Getting better reception...
 

Hello to all... I am brand new to the group, just signing up today. I
appreciate any/all help and advice you can provide.

I live in Lakeside Oregon, right on the pacific coast. It is 14 miles
north of Coos Bay/North Bend and 13 miles south of Reedsport. I can
describe the area as sand dunes, forests and hilly terrain.

I want to get local AM stations. In specific, AM 1230 out of Coos Bay,
and ESPN radio station. We can't get T.V. here unless we have
satellite, which I could not justify the cost of monthly (just my wife
and I and we both work full time, not at home enough really).
Therefore, I am looking towards having some entertainment in the
winter, specifically local AM radio.

During the day, we get only one station, AM 1030
(http://www.kdun.com/)out of Reedsport which I know broadcasts at
50,000 watts during the day, turning down at night. At night, we
cannot get the station at all.

I have been using multiple radios to test and see if I can improve
reception by moving the units, rotating, etc. My two main test units
are a Craftsman radio from the 60's with a large ferrite rod antenna
(I measured and it is over 6 inches long)and a Radio Shack SW-100
radio with a rotating ferrite rod antenna on top
(http://support.radioshack.com/manuals/ome12-795.pdf). Neither can
pull in the AM 1230 station in Coos Bay clearly enough to listen. I
can get faint hints of the station, but it is not clear either during
day or at night.

What can I do to increase the reception power of my radios? I place
them near the window and it does help somewhat, but not substantially.
Am I am prime candidate for a C Crane "dinner plate" antenna or one of
their other models (http://www.ccrane.com/am-antenna.aspx)?

I know little/next to nothing of getting the most out of my equipment
or AM antenna technology. I have heard the GE Superadio is a perfect
radio for rural users, is this accurate?

Thank you all for the assistance, I truly appreciate it...

Jason

OregonJR wrote:
I want to get local AM stations. In specific, AM 1230 out of Coos Bay,
and ESPN radio station. We can't get T.V. here unless we have
satellite, which I could not justify the cost of monthly (just my wife
and I and we both work full time, not at home enough really).
Therefore, I am looking towards having some entertainment in the
winter, specifically local AM radio.

Man, that *does* look like a tough place for reception!

Have you tried antenna TV? My database suggests you should be within
range of channels 11 (CBS), 13 (NBC), 27 (ABC), 30 (Fox), and 46 (NBC),
even with simple antennas. (11 even ought to make it with rabbit ears)
It's not that good at taking terrain into account though, so maybe those
indeed aren't accessible to you...

What can I do to increase the reception power of my radios? I place
them near the window and it does help somewhat, but not substantially.
Am I am prime candidate for a C Crane "dinner plate" antenna or one of
their other models (http://www.ccrane.com/am-antenna.aspx)?

What's wrong with your reception of AM 1230? I mean, is it a buzzing
noise? Is it just generally weak? Is there interference from other
radio stations? Does it sound better if you take the radio outside and
away from the house?

It seems strange to me you'd have trouble with daytime reception of a
station less than 20 miles away. (night reception can be more
problematical due to massive interference from other stations) I
suspect you have a local noise source that's causing your problems.
--
Doug Smith W9WI
Pleasant View (Nashville), TN EM66
http://www.w9wi.com

OregonJR wrote:
I want to get local AM stations. In specific, AM 1230 out of Coos Bay,
and ESPN radio station. We can't get T.V. here unless we have
satellite, which I could not justify the cost of monthly (just my wife
and I and we both work full time, not at home enough really).
Therefore, I am looking towards having some entertainment in the
winter, specifically local AM radio.

Man, that *does* look like a tough place for reception!

Have you tried antenna TV? My database suggests you should be within
range of channels 11 (CBS), 13 (NBC), 27 (ABC), 30 (Fox), and 46 (NBC),
even with simple antennas. (11 even ought to make it with rabbit ears)
It's not that good at taking terrain into account though, so maybe those
indeed aren't accessible to you...

What can I do to increase the reception power of my radios? I place
them near the window and it does help somewhat, but not substantially.
Am I am prime candidate for a C Crane "dinner plate" antenna or one of
their other models (http://www.ccrane.com/am-antenna.aspx)?

What's wrong with your reception of AM 1230? I mean, is it a buzzing
noise? Is it just generally weak? Is there interference from other
radio stations? Does it sound better if you take the radio outside and
away from the house?

It seems strange to me you'd have trouble with daytime reception of a
station less than 20 miles away. (night reception can be more
problematical due to massive interference from other stations) I
suspect you have a local noise source that's causing your problems.
--
Doug Smith W9WI
Pleasant View (Nashville), TN EM66
http://www.w9wi.com

I would have to agree with Doug.
It seems you should be able to get some AM radio there without any trouble.
At night there should be many signals on your AM radio.
What do you hear at night.

Go outside and try your car radio, what do you hear at night and daytime.
On the car radio you should be hearing many stations at night especially on
AM.

If you can hear stations on the car radio but not in your house, then it
could be that inside your house you just wont get much.
Which would mean an outside antenna of some sort for AM and FM.

Also an outside TV antenna maybe with a rotor on it so you can point it to
different stations would be a big help in the TV reception.

If you cannot even hear AM stations on the car radio then you are really in
an interesting area.

Craig N0BSA

I would have to agree with Doug.
It seems you should be able to get some AM radio there without any trouble.
At night there should be many signals on your AM radio.
What do you hear at night.

Go outside and try your car radio, what do you hear at night and daytime.
On the car radio you should be hearing many stations at night especially on
AM.

If you can hear stations on the car radio but not in your house, then it
could be that inside your house you just wont get much.
Which would mean an outside antenna of some sort for AM and FM.

Also an outside TV antenna maybe with a rotor on it so you can point it to
different stations would be a big help in the TV reception.

If you cannot even hear AM stations on the car radio then you are really in
an interesting area.

Craig N0BSA