Dear "Starman,"

The person who initiated this post cannot have an outdoor antenna of
any type. He lives in an apartment which, of course, has restrictions
(read the first letter in this post). That is why I did not even
mention an outdoor antenna.

In his particular case, he wanted to know if a Grundig Satellit 800
would be "better" than a Sony ICF-SW7600GR. I recommended that he FIRST
try an AOR WL500 Window Loop Antenna, the best antenna of its type I
have found (it delivers a better signal and affords a better
signal-to-noise ratio than, for example, the Sony AN-LP1 antenna,
though I like that antenna, especially for travel). I said to him that
if the AOR antenna improves his reception on the Sony, the Grundig will
definitely offer an improvement. If, however, he notices little or no
difference in reception with the AOR antenna over the "wire clipped to
antenna" he is currently using, then forget about the Grundig until he
moves to a different house.

But to answer your particular question, a Wellbrook ALA 330S Active
Loop Antenna will probably outperform ANY "real-world" short wave
antenna any of us are able to afford due to its great improvement in
the S/N ratio of the received signal. Certainly that is the case in the
summer when atmospheric noise is at its highest and, of course, in many
houses and neighborhoods with nearby electrical wires, street lamps,
buried cable-TV wires, computers, fluorescent lights, outdoor
"low-voltage" (read: transformers made in China) lighting, etc., etc.,
etc.

The Wellbrook is far less sensitive to the "electrical" component of
the particular frequency to which you are tuned. That makes all the
difference.

A well-built outdoor antenna - a random wire, a sloper, a dipole - will
receive more "signal" but will ALSO receive more "noise," thus
degrading the listenability of the received signal. If you are in an
electrically-quiet area, where there is little or no noise problem of
the types described above, the outdoor antenna is definitely the way to
go, at least at first.

I personally cannot have an outdoor antenna either due to homeowners'
association restrictions. The Wellbrook antenna has been like a miracle
for me! If I lived in an "ideal" world, however, I would have BOTH - an
outdoor long wire AND the Wellbrook. I can tell you, however, that I
would probably be using the Wellbrook more, especially in summer!

For most people in most situations, I feel that the Wellbrook ALA 330S
is positively the best antenna yet designed, certainly the finest
antenna I personally have experienced in well over forty years of short
wave listening.

Best,

Joe