glide slope pattern and maybe a few others . Nothing wrong with 27 , except the environment . The Receivers and Servos are smaller at the higher frequencies . Just a thought.Mike M
Be aware that 40 MHz is not legal to use for R/C applications in the U.S. It is a fairly common R/C frequency in the British Isles and Europe, but the user is subject to a fine of $10,000 if caught using it in the USA.
Happy RRing,
Jerry
Good point , but that still leaves 50 and 75 Mhz , plus the 2.4 Ghz as alternatives
Mike M