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High-Gain AM Car Antenna?
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April 16th 04, 04:32 PM
ken
Posts: n/a
(RFCOMMSYS) wrote in message ...
My car radio, although good on FM, stinks on MW. It's about as sensitive as a
brick, but I don't want to replace the radio. Does anyone sell a high-gain AM
car antenna?
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Assuming (1)that your car radio is custom-integrated into your dash.
and
(2) you have twiddled the AM front-end antenna matchers (if
any)
you could try an antenna amplifier sold at Radio Shack and other
automotive stores. They are usually sold as "antenna boosters" or some
similar name and they fit in between the antenna lead and the
Motorola-type socket on the radio,
with a wire to a 12-volt connection. Make sure that the booster is for
AM and FM as some are FM only. You may find that when you have
installed the booster, you will notice gain on FM but the AM band is
filled with ignition noise. This seems to vary with the car and its
grounding, so be sure to get a money-back item. When working well,
these boosters give a 10 to 20 db gain on AM.
While you are upside down under the dash, check to see if there is
an antenna adjusting screw near the antenna input (not likely). If
there is, twiddle it for maximum gain about 1400 khz. You might not
even need a booster.
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