" wrote:

Hi--

I have a Realistic DX-160 in very nice conditiion I bought about 10
years ago (for $15!). My current living situation in Los Angeles no
longer affords me the luxury of an outdoor antenna, so I am using 40
ft. of 16 gauge copper speaker wire running along the ceiling moulding
as my antenna.

(ALSO: the DX-160 is in the same room with a lot of other electronic
equipment: computer, TV, stereo, audio recording equipment, mixer,
etc.)

I've read a lot in this newsgroup about modifying the DX-160, but as my
radio engineering skills are in their infancy, I've decided on
improving my antenna situation. It seems preselectors or the 9:1
matching transformer have favorable reviews here but I'd lke to know:

1) The DX-160 has an Antenna trim knob, so is a preselctor redundant?
2) The 9:1 matching impedance transformer is intriguing, but can they
be found/purchased already built?

Thanks in advance for any input!

SWS

If it were me, I'd sell the DX-160 and use the money I got for it, along with the money I was planning to spend on a preselector or mlb to buy a better radio.

I suspect a $75 Kaito or Degen 1103 would be easier to tune, more stable, and at least as sensitive as your DX-160.

For about $150 you could get a Sony 7600GR - it's one of the better portables, and has a good sync detector.

If you're willing to spend a little more, you'll have other options.

The thing is even if you added $1,000 of accessories to your DX-160, the heart of your system is still going to be a "nothing special" radio.

Making your own MLB really is easy, but with a 300 ohm antenna input, you'd want something in the range of 1.5:1 for a random wire.

I normally prefer MLB's to preselectors because I'd just as soon have fewer things to tweak, but on the DX-160, a preselector might do more for you than a MLB.

But a decent modern portable with a simple loop around the ceiling will probably give you the most bang for the buck.