New to Shortwave
 

Hi,

My daughter has taken an interest in short-wave and I am going to purchase
the Icom R-75.

The problem is that we live in the Cleveland OH area in a 3rd floor condo
and cannot place an outside antenna.

Without a good outside antenna is this venture doomed to failure and if an
inside wire antenna is used what kind of SW or AM distant stations should be
readable with such an arrangement in this area.

Thanks

Martineau Gauda

Get some #26 enamel wire (or smaller) and tie a
small weight to it. Let it dangle down the side of the
building to just above ground level.
A fishing line sinker would work if sized right.

Thinner wire would be harder to see, and red enamel
magnet wire is almost invisible against a brick faced
building.

Hi, I'm fairly new to this also. All I have right now is a wire that is about
10 feet long.
It picks up plenty!!
Could only imagine what an outside antenna would do!

Have fun!!
------------------------------------------------------------------------

Martineau Gauda wrote:

Hi,

My daughter has taken an interest in short-wave and I am going to purchase
the Icom R-75.

The problem is that we live in the Cleveland OH area in a 3rd floor condo
and cannot place an outside antenna.

Without a good outside antenna is this venture doomed to failure and if an
inside wire antenna is used what kind of SW or AM distant stations should be
readable with such an arrangement in this area.

Thanks

Martineau Gauda

I have a room on the second floor with a small gauge wire that goes around the
circumference of the room at ceiling level. I get great reception on my Yaesu
FRG-100 and Yaesu FT-840. Being that you are in a condo, results may not be as
good. There are also several amplified antennas available for shortwave
receivers. If you could arrange to have the antenna near the window, results
may be better.

Are you going to purchase your Icom at AES in Cleveland? I understand that
they are on sale there, and I believe that it included a DSP.

http://www.aesham.com/display_pages/r75.shtml

Regards.

In article , "Martineau
Gauda" wrote:
Hi,

My daughter has taken an interest in short-wave and I am going to purchase
the Icom R-75.

The problem is that we live in the Cleveland OH area in a 3rd floor condo
and cannot place an outside antenna.

Without a good outside antenna is this venture doomed to failure and if an
inside wire antenna is used what kind of SW or AM distant stations should be
readable with such an arrangement in this area.

Thanks

Martineau Gauda


Never say never.
Nothing is absolute.

"Martineau Gauda" wrote in
et:

Hi,

My daughter has taken an interest in short-wave and I am going to
purchase the Icom R-75.

The problem is that we live in the Cleveland OH area in a 3rd floor
condo and cannot place an outside antenna.

Without a good outside antenna is this venture doomed to failure and
if an inside wire antenna is used what kind of SW or AM distant
stations should be readable with such an arrangement in this area.

Thanks

Martineau Gauda





When I was younger and lived in apartments,
I use to make antenna’s from very small gauge magnet wire.
Radio Shack item # 278-1345 or such, it is as small as thread.
I used plastic push pins as insulators/fastening posts.
Pushed 4 of the plastic push-pins in the top corners of the room
ceiling, and had two more plastic push-pins in-line with the others,
right above where my radio was setting, and used as end terminators for
the loop antenna in this case.(start one end of the wire on one of the
terminal pins and run the magnet wire around each pin, and finally
connect to the other terminal pin, should have a square loop of wire
when done) Then use coax, or twin lead wire for the feed-line, from the
terminal connectors to the radio. You could fasten hookup clips to the
feeder ends, to clip to each end of the antenna. You could make a
dipole, by pushing plastic push-pins in the wall nearest the radio, at
the wall corners, down a inch or so from the ceiling, and two more
push-pins dead center of the same wall. You wrap a length of magnet wire
from the two left push-pins, and a length of magnet wire to the right
two pins, you now have a dipole antenna. You can switch between your
loop antenna, and your dipole antenna, by simply switching the clips on
your feed-line, to either the terminal pins on your loop antenna or your
dipole. You could make different Rhombic antennas the same way using two
different walls for the legs of the antenna, and connecting the feeder
at the corner, where the two legs terminate. If you do not have much
electrical noise in the apartment, this has always worked quite well in
my case. Having an antenna preselecor/tuner/amp is nice to have in this
case also. The smaller magnet wire is so small it is hardly noticeable
visually.


Kruppt

Is your building brick/steel or wood frame? If brick/steel then external
almost a necessity. An alternative is antenna in/on window. If wood frame,
wire inside will have satisfactory results until a better solution comes
along.

Bob,

Thanks for the great information. I am returning to ham radio and I am
taking the General test Sunday. It has been many years since I have been
involved with HF and SWL and the information that you sent helped a lot. I
now have a 2 meter rig with a home brew J pole.

I am quite familiar with AES and purchased the Icom 2720H and Daiwa CN-801
SWR meter from them, among other items. They have a great price on the R-75
and I think I will take advantage of the special pricing. The shortwave is
mostly for my daughter.

I will let you know how things work out.

Martineau

"TerMarL" wrote in message ...
Is your building brick/steel or wood frame? If brick/steel then external
almost a necessity. An alternative is antenna in/on window. If wood
frame,
wire inside will have satisfactory results until a better solution comes
along.

This is the amazing part.
You have ~10 feet of wire and add another ten
Presto !
another station comes alive !
- IF you can put wire around the Outside of the window without injuring yourelf
then do it !!

even a 2 liter bottle wrapped in insulated wire makes a good antenna !




In article , "Mark V. Russo"
writes:


Hi, I'm fairly new to this also. All I have right now is a wire that is
about
10 feet long.
It picks up plenty!!
Could only imagine what an outside antenna would do!

Have fun!!