ICF-SW7600GR -- Best active antenna?
 

I just bought a Sony ICF-SW7600GR and it should arrive this week.

I live inside city limits in Lexington, KY where I don't have the ability to string antennas. Consequently, I am looking at buying an active antenna for this unit.

Any suggestions where to begin?

SONY AN-LP1

and

You might be able to string antenna wire between two windows..

I'm too looking to buy this antenna for my new 7600gr.
often i can see _tune_ displayed on my receiver but can only hear static.
with my windup antenna i can definatelly see boost in performance.
Can anyone confirm that i will see a comparable improvement
when getting this new active antenna. Price is a little steep at 100$
so im wondering if it's going to be a slight improvement or a sizeable
improvement.

thank you

wrote in message
ups.com...

SONY AN-LP1

and

You might be able to string antenna wire between two windows..

wrote:
I just bought a Sony ICF-SW7600GR and it should arrive this week.

I live inside city limits in Lexington, KY where I don't have the ability to string antennas. Consequently, I am looking at buying an active antenna for this unit.

Any suggestions where to begin?

My first suggestion would be to try the radio with just the whip
antenna. I think you will be pleasantly surprised at how many signals
that set will pick up. Portables like the 7600 and DE1103 are quite
sensitive and designed to work effectively with the built in antenna.


Next try a simple wire antenna. - just make one from stranded wire if
your 7600 doesn't come with one. One of the best ways to position a
wire antenna is to run it around the perimeter of the window in your
listening room.

To be honest I don't think you will get any more signals with an
amplified Sony antenna than you will get with a simple wire.

Hmmm. I wonder if an H-800 Skymatch antenna would be too much for a
7600GR. Maybe someone in the group has tried this and can report the
results? The H-800 is far more antenna than the AN-LP1, but will only
cost around $40 more. And the real advantage of the H-800 is that you
could locate it outside your window, on the roof, etc., since what you
really need to do is get an antenna *outside*. I guess you could always
get an inexpensive highpass filter if the H-800 gave you problems with
overload. The H-800 is very small and very quiet. In fact, it's as
quiet as the spot its located in. I recommend it highly.

Hello.

I would first recommend that you try using the receiver with just its
whip antenna. Place the radio as near to a window as possible (or use
it outside, just as an experiment). Then try the included wind-up
antenna; frankly, I personally have had little luck with that wind-up,
but, as you'll already have it, it's certainly worth trying.

There are two antennas which I use with my ICF-SW7600G's and 'GR's: for
travel and for general use, I use the Sony AN-LP1 Active Loop Antenna,
which works very well with the '7600 and is superb for travel.

For more critical use, I recommend the AOR WL500 Window Loop Antenna, a
superb instrument. It is expensive, but, in my opinion, worth every
cent. Generally I use the AOR antenna with my Grundig Satellit 800,
but, as I bought adapters which allow me to use it with my '7600's, I
often listen with it. The WL500 is a superior antenna to the AN-LP1,
but I would recommend that, if you determine you need/want an external
antenna, try the AN-LP1 first. (Don't pay more than $90.00 for it; that
is list price and Universal, AES, and some other reputable dealers sell
it for that. I have seen it going for much more[!] on E-bay,)

The AOR WL500 is $200.00 (it doesn't LOOK as though it should cost that
much but, believe me, appearances are deceiving) and you'll need a
couple of $5.00 adapters from the Radio Shack to connect it to the
'7600.

I wish you the best of luck and enjoyment from your new Sony
ICF-SW7600GR. You'll never regret the purchase.

Best,

Joe

isn't AN-LP1 a shielded loop antenna as well?


"craigm" wrote in message
...

Sounds like noise is a big issue where you are at. Try a Google search
for "shielded loop antenna". They are cheap to build and may help you out.

craigm

wrote:
I just bought a Sony ICF-SW7600GR and it should arrive this week.

I live inside city limits in Lexington, KY where I don't have the ability to string antennas. Consequently, I am looking at buying an active antenna for this unit.

Any suggestions where to begin?


Begin HE Kit costs less than $50.00

http://www.northcountryradio.com/Pub...0896/page1.htm

Here in Winter Garden florida, several hundred feet from a high tension
line I am receiving portions of the HF bands hitherto unreceivable on
vertical slinky or the DX 398 whip

During it's first opersation It received eastern Med, South America,
Europe, Greece,

NEVER RECEIVED CITIZEN'S BAND BEFORE. I CAN with the North County Antenna

I received (tho sometimes couldnt copy) stations all the way into the 11
M band. Before I couldnt get higher than 15 M with my Slinky

It even works well on 75M which demands a LOOOONG WIRE.

The antenna doesnt seem to introduce noise and I am receiving FAR more
than I did without it.

My preconceived reservations about active antennas are kaPUT!

Before the North County Radio antenna I couldnt receive distant 40M
stations, tho this morning I am receiving central Michigan stations,
Missouri,South Carolina, Washington DC,Texas stations, W or KI 1's,
2's ,3's ,5's 4's,9's,0's

Cut lil' thang! Mebbe 30" long

http://www.northcountryradio.com/Pub...0896/page1.htm

I PVC'd it onto 10 foot of heavy PVC pipe strapped to
my porch fed with interior-type TV video cable (RG 6?)
and radio hooked up with RG 174u (?) that real skinny
coax


Yodar

asdf wrote:
isn't AN-LP1 a shielded loop antenna as well?


"craigm" wrote in message
...


