"Doug Smith W9WI" wrote in message
...
I'm not so sure the radio is usually the problem today. It's not that
hard (or expensive) to make a decent AM radio. The problems with AM
reception a

- Noise.

Yes.

- Interference.

Yes.

IMHO the most important component of good AM reception is the antenna.

I'm with you so far. A dime in the antenna is worth a buck in the receiver.

A few hundred feet of wire hooked to just about any halfway-decent radio
will bring in plenty of DX.

True, but as long as we're talking hypothetical best-case scenario, I would
opt for low-noise, directional antennas. You can't beat a long Beverage
antenna, but a large-enough loop _properly installed_ away from metal
objects and noise sources, will do well, especially if it's tiltable. A loop
can be used to null interference and, being electrically short-circuited, is
quiet. Crane's loop probably does a good job but I never bought one to try.
I had a 4-foot-square loop that turned and tilted, and an SP-600 receiver,
that made a good combination for AM DXing. SuperPros are overpriced now,
IMO, but I believe the extra shielding paid off.

As long as we're kvetching about AM, what bothers me is that so many
stations just run satellite feeds and there is very little diversity in
programming. Broadcasting has become too homogenized. It's fun to pick up
distant stations but the program content that made it interesting in the
past is rarely there. When you heard the hog report from some little town
west of nowhere, you _knew_ you were DXing!

"PM"