RedPenguin ) writes:
I have a Sony ICF7600GR world band radio and was wondering what
portable antenna I could use that has good reception on all of HF and
uses the 1/8 External Jack plug on the receiver, but isn't like $50+.

Unless something is an active antenna, or a tuned loop, basically any
expense is going to go for cosmetics. Because you can't
really come up with anything that isn't just a piece of wire.

So you'll pay for some neat little gadget that lets you wind up the
wire.

But it won't work any better than some wire.

Most people do get by with a "random length of wire" (which mostly
ends up being a relatively short piece of wire for most of the
frequencies in the shortwave range). In the old days, they'd actually
string it up out the back window and to the tree in the backyard, something
that may not be available to many nowadays, living in apartments and
such. So you just let the long piece of wire hang out the window, or
lie on the floor. To the tree has the advantage that it's outside and
away from the house, but there isn't anything really better about
the antenna compared with a similar length of wire lying on the floor.

Keep in mind that many portable receivers are intended for use with
the built in whip, and if you start adding too long a length of wire
it will start overloading (because they put in lots of amplification
to make up for the lack of antenna length on the whip).

Few will bother with actual dipoles, since they are frequency selective
and they will start getting long the lower in frequency you go.

Michael