RadioBanter - View Single Post

May 24th 06, 11:25 PM posted to rec.radio.shortwave

On 24 May 2006 15:03:02 -0700, wrote:

I finally have an office where I can have a radio. Unfortunately it
is on the bottom floor - more or less a basement and has no window. I
am getting a CCRadio Plus (yes I have read the pros and cons but I got
a good deal relatively speaking to the list price, and have a 30-day
trial). My opinion is that I may need some sort of other antenna
especially for AM and maybe FM too for that matter due to the possibly
poor building location, plus it is a small town so the best stations
are at least 50 - 100 miles. I know about the selct-a-tenna etc. Crane
sells but am not eager to pony up more $ should I need an external
antenna. Is there anything that will look suitable for office use that
I can add to the external antenna jack on the Crane if I need it that
won't set me back a lot more cash? Thanks.

The radio has a built-in 8-inch ferrite bar antenna, so simply
rotating the radio should be sufficient for bringing in most stations.
Otherwise, the manual recommends a 50 foot wire on the jack as an
external AM antenna. You could try that as a cheapo option.

I have the Select-a-tenna device, and it works extremely well on weak
AM stations, "if" they are in the clear, frequency-wise.

There's no jack for an external FM antenna, so short of coupling
something to the built-in whip, your options are limited.

It's a good radio, but don't expect miracles.

bob
k5qwg