Cheap, stealthy, quick AM Antenna
 

I was looking for a cheap/easy AM Loop Antenna. Most of the ones on Ebay (like the Kaito/Tecsun AN-200) are $15 and an add'l $11-15 postage from HK/China. I was sure I had the mat'ls around to make one for free, but lacked the time to do it. Someone recommended winding 50 ft of wire around the perimeter of a shoe box lid. I was about to try this, but I thought my wife would deem it "tacky", even on the garage wall. So I wound 50' of #30 AWG insulated wire around an unused (framed) picture, and hung it high on the wall. This "stealth" antenna now pulls in KDKA(PGH) and WWL (New Orleans) @night time, into Minnesota ! Previously, the garage radio would only get 1 local AM channel w/o the antenna. What a difference, now it gets dozens. Oh, and the wife wouldn't have even noticed it if I hadn't pointed it out to her !