Hello,
I am hoping someone here has some concrete suggestions on how to solve a
vexing problem with my shortwave listening.

I live in an apartment complex which does not allow outside antennas. I
solved the problem by sticking pushpins in the wall around the window in my
room and winding a hundred feet of insulated hookup wire around them. The
antenna is vertically oriented and facing north. The tv hum wipes out
everything in some bands, particularly in the range of 4.7 to 5.2 or so. It
is worse than than the dsl interference. The place is wired for tv cable and
dsl, although I don't have dsl S.

Replies gratefully received S.





Peace +

ShortwaveMan wrote:

Hello,
I am hoping someone here has some concrete suggestions on how to solve a
vexing problem with my shortwave listening.

I live in an apartment complex which does not allow outside antennas. I
solved the problem by sticking pushpins in the wall around the window in my
room and winding a hundred feet of insulated hookup wire around them. The
antenna is vertically oriented and facing north. The tv hum wipes out
everything in some bands, particularly in the range of 4.7 to 5.2 or so. It
is worse than than the dsl interference. The place is wired for tv cable and
dsl, although I don't have dsl S.

Replies gratefully received S.


You might want to consider buying a TimeWave ANC-4 unit (see URL:
http://www.timewave.com/)

These are great for electrical intference, computer interference and
many many types. I too at times run indoor ants for receiving and the
ANC units will kill most interference.

I also on the Ham Bands use a Yaesu FT-847 for HF and at times my 52"
RCA bigscreen will cause a few s-units of noise, again the ANC-4 will
take 100% of it out.

George - Daytona Beach, FL
http://www.MilAirComms.com

Damned earthlink - no html posts.
Anyway, thanks for the info GeorgeF.
Have had some decent reception today - most of the time not so good. I have
been trying to hear RAI on 11.800 and there used to be some brazilians
11.9xx - have you run across any such ?
Thanks for the reply.

"GeorgeF" wrote in message
nk.net...
ShortwaveMan wrote:

Hello,
I am hoping someone here has some concrete suggestions on how to solve a
vexing problem with my shortwave listening.

I live in an apartment complex which does not allow outside antennas. I
solved the problem by sticking pushpins in the wall around the window in
my room and winding a hundred feet of insulated hookup wire around them.
The antenna is vertically oriented and facing north. The tv hum wipes out
everything in some bands, particularly in the range of 4.7 to 5.2 or so.
It is worse than than the dsl interference. The place is wired for tv
cable and dsl, although I don't have dsl S.

Replies gratefully received S.


You might want to consider buying a TimeWave ANC-4 unit (see URL:
http://www.timewave.com/)

These are great for electrical intference, computer interference and many
many types. I too at times run indoor ants for receiving and the ANC
units will kill most interference.

I also on the Ham Bands use a Yaesu FT-847 for HF and at times my 52" RCA
bigscreen will cause a few s-units of noise, again the ANC-4 will take
100% of it out.

George - Daytona Beach, FL
http://www.MilAirComms.com

Hi GeorgeF,
Thanks for the info. Today has been fairly decent for reception, unlike
recently. I have been hunting for RAI Rome Italy without much success, and
R. Educacion Mexico City as well. Also, there used to be some brazilian
stations in 25 meters around 11.9xx - have you come across any such signals
where you are (where are you s) ? I live in the Puget Sound region
(Seattle). TNX
"GeorgeF" wrote in message
nk.net...
ShortwaveMan wrote:

Hello,
I am hoping someone here has some concrete suggestions on how to solve a
vexing problem with my shortwave listening.

I live in an apartment complex which does not allow outside antennas. I
solved the problem by sticking pushpins in the wall around the window in
my
room and winding a hundred feet of insulated hookup wire around them. The
antenna is vertically oriented and facing north. The tv hum wipes out
everything in some bands, particularly in the range of 4.7 to 5.2 or so.
It
is worse than than the dsl interference. The place is wired for tv cable
and
dsl, although I don't have dsl S.

Replies gratefully received S.


You might want to consider buying a TimeWave ANC-4 unit (see URL:
http://www.timewave.com/)

These are great for electrical intference, computer interference and
many many types. I too at times run indoor ants for receiving and the
ANC units will kill most interference.

I also on the Ham Bands use a Yaesu FT-847 for HF and at times my 52"
RCA bigscreen will cause a few s-units of noise, again the ANC-4 will
take 100% of it out.

George - Daytona Beach, FL
http://www.MilAirComms.com

antenna is vertically oriented and facing north. The tv hum wipes out
everything in some bands, particularly in the range of 4.7 to 5.2 or so.

I doubt if this may help (it never did for me) but FWIW, try a high pass
filter
or two on the coax input to the TV(s).

