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!

CR,

If it is one specific AM/MW Radio Station that your are interested
in then consider a Fixed Turned and Fixed Postioned Loop Antenna.

* Use your Closet Door (Back-of-Door) as "Super Loop" Antenna
[For Distance Sports/Talk Radio in the 150 Mile Daytime Range.]
http://www.hard-core-dx.com/nordicdx...oop/loop5.html
- Six to Seven Turn Tri-Angle Shaped Loop Antenna
- Two Foot Base with two equal Legs of Six Foot
- Fixed Capacitor(s) for single station tuning.

* How to Get Better AM Radio Reception
http://geocities.com/SunsetStrip/Tow...2/amradio.html

* AM ANTENNAS
http://www.abc.net.au/reception/radio/am_antenna.htm

* AM/MW Antenna Booster
http://www.abc.net.au/reception/radi...htm#am_booster

* AM/MW Loop Antenna Coupler
http://www.webex.net/~skywaves/ANTENNA/antsys.htm#loop

* AMANDX - presented by Shawn Axelrod
Build a Three or Four Foot Box Loop for the AM/MW Broadcast Band
http://www.angelfire.com/mb/amandx/loop.html
http://www.carcanada.net/dx/donloop.html
http://www.mindspring.com/~loop_antenna/

* The Australian One Metre (1m) Loop Antenna - by Werner Funkenhauser
http://www.hard-core-dx.com/nordicdx...op/1mloop.html
http://www.hard-core-dx.com/nordicdx...op/rnloop1.gif

iane ~ RHF
..
..
= = = "Corbin Ray" wrote in message
= = = ...

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!

..

(RHF) wrote in message . com...

- Fixed Capacitor(s) for single station tuning.


Speaking of fixed caps...Some of my 160m buddies and buddetts are
building loops for receive purposes. Some have wondered about
caps....I've never tried it, but for fixed single freq use, I don't
see why a length of coax couldn't be used. IE: lets say you had a loop
that needed about 75 pf to tune. RG-8 is appx 30-31?? or so pf a foot.
About a 3 ft piece *should* work. Or seems to me anyway...I prefer
variables, but this coax cap method might could work for someone that
needs a quicky cap, and has none at hand. MK

"Mark Keith" wrote in message
m...
(RHF) wrote in message
. com...

- Fixed Capacitor(s) for single station tuning.


Speaking of fixed caps...Some of my 160m buddies and buddetts are
building loops for receive purposes. Some have wondered about
caps....I've never tried it, but for fixed single freq use, I don't
see why a length of coax couldn't be used. IE: lets say you had a loop
that needed about 75 pf to tune. RG-8 is appx 30-31?? or so pf a foot.
About a 3 ft piece *should* work. Or seems to me anyway...I prefer
variables, but this coax cap method might could work for someone that
needs a quicky cap, and has none at hand. MK

The oscillator section of a standard AMBCB variable would be right in that
range.. or, for cheap, quick and (not so) dirty, there are lots of 100pF
mica trimmers available..