Antenna Questions
 

I have a Realistic DX-160 0.15-30Mhz Solid State Communications Receiver for
which I want to build or obtain an antenna.

I can buy 500' of 14awg twisted strand insulated copper wire from Lowes for
$40. Then what? I have two trees about 200' apart I could get the ladder
and string the wire. Would that work?

I used to have a dipole antenna but it never seemed to make any difference.
What component is in the nodes, anyway? A capacitor? A resistor?

In the meantime while I try and figure it out, I'm working on acquiring an
8' ground rod. Plus grounding the coaxial.

Is this radio even worth an antenna?

What about a vertical mast antenna? I don't need to transmit, just receive.
How good do those work?

Is a wire antenna best strung E-W or N-S? I want Europe, not Spanish.

Apparently the end of the wire can act as a node to a wave 2 or 3 times as
long as the wire. The length of the wire can divide into waves 1/2, 1/3,
1/4 etc. the length of the wire.

http://mypeoplepc.com/members/jon8338/math/id39.html

All I know has taught me I know nothing. Jon

Antenna Questions
 

On Mon, 11 Oct 2010 23:38:52 -0400, "Jon"
wrote:

I used to have a dipole antenna but it never seemed to make any difference.

Add a preselector (tuner).

Is this radio even worth an antenna?

Yes.

73's
Richard Clark, KB7QHC

Antenna Questions
 

On 12-Oct-10 11:38, Jon wrote:
I have a Realistic DX-160 0.15-30Mhz Solid State Communications Receiver
for which I want to build or obtain an antenna.

Is this DX-160 military grade?

--
@~@ Might, Courage, Vision, SINCERITY.
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http://www.swd.gov.hk/tc/index/site_...sub_addressesa

Antenna Questions
 

You will probably receive lots of suggestions about your antenna. My
comments a

1. Longer is not better. Once an antenna becomes too long, it becomes more
directional (in odd ways) and may have more tendenacy to overload the
receiver. On the normal shortwave bands, receiver sensitivity is not the
issue (assuming a reasonably practical receiver); the signal-to-noise ratio
is the key element. A longer antenna can increase the signal but it usually
also increases the noise to the same degree and this does not accomplish
anything (except possibly overload the receiver).
2. A preselector can help prevent overload and may be a reasonable idea on a
less expensive receiver. (But it is not necessary; try working without it.)
3. A vertical or horizontal antenna (or a combination) can work. A
horizontal antenna may be less prone to "static" in your area.
4. Does the receiver have two antenna input terminals, with neither
"grounded" to the chassis? If so, a dipole might be appropriate. More
likely, it has a single terminal possibly with a second terminal optionally
"grounded". In this case, a single wire to the antenna might be better.
(The "feedline" to the antenna is part of the antenna also; try to keep it
away from electrically noisy things.)
5. With a single wire antenna, try the receiver with and without a "ground"
connection. It will probably be better with the "ground". You are unlikely
to need a ground stake. Try connecting to the "third pin" (ground) of your
electrical socket. Or, try two or three wires of different lengths (15 - 25
feet) laying on the ground (or under a carpet, etc). For receiving only,
you can try many different things --- there is no "right" answer.
6. For listening on typical shortwave bands, an outside antenna wire perhaps
35-40 feet long should be sufficient. For what you describe, the compass
orientation will not matter much. If possible, have the antenna up at least
30 feet and a little away from the house.
7. You did not ask about a feedline. For a single wire you could use coax.
What might be better is twin line with the antenna end of one side of the
feedline connected to nothing. The receiver end of this "nothing side"
would be connected to the ground terminal of the receiver.

All my suggestions will be shot down on various technical points, but they
may be reasonable for getting started.

Possibly the most important thing is to start understanding shortwave
propagation. What times are best to listen for Europe on which shortwave
bands? There are no definite rules here; the condition of the ionosphere
varies from day to day and hour to hour.

Bill
W2WO

Antenna Questions
 

On Oct 11, 11:38*pm, "Jon" wrote:
I have a Realistic DX-160 0.15-30Mhz Solid State Communications Receiver for
which I want to build or obtain an antenna.

I can buy 500' of 14awg twisted strand insulated copper wire from Lowes for
$40. *Then what? *I have two trees about 200' apart I could get the ladder
and string the wire. *Would that work?

I used to have a dipole antenna but it never seemed to make any difference.
What component is in the nodes, anyway? *A capacitor? *A resistor?

In the meantime while I try and figure it out, I'm working on acquiring an
8' ground rod. *Plus grounding the coaxial.

Is this radio even worth an antenna?

What about a vertical mast antenna? *I don't need to transmit, just receive.
How good do those work?

Is a wire antenna best strung E-W or N-S? *I want Europe, not Spanish.

Apparently the end of the wire can act as a node to a wave 2 or 3 times as
long as the wire. *The length of the wire can divide into waves 1/2, 1/3,
1/4 etc. the length of the wire.

http://mypeoplepc.com/members/jon8338/math/id39.html

All I know has taught me I know nothing. *Jon

When I lived in an apartment temporarily a few years ago I had a
similar situation. The back of the apartment and my bedroom window
faced a wooded area so I strung up about 50 or 60 ft of wire using a
long piece of PVC pipe to push it up into the trees. I used it with my
MFJ tuner and enjoyed a lot of SWL time. Yes the tuner helped compared
to the antenna terminated in a banana plug and pushed into the
connector on the back of my IC 729. Take notes on how you set up the
tuner for various frequencies

Jimmie