Sounds like noise is a big issue where you are at. Try a Google search
for "shielded loop antenna". They are cheap to build and may help you out.

craigm




I don't think so. It's amplified and tuned, but I see no information
saying it is shielded.

However, a connector and some coax will allow you to build a loop for
less than $5.00.

craigm

wrote:

I just bought a Sony ICF-SW7600GR and it should arrive this week.

I live inside city limits in Lexington, KY where I don't have the ability
to string antennas.

Consequently, I am looking at buying an active antenna for this unit.

Any suggestions where to begin?

What no-one has mentioned up to now is the sort of problems you might
be facing, and how various solutions deal with them.

Here are some (simplified) facts:

[ ] Radio signals are electromagnetic waves

[ ] Electromagnetic waves have electric and magnetic components

[ ] A whip or wire antenna picks up the electric part of the signal

[ ] A loop antenna picks up the magnetic part of the signal

[ ] The local man-made radio background consists of electric noise

[ ] Signal-to-noise ratio is everything

What you can draw from this is that, if you have an electrically-noisy
environment, the loop antenna can help. It will receive less noise. It
can't help with 'atmospheric' noise, and neither can a whip or wire.

You can mount a loop antenna in a window, as you can a wire antenna,
and you can place your receiver there and extend the whip. With wires
and loops you can have them in the window, and have a 'lead-in' to
your radio.

You can do this very cheaply: You'll need an antenna jack plug for
your radio. Measure the length around the perimeter of your window
frame, and add say 15 feet. Get some single flexible insulated cable
of this length - it isn't critical. It could be 'earthing cable' or
whatever you have to hand. Tape the cable around the perimeter of your
window, so that the two 'tails' from each end are about the same
length. Twist the tails together. Remove the insulation from each end
for about 1/4", and connect one to the antenna connector connector
inner, and one to the outer. You can feed the wire through the holes
and twist them in place. Make sure they don't short or you won't get
any signal! You can now happily try receiving signals with the radio's
whip, and with your loop antenna. It won't cost much at all.

It won't be pretty, either, but it'll get you started.

Why is the window important? It probably furthest away from the
electrical noise, and nearest the radio signals, which can be severely
reduced by any metal frame of the building.

This is a great hobby. Enjoy it!

thank you for this amazing post. I just have one question;
You say that i can use telescopic antenna as well as loop antenna
simulatenously with my radio. The manual for my Sony 7600GR
however says that when i use external antenna (loop antenna)
that my telescopic is supposed to be retracted. Any reason you
can think why would that be.

"Imat LaRoche-Guyon" wrote in message
...
wrote:

I just bought a Sony ICF-SW7600GR and it should arrive this week.

I live inside city limits in Lexington, KY where I don't have the ability
to string antennas.

Consequently, I am looking at buying an active antenna for this unit.

Any suggestions where to begin?

What no-one has mentioned up to now is the sort of problems you might
be facing, and how various solutions deal with them.

Here are some (simplified) facts:

[ ] Radio signals are electromagnetic waves

[ ] Electromagnetic waves have electric and magnetic components

[ ] A whip or wire antenna picks up the electric part of the signal

[ ] A loop antenna picks up the magnetic part of the signal

[ ] The local man-made radio background consists of electric noise

[ ] Signal-to-noise ratio is everything

What you can draw from this is that, if you have an electrically-noisy
environment, the loop antenna can help. It will receive less noise. It
can't help with 'atmospheric' noise, and neither can a whip or wire.

You can mount a loop antenna in a window, as you can a wire antenna,
and you can place your receiver there and extend the whip. With wires
and loops you can have them in the window, and have a 'lead-in' to
your radio.

You can do this very cheaply: You'll need an antenna jack plug for
your radio. Measure the length around the perimeter of your window
frame, and add say 15 feet. Get some single flexible insulated cable
of this length - it isn't critical. It could be 'earthing cable' or
whatever you have to hand. Tape the cable around the perimeter of your
window, so that the two 'tails' from each end are about the same
length. Twist the tails together. Remove the insulation from each end
for about 1/4", and connect one to the antenna connector connector
inner, and one to the outer. You can feed the wire through the holes
and twist them in place. Make sure they don't short or you won't get
any signal! You can now happily try receiving signals with the radio's
whip, and with your loop antenna. It won't cost much at all.

It won't be pretty, either, but it'll get you started.

Why is the window important? It probably furthest away from the
electrical noise, and nearest the radio signals, which can be severely
reduced by any metal frame of the building.

This is a great hobby. Enjoy it!

I own a TERK TV50 antenna I bought for five dollars at the Goodwill
store a few months ago.I was wondering if it would make a good shortwave
radio antenna?
cuhulin

On Tue, 30 Aug 2005 20:12:00 -0400, "asdf"
wrote:

thank you for this amazing post. I just have one question;
You say that i can use telescopic antenna as well as loop antenna
simulatenously with my radio. The manual for my Sony 7600GR
however says that when i use external antenna (loop antenna)
that my telescopic is supposed to be retracted. Any reason you
can think why would that be.


No one's replied so if I may: The 7600GR AM and SW RF amplifiers
are simply connected in parallel, with no on-off switching, to the
mixer. The high 55MHz 1st IF gives very good AM broadcast band
image rejection in SW but is less effective conversely. The whip
also (as pointed out here) picks up noise and that addition may
contrubute to overloading the mixer and AGC circuit which now
(with a an external antenna) has very high input.