Dear ShortwaveMan,

I don't know what your apartment is like or what you are prepared to
do, but I had a similar problem. As a matter of fact, last year I was
quite desperate. I live in a small townhouse and the community is a
source of EXTREME local electrical noise, what with Christmas lights,
computers, often-defective LP Sodium and Mercury Arc-vapor street
lights, and high-tension lines not a quarter mile away. You can imagine
what all of the above did to my SW listening. I won't go into the
various "fixes" I tried over the years (they have been "posted" on this
site and elsewhere), but I FINALLY found the one! It is the Wellbrook
ALA 330S Active Loop Antenna.

You can investigate it he

http://www.wellbrook.uk.com/

Note it is quite expensive (probably around $400 now, due to the poor
dollar-to-pound ratio), somewhat convoluted to buy (I bought mine from
THE SHORTWAVE SHOP in the UK, the only dealer which sells it. They
accept credit cards. You can buy from the factory, but only with a
check), and it's BIG - the loop is about 3-feet in diameter. I have
mine mounted in my attic, but mounting is not critical. It COULD be
mounted in your room (near a window) if your significant other is
broad-minded, outside mounted on a deck, if you have one, or some other
"creative" place,

This antenna is positively FANTASTIC. It dramatically lowers both
atmospheric AND local electrical noise. In other words, it greatly
increases the signal-to-noise ratio of the signal you are trying to
hear.

An example: I live on the East Coast of the US, yet I have been able to
regularly hear Radio Australia's 2200 - 2400 UTC broadcast on 21740
kHz. The signal comes in at only S4 - S7, but is perfectly clear and
fully listenable.

At the very least, look it up on the web. I completely sympathize with
your problem and I hope you are able to come up with a satisfactory
solution.

Best,

Joe

Thanks Joe. Can you give me any idea of how it is constructed ? The US West
Coast does not enjoy as good reception as other areas of the world s, so
it is a bit of a challenge. Thanks again.


"Joe Analssandrini" wrote in message
oups.com...
Dear ShortwaveMan,

I don't know what your apartment is like or what you are prepared to
do, but I had a similar problem. As a matter of fact, last year I was
quite desperate. I live in a small townhouse and the community is a
source of EXTREME local electrical noise, what with Christmas lights,
computers, often-defective LP Sodium and Mercury Arc-vapor street
lights, and high-tension lines not a quarter mile away. You can imagine
what all of the above did to my SW listening. I won't go into the
various "fixes" I tried over the years (they have been "posted" on this
site and elsewhere), but I FINALLY found the one! It is the Wellbrook
ALA 330S Active Loop Antenna.

You can investigate it he

http://www.wellbrook.uk.com/

Note it is quite expensive (probably around $400 now, due to the poor
dollar-to-pound ratio), somewhat convoluted to buy (I bought mine from
THE SHORTWAVE SHOP in the UK, the only dealer which sells it. They
accept credit cards. You can buy from the factory, but only with a
check), and it's BIG - the loop is about 3-feet in diameter. I have
mine mounted in my attic, but mounting is not critical. It COULD be
mounted in your room (near a window) if your significant other is
broad-minded, outside mounted on a deck, if you have one, or some other
"creative" place,

This antenna is positively FANTASTIC. It dramatically lowers both
atmospheric AND local electrical noise. In other words, it greatly
increases the signal-to-noise ratio of the signal you are trying to
hear.

An example: I live on the East Coast of the US, yet I have been able to
regularly hear Radio Australia's 2200 - 2400 UTC broadcast on 21740
kHz. The signal comes in at only S4 - S7, but is perfectly clear and
fully listenable.

At the very least, look it up on the web. I completely sympathize with
your problem and I hope you are able to come up with a satisfactory
solution.

Best,

Joe

Hi ShortwaveMan,

Sorry for the delayed reply; I don't go on the internet everyday. The
loop is made of aluminum and is about 3-feet in diameter. The antenna
interface and power supply is located somewhere conveniently near your
receiver. You can see pictures of the unit on the website.

The antenna does not feature exceptional gain; that is not its design
goal. What it DOES do (and EXTREMELY well) is to lower atmospheric and
local electrical noise relative to the signal. In other words, this
antenna greatly augments the signal-to-noise ratio of the short wave
signal. If it is there, you will be able to hear it. If one is in an
electrically quiet area, a long wire will do as well or better in the
winter, though not necessarily in the summer. However, in your
circumstances, it may be your best choice.

Of course, we have to be practical in today's world and there is no
denying that it is a costly piece of equipment (though you only have to
buy it once; you will probably change radios many times if you stay in
this hobby long enough).

Check it out. (That costs you nothing!)

