Anyone have an idea how I can better my reception of a local AM station.
I live in the fringe area and was curious as to whether there is a
simple improvement for the AM broadcast band. I use a simple Panasonic
portable and just want to listen to talk-radio....
Thanks.
-mike

Mike Lynn wrote in :

Anyone have an idea how I can better my reception of a local AM station.
I live in the fringe area and was curious as to whether there is a
simple improvement for the AM broadcast band. I use a simple Panasonic
portable and just want to listen to talk-radio....
Thanks.
-mike


The simplest thing I can think of is this: put up a wire, and bring the end
of the wire to the radio. The wire will couple with the radio's built in
ferrire bar antenna and sensitivity will improve. Move the wire around in
relation to the radio until you find the best coupling.

The wire is not at all critical, and you can experiment with it's length to
determine how long you can make it without overloading the radio and
causing undesirable effects. I'd start with 50 feet.

This is the easiest way without buying anything or constructing anything,
and anybody can do it.

"Mike Lynn" wrote in message
...
Anyone have an idea how I can better my reception of a local AM station.
I live in the fringe area and was curious as to whether there is a
simple improvement for the AM broadcast band. I use a simple Panasonic
portable and just want to listen to talk-radio....


http://www.selectatenna.com/



Craig, WPE1HNS
Meredith, NH USA

Drake R8B/Alpha Delta DX Sloper
Sony SW-77
Sony ICF-2010
2 x Phillips/Magnavox D2935
Uniden CR-2021
Knight Kit Star Roamer (permanently tuned to Turkey on 9460)
GE Superadio II/Select-A-Tenna
Delphi Ski-Fi XM/3" Antennae

Tuning since 1963

Get an MW loop, which is a (usually) 1-foot diameter hoop you put
next to the radio, and it matches the impedance so that the radio
hears down the the propagating noise floor, which is as sensitive as
you need to be.

We're talking daytime. At night, every radio is sensitive enough
because the problem is too many signals, not too few.

In the day you'll get say 300 miles range with a MW loop. I can hear
17 versions of Limbaugh at noon in Central Ohio at three time delays.

The two cheapest MW loops are simple passive loops, the Terk MW loop ~$40
and Select-a-tenna ~$60. Radio Shack used to have one ~$30.

Passive loops are good enough. Active ones are not better, just more
costly.

You can build your own but it's actually not worth it.
--
Ron Hardin


On the internet, nobody knows you're a jerk.

Ron Hardin wrote:

The two cheapest MW loops are simple passive loops, the Terk MW loop ~$40
and Select-a-tenna ~$60. Radio Shack used to have one ~$30.

Did Radio Shack discontinue that loop antenna? It was very good, but its
selectivity was poor at the upper end of the band. OTOH, the
Select-A-Tenna is very selective; great if you have an interference
problem. I wouldn't want to be without one. (Both of them must be manually
tuned, hence the reference to selectivity.)

This active antenna is excellent: http://www.ccrane.com/am-antenna.asp .
It also requires manual tuning. So, none of these are as simple as the
plain wire idea, but they're not hard to use, either.


--
Reply address munged. You can figure it out.

= = = Mike Lynn wrote in message
= = = ...

Anyone have an idea how I can better my reception of a local
AM station. I live in the fringe area and was curious as to
whether there is a simple improvement for the AM broadcast
band. I use a simple Panasonic portable and just want to
listen to talk-radio....
Thanks.
-mike


ML,

READ - AM/MW DXing:
Three Loop Antennas and Three 'portable' Super Radios
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/Shortw...na/message/775

Crane {Justice} AM Antenna is a "Great AM/MW Signal Magnet"
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/Shortw...na/message/615
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/Shortw...na/message/631
..
..
REMEMBER: "The AM/MW/Shortwave Antenna is 55.5% of the...
Radio/Receiver and Antenna/Ground Reception Equation"
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/Shortw...na/message/288
A Shortwave Antenna is "Equally" Important for Good Reception [.]
..
..
iane ~ RHF
..
Some Say: On A Clear Day You Can See Forever.
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/Shortw...na/message/502
I BELIEVE: On A Clear Night...
You Can Hear Forever and beyond, The Beyond !
..
..

You can build your own but it's actually not worth it.
--
Ron Hardin



I beg to differ about loops that you build are not worth it.
I designed and built many MW loops that are as good or better in some ways
that the Kiwa loop. The problems with homemade loops is poor construction.
This link has pictures of loops that I built.
http://www.frontiernet.net/~jadale/M...20Antennas.htm

Jim

In article , says...
Anyone have an idea how I can better my reception of a local AM station.
I live in the fringe area and was curious as to whether there is a
simple improvement for the AM broadcast band. I use a simple Panasonic
portable and just want to listen to talk-radio....

Not to discount what others have said about loop antennas, but the
simplest solution might be to buy a better radio. If your problem is
signal capture, which is what it sounds like from your description of
being in the fringe area, a radio with a larger internal ferrite antenna
might solve your problem. I would suggest the GE Superadio 3 or the
Grundig S-350 (also available at lower cost on ebay as the Tecsun BCL-
2000). Both have considerably longer than normal internal antennas and
do an excellent job of capturing weak signals. There is also the CCRadio
Plus from CCrane, but it's more expensive than the other two and it's
questionable whether it's worth the extra money. (I have all three and,
given what you've said, I'd probably go for the Grundig/Tecsun.)

The loop antennas mentioned by other posters will do a miraculous job of
pulling in weak signals, but, in all honesty, they're a hassle to use
for casual listening. You have to place them near the radio, rotate the
loop to get the best signal, and tune the loop in addition to tuning the
radio. If you're a dedicated listener, have the space, and intend to
listen to the same station for an extended period, then a loop might be
just the ticket. Dealing with a loop, though, is more than most people
would want to go through just to listen to talk radio.

-- Jay

As a salesman, I'll work a particular region for several weeks, and
sometimes I get addicted to a particular radio show. This summer, my day
wasn't complete unless I listened to Glenn Beck. Sometimes he would make me
laugh so hard I couldn't stand myself.

Then I had to start working from my house, and I knew I couldn't pick up his
show any more. Then it hit me that some radio stations offer Real Audio
streams. That worked perfectly! I could get his show loud and clear, even
though the nearest affiliate was a 5kw AM station over 150 miles away. Sure
it was cheating because I believe in pure dxing without any external wires
or anything, but I justified it by reasoning that I was just trying to hear
a particular program and not a particular station.

So Jay, maybe you can cheat and do it like I did!

"King Pineapple" wrote in
hlink.net:

http://www.selectatenna.com/

Obviously, the receiver has no antenna input jack. Thus throw all the loop
antenna suggestions out the window, unless you want to try and teach him
how to make a ferrite bar coupling loop.

People should take time to read thoroughly before they post solutions that
won't work.

The long wire inductively coupled is the best solution for his problem, not
a loop or a new radio.