pixel_a_ted wrote:
I'm not an amateur radio guy or anything like that. I recently bought
a Kaito KA1103 Worldband Radio, mainly to get better reception of AM
stations. I sometimes like to listen to discussion shows at night and
the local selection is limited. The reviews seemed to indicate that
the radio has good AM discrimination, etc. Well, so far it doesn't
seem to be any better than my little 20 year old Sony Walkman radio.
I've also scanned through the short wave frequencies and found
nothing, but that was not my main reason for getting the radio.

The radio came with an "antenna" that seems to be one big loop of wire
with a plug at one end that goes into the radio and a plastic clip at
the other end. I'm not sure what to do with it and have read somewhat
contradictory advice on the internet. Nothing that I have tried has
resulted in any better reception. I also see somewhat inexpensive loop
antennas advertised.

Any suggestions for improving AM reception would be greatly
appreciated.

Thanks.

First, the external antenna is intended for shortwave, so that's not
going to help.

The reviews I read stated that AM was quite good, better than some
radios that I know are good, but that the AC adapter is quite noisy. If
you are using that, try running just on batteries.

If that doesn't work out for you, locate a GE Superradio or go C Crane
site and get a CC Radio. The CC Radio is the best I've ever used that
has straight AM detection and costs less than $300. Their site is
www.ccrane.com.

good luck
tom
K0TAR

Here what you ight consider doing;
The additional wire should, hopefully, increase the signal you capture. If you have window close to where you listen to your radio, stretch the wire around the room , at the highest level you can INDOORS. I use cup hooks to supend the wire. This will improve the shortwave signals. To improve the MW signals in the AM band, do some researach at some of the Yahoo groups on MW natennas and it has much more infor mation than I can list here. The 1103 is good portable, but DO NOT hook it up to an outside atenna. It will overload and you will get false signals everywhere. A good loop antenna or a Select-Tenna will improve the MW section. Hope this helps. Email me if you have questions. KE5LDO.

tom wrote:
The CC (Crane) Radio is the best I've ever used that
has straight AM detection and costs less than $300.

I read rave reviews so I bought one and the display
failed. I only use the memory channels now. It's
also not any better than my Yacht Boy 400.
--
73, Cecil, IEEE, OOTC, http://www.w5dxp.com

Cecil Moore wrote:
tom wrote:
The CC (Crane) Radio is the best I've ever used that has straight AM
detection and costs less than $300.

I read rave reviews so I bought one and the display
failed. I only use the memory channels now. It's
also not any better than my Yacht Boy 400.

Sorry to hear that. Mine is running strong at about 10 years old.

Never played with a Yacht Boy. My experience with Grundigs is with the
smaller/cheaper models which aren't impressive and the giant ones that
are way too expensive for the performance they give. The big ones
aren't bad, but not close to the performance of what I could buy a used
amateur rig for the same price, so I've stayed away.

tom
K0TAR

On Tue, 30 Jun 2009 07:54:34 -0500, Cecil Moore
wrote:

tom wrote:
The CC (Crane) Radio is the best I've ever used that
has straight AM detection and costs less than $300.

I read rave reviews so I bought one and the display
failed. I only use the memory channels now. It's
also not any better than my Yacht Boy 400.

The display in my original CCRadio failed, too -- I sent it back to
the Crane folks and they put in a new display for $25, one that has
much better longevity, they say. Still going strong after several
years.

Bob
k5qwg

Bob wrote:
The display in my original CCRadio failed, too -- I sent it back to
the Crane folks and they put in a new display for $25, one that has
much better longevity, they say. Still going strong after several
years.

Thanks Bob, maybe I should do that.
--
73, Cecil, IEEE, OOTC, http://www.w5dxp.com

Bob wrote:
The display in my original CCRadio failed, too -- I sent it back to
the Crane folks and they put in a new display for $25, one that has
much better longevity, they say. Still going strong after several
years.

Out of the blue, I just received this email from C.Crane Co.

"I read online that you have a display problem with your CCRadio. Upon
looking into your account I can see it is a CCRadio Plus which is far
easier to put our newer display technology into than an original
CCRadio. In fact we can do this at no charge. We would only need you
to send the radio to us. We take care of shipping the radio back to
you. John Wilder, Customer/Product Support, C. Crane Company, Inc."
--
73, Cecil, IEEE, OOTC, http://www.w5dxp.com

Cecil Moore wrote:
Bob wrote:
The display in my original CCRadio failed, too -- I sent it back to
the Crane folks and they put in a new display for $25, one that has
much better longevity, they say. Still going strong after several
years.

Out of the blue, I just received this email from C.Crane Co.

"I read online that you have a display problem with your CCRadio. Upon
looking into your account I can see it is a CCRadio Plus which is far
easier to put our newer display technology into than an original
CCRadio. In fact we can do this at no charge. We would only need you
to send the radio to us. We take care of shipping the radio back to
you. John Wilder, Customer/Product Support, C. Crane Company, Inc."

WOW!

Now that's customer support.

I am officially impressed.

tom
K0TAR