Best,

Joe

ShortwaveMan wrote:
Thanks Joe. Can you give me any idea of how it is constructed ? The
US West
Coast does not enjoy as good reception as other areas of the world
s, so
it is a bit of a challenge. Thanks again.


"Joe Analssandrini" wrote in message
oups.com...
Dear ShortwaveMan,

I don't know what your apartment is like or what you are prepared
to
do, but I had a similar problem. As a matter of fact, last year I
was
quite desperate. I live in a small townhouse and the community is a
source of EXTREME local electrical noise, what with Christmas
lights,
computers, often-defective LP Sodium and Mercury Arc-vapor street
lights, and high-tension lines not a quarter mile away. You can
imagine
what all of the above did to my SW listening. I won't go into the
various "fixes" I tried over the years (they have been "posted" on
this
site and elsewhere), but I FINALLY found the one! It is the
Wellbrook
ALA 330S Active Loop Antenna.

You can investigate it he

http://www.wellbrook.uk.com/

Note it is quite expensive (probably around $400 now, due to the
poor
dollar-to-pound ratio), somewhat convoluted to buy (I bought mine
from
THE SHORTWAVE SHOP in the UK, the only dealer which sells it. They
accept credit cards. You can buy from the factory, but only with a
check), and it's BIG - the loop is about 3-feet in diameter. I have
mine mounted in my attic, but mounting is not critical. It COULD be
mounted in your room (near a window) if your significant other is
broad-minded, outside mounted on a deck, if you have one, or some
other
"creative" place,

This antenna is positively FANTASTIC. It dramatically lowers both
atmospheric AND local electrical noise. In other words, it greatly
increases the signal-to-noise ratio of the signal you are trying to
hear.

An example: I live on the East Coast of the US, yet I have been
able to
regularly hear Radio Australia's 2200 - 2400 UTC broadcast on
21740
kHz. The signal comes in at only S4 - S7, but is perfectly clear
and
fully listenable.

At the very least, look it up on the web. I completely sympathize
with
your problem and I hope you are able to come up with a satisfactory
solution.

Best,

Joe

Hello Leonard,

I hope you have read some of my previous posts so that you know about
the terrible reception conditions and the local "covenant restrictions"
of my townhome association which precludes outdoor antennas.

That said, I have tried many, many antennas here over the years: "long"
wires (coiled and straight) in my listening room and my attic with and
without MFJ-1020, MFJ-1020B antenna tuners and a number of other
"homebrew" and purchased types.

I tried the Sony AN-LP1 Active Loop Antenna which, though it works well
with my Sony ICF-SW7600G and 'GR models, does not provide satisfactory
performance with my Grundig Satellit 800 or my AOR AR7030 Plus.

I major step up is the AOR WL500 Window Loop Antenna. This antenna
provides better gain that the Sony and greatly lowers the noise level
on many short wave signals. Still, while it is quite good for the
"powerhouse" stations (and even for some DXing), it is not a "great"
antenna in my location, though, when I purchased it, it was a major
step up in my reception.

Having seen the improvement the AOR WL500 antenna made, I figured that
the Wellbrook should be even better.

The Wellbrook ALA 330S Active Loop Antenna is a "great" antenna. Check
it out for yourself on the Wellbrook website (quoted above) and look on
the web (and on this group) for others' impressions.

It has greatly improved my ability to DX (both on SW and, though I do
not do it often nor is it supposedly designed to do so, on MW).

It is of course difficult to justify spending $400+ on something based
just on my enthusiastic recommendation. I bought mine because I was
desperate and had been reading the good reviews the antenna had gotten
in PASSPORT (see reviews in 2003, 2004, and now 2005) and WRTH (see its
2005 edition).

I can only tell you that, in my location, where I have EXTREME (take it
from me on that account) local electrical noise and limitations on the
antennas I can use, it has totally revolutionized my short wave
listening experience.

Best,

Joe

good post Joe. I'm with Joe on this loop. i'm also no expert
on this subject. but, i ordered my wellbrook loop the first of
dec. 04, and it should be here the end of jan. i'm also sold on
loops. i use the torus/Ed loop here on the portable's i like to
play with. i've not tried it on my desktops. i will suggest a
good reference book- Joe Carr's "Loop antenna handbook". produced
and printed by universal radio research, (www.DXing.com). lot of
good info in there. and, RHF can tell you about loops also. he
advocates the yahoo groups, which i also read a few times a week.
lot of info with a google search too. i remember a post here on
the "pizza box loop", last year i believe. easy projects and fun.
the first i tried a loop, and found the null, i was hooked. try a
cheapie home brew. you may be surprised. i was..
good DX...
Drifter...