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Question: can I *substantially* improve the S/N - say, factor of
2/5/10 by installing a better car antenna, so that, say, I could
listen in the Sierras day and night? I do not care if the antenna is
huge/geeky_looking, my car is being driven into the ground anyway. I
would be happy to make this a DIY project - to save on $ and learn
about radio. What kind of specs should I look for? I.e. I don't want
to go on the web and blindly buy an antenna advertised to "boost" your
AM radio reception - I would want some numbers.

I have limited knowledge in electronics, my background mostly is in
biophysics and biochemistry. So if you steer me into the right
direction I think I should be able figure it out.

I needed to abandon my van's fender-mount antenna because the shield ground
broke and AM reception was pretty awful, with spark plug noise and assorted
clicks and pops whenever I wasn't parked.

I got a connector adapter which plugged into the antenna jack on the back of
the radio. I connected a VHF magnetic mount ham radio antenna to it. I now
have a cable running between the bucket seats and out the back door but I
have really good AM/FM reception. On long trips, like across the southern
deserts, I unscrew the standard element and replace it with a longer element
(about 4') and AM reception is improved dramatically. The cable from the
fender-mount antenna dangles inside the dashboard, unseen and unused.

If you think you might tackle such a project, post again and I'll provide
more details. Having a limited knowledge of electronics is not a problem;
finding just the right parts is.

"Sal"