"Brenda Ann" wrote in message
...

"Dave" wrote in message
...
Hmm. Okay. Only I don't have much outside space available. I *might*
be
able to manage 20-30 feet of random wire, but that is about it. And I
have
more than a mile of small-guage wire on these two spools. I was
planning
on
wrapping it around a five-foot long piece of 4 inch PVC and standing it
behind a closet door. Since my last last message I tried a very crude
"hook-up" with one of the spools of wire and got absolutely no
improvement
in reception. Now I understand why, thanks to you good people.

Back to the 20-30' piece of random wi my only option is to run it out
the
window and along the top rail of the fence in the back yard. Would this
really outdo a massive broomstick antenna?


Almost anything will outdo a broomstick antenna. 30' of longwire along
your
fence (presuming it is wood, and not steel) would do a great job. Even
better still would be to run it around your rafters (presuming again that
they are not concrete or aluminum siding or such). Either way, I would use
some kind of standoffs (you can find them at hardware stores, or make your
own from old thread spools).




Okay, so here's the problem. The fence is metal, and the house is covered
with steel siding. My DX-402 does pick up BBC on 5975 pretty well with just
the whip (next to a window), but VOK is extremely weak to vanishing. (This
last one is what I want the broomstick antenna for.) If I do go with the
broomstick, should I stick with the five-foot piece that I already have cut,
or go with a longer eight-foot piece which will still fit nicely in the
corner I have in mind. Or should I go all out with a ten-foot piece (or
even multiples maybe) and put it in the attic? Also, what type of ground
should I use? I could run a ground wire out the window to a ground rod that
is as old as the house, but that's about my only option (the house predates
three-prong plugs with a real ground.)

I really appreciate your thoughts on these things. You obviously know a lot
more about this stuff than I do.

Thanks,

Dave

In article , "Dave"
writes:

Or should I go all out with a ten-foot piece of 4 inch PVC (or
even multiples maybe) and put it in the attic?

If the attic is non-metal, I'd try this solution ..

"Diverd4777" wrote in message
...
In article , "Dave"

writes:

Or should I go all out with a ten-foot piece of 4 inch PVC (or
even multiples maybe) and put it in the attic?

If the attic is non-metal, I'd try this solution ..


Sorry it took me so long to reply. Christmas, and all.

The attic/roof is not-metal, but it is so short that you really can't move
around in it. I can stick something up there and more-or-less angle it this
way or that, but that's about it. I thought about putting something
directional up there, but upon further reflection I really don't see any way
to do that. And outside, I could run a wire along the top of the (metal)
fence, but that's about it. Thought about putting something under the
eaves, and haven't totally given up on that yet. If I did that, I could
make it +/- 30 feet long. Still thinking.

Thanks for the input.

Dave

"Dave" wrote in message
...

Okay, so here's the problem. The fence is metal, and the house is covered
with steel siding. My DX-402 does pick up BBC on 5975 pretty well with
just
the whip (next to a window), but VOK is extremely weak to vanishing.
(This
last one is what I want the broomstick antenna for.) If I do go with the
broomstick, should I stick with the five-foot piece that I already have
cut,
or go with a longer eight-foot piece which will still fit nicely in the
corner I have in mind. Or should I go all out with a ten-foot piece (or
even multiples maybe) and put it in the attic? Also, what type of ground
should I use? I could run a ground wire out the window to a ground rod
that
is as old as the house, but that's about my only option (the house
predates
three-prong plugs with a real ground.)

I really appreciate your thoughts on these things. You obviously know a
lot
more about this stuff than I do.


The rafters idea could still work with standoffs, though not as well as with
a wood surface. What material is your roof made from? How much of a crown
does it have? You could run wire along the crown of the roof with good
results. Use coax to get it into the house. Ground the coax outside the
house at the point it enters.

"Brenda Ann" wrote in message
...

"Dave" wrote in message
...

Okay, so here's the problem. The fence is metal, and the house is
covered
with steel siding. My DX-402 does pick up BBC on 5975 pretty well with
just
the whip (next to a window), but VOK is extremely weak to vanishing.
(This
last one is what I want the broomstick antenna for.) If I do go with
the
broomstick, should I stick with the five-foot piece that I already have
cut,
or go with a longer eight-foot piece which will still fit nicely in the
corner I have in mind. Or should I go all out with a ten-foot piece (or
even multiples maybe) and put it in the attic? Also, what type of
ground
should I use? I could run a ground wire out the window to a ground rod
that
is as old as the house, but that's about my only option (the house
predates
three-prong plugs with a real ground.)

I really appreciate your thoughts on these things. You obviously know a
lot
more about this stuff than I do.


The rafters idea could still work with standoffs, though not as well as
with
a wood surface. What material is your roof made from? How much of a crown
does it have? You could run wire along the crown of the roof with good
results. Use coax to get it into the house. Ground the coax outside the
house at the point it enters.



The roof is wood with asphalt shingles. But the attic is only about three
feet tall (see my reply to diverd4777). With extreme difficulty one can get
from one side of the house to the other through the attic, but trying to do
this while carrying something is next to impossible. Is that what you are
asking about, about the crown? Height, in the attic? If not please let me
know.

Dave

"Dave" wrote in message
...

The roof is wood with asphalt shingles. But the attic is only about three
feet tall (see my reply to diverd4777). With extreme difficulty one can
get
from one side of the house to the other through the attic, but trying to
do
this while carrying something is next to impossible. Is that what you are
asking about, about the crown? Height, in the attic? If not please let
me
know.


The crown of the roof is the pointed top (outside).

^ === crown
/ \
| |

DAVE,

AHhhh, We Now Have More Information.

An ATTIC Location and a Target Broadcaster Frequency (VOK).

If your House/Building (The Attic) is positioned properly; and you
have a specific band of Frequencies that you want to Receive.
The you may wish to consider a simple Dipole Antenna for
Directivity and relative Gain for a designed Frequency.

"Using a 'SLINKY' as an Antenna ?" read Message #64
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/SWL-AM...nna/message/64

* Single SLINKY Vertical "Mono-Pole"
( The INVISABLE BroomStick Antenna )

* Dual SLINKY Horizontal "Dipole"

http://groups.yahoo.com/group/SWL-AM...nna/message/66


Consider a commercial SLINKY Dipole Antenna in the Attic.
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/SWL-AM...na/message/216
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/SWL-AM...na/message/254


iane ~ RHF
..
..
= = = "Dave"
= = = wrote in message ...

- - - S N I P - - -


Okay, so here's the problem. The fence is metal, and the house
is covered with steel siding. My DX-402 does pick up BBC on 5975
pretty well with just the whip (next to a window), but VOK is
extremely weak to vanishing. (This last one is what I want the
broomstick antenna for.) If I do go with the broomstick, should
I stick with the five-foot piece that I already have cut, or go
with a longer eight-foot piece which will still fit nicely in the
corner I have in mind. Or should I go all out with a ten-foot
piece (or even multiples maybe) and put it in the attic? Also,
what type of ground should I use? I could run a ground wire out
the window to a ground rod that is as old as the house, but that's
about my only option (the house predates three-prong plugs with
a real ground.)

I really appreciate your thoughts on these things. You obviously
know a lot more about this stuff than I do.

Thanks,

Dave

..