New User - New Receiver - Reception Questions
 

On 15 Dec 2005 21:22:36 -0800, wrote:


No doubt, though I suspected that. I must confess that it's been fun
trying to ascertain the problem, but it would be oh so more delightful
if I new that I wasn't dealing with a defective radio - both the
manufacturer and the retailer are unwilling to make a call one way or
another. I would have infinitely more energy in trying to hunt down
stations and hatch elaborate antenna plans if I new that there was
definately a possibility of a positive outcome. As it stands, I may be
trying to start a car with no engine - all the while worrying about the
path I'm going to travel.
Put the radio next to an analog TV. Tune from 4 to 10 megaHertz. You
should get all manner of buzzes and whistles. Good and loud.

Tune to an empty spot on the MW band around 600 kiloHertz. Then take
an infrared remote controller (cable, VCR, whatever) and operate it
near the top of the radio. You should hear Buck Rogers machine gun
sounds.

New User - New Receiver - Reception Questions
 

You can hear keyboard clicks too with a radio if the radio volume is
turned up enough and if the radio is near your keyboard.
cuhulin

New User - New Receiver - Reception Questions
 

In article .com,
wrote:
Progress!

Thanks go to Telamon for posting a timely message. I grabbed my radio
and went out into the park. Not hard to do, as I live essentially in
one. I walked between 50 and 100 yards into the middle of the park,
sat down on a bench and fired up the radio. I tooled around the 49m
band as Telamon suggested and I'm pleased to report that the results
were extremely encouraging. Not sure why I wasn't having better
results the other night when I was miles away from nowhere...

It's called "space weather". It's been pretty dreadful for the last
week or so and is now much better. For a rather cryptic introduction
listen to WWV at 18 minutes past the hour (45 past for WWVH in Hawaii).

Mark Zenier
Googleproofaddress(account:mzenier provider:eskimo domain:com)

Peter:
Regarding the E1, I would recommend paying careful attention to the portability aspect. For me, price was the main consideration when buying my first receiver (Kaito 1102) but the portability turned out to be a great advantage.

Have you listened to the radio in the AM and FM bands? How does it sound there? How does it compare to other AM / FM radios? I'm asking to help determine if the noise reception is specific to shortwave or if it affects the radio as a whole.

If you tune the radio to a weak/noisy shortwave broadcast, are there reception differences when you're holding onto the radio compared to when you're not touching it?

My hunch is that upgrading to a more powerful radio would not provide dramatically clearer reception. If you're just trying to improve shortwave reception, that's probably not a wise investment.

The best indicator would be if you could get your hands on a radio known to receive strong broadcasts in your area and do a side-by-side test.

Failing that, if you can make a risk-free exchange with Universal Radio, try a different radio. The Kaito 1103 gets excellent reviews (see radiointel.com for a review and a mention in Phil's Portable Radio Guide 2005). A radio like that should give you clear reception once you have minimized interference sources.

This is not necessarily true. Telamon and I are both in California, where we manage to pick up the BBC, but the BBC broadcast is not actually intended for North America. It's actually a broadcast to Latin America. You can learn more about this on primetimeshortwave.com and savebbc.org.

New User - New Receiver - Reception Questions
 

weatherall wrote:
Have you listened to the radio in the AM and FM bands? How does it
sound there? How does it compare to other AM / FM radios? I'm asking
to help determine if the noise reception is specific to shortwave or if
it affects the radio as a whole.

It definately seems as if the problem is isolated to the shortwave
bands, as both the AM and FM come in loud and clear, and I daresay even
affords better reception than the other AM/FM radios in my house.


If you tune the radio to a weak/noisy shortwave broadcast, are there
reception differences when you're holding onto the radio compared to
when you're not touching it?

Only insofar as the quality of static changes. ;-)


The best indicator would be if you could get your hands on a radio
known to receive strong broadcasts in your area and do a side-by-side
test.

Unfortunately not a possibility. I also loved the recommendation of
buying another YB 400PE and putting them side-by-side, but
unfortunately I don't have any local retailers. Seems that all the
standard electronics chains stop just short of the YB 400.

Failing that, if you can make a risk-free exchange with Universal
Radio, try a different radio.

I'm going to have them bench test the current radio. Hopefully they'll
turn up a problem with it, for if they don't god only knows what the
issue is.

Last night I tried 20+ feet of long wire antenna out the window on all
of the time signals frequencies. Not a single one came in, save the
weak one from Canada on 3330. Most importantly, there was no change in
reception whatsoever between using the long wire and not. That is, in
my opinion, indicative of something, as most people seem to agree that
20+ feet should create a decided change in reception. Moreover, most
everyone seems to agree that the US time broadcasts - from Colorado
with significant power - should be received without issue. I don't get
them at all. Not even a hint of a weak reception. Just static.

On another note... What I'm about to say shouldn't impact the previous
discussions about reception and my radio, as I've tried numerous tests
in remote locations as well, but I do have a question about the
possibility of my building itself being used as an antenna.

I live in a rather curious building - an old converted railroad
warehouse. To the best of my knowledge, and given the creaks in the
floor ;-), most of the internal construction is wood - big exposed
beams and all. The outside, however, looks like a massive (quite
unattractive actually, but I like to say "eclectic") tin can. It is
sided all around, from top to bottom (three floors), but
aluminum-looking siding, raw color and all. I saw mention in another
thread of someone attaching a long wire antenna to a rain gutter. I
wonder, would attaching a long wire to my siding render the entire
building into an antenna? I know nothing about the propagation of
waves over differing materials, so I'm uncertain as to whether or not
this would be effective, or perhaps even have a negative impact.

-P

New User - New Receiver - Reception Questions
 

New User - New Receiver - Reception Questions
 

Pete:

If the entire building exterior is coated with aluminum this could explain
the reception problem but you said you have taken the radio outside and also
strung up a 20 foot antenna outside with little or no positive results. In
my opinion the radio is defective. Contact Universal ASAP.

Have you thought about the Sony 7600 instead? It is rated somewhat better
than the Yacht Boy 400 and can't be more than $20-$30 more. I would pay that
much more just for the sync detector the Sony has.

One other thing to keep in mind, you have about $130 in the YB 400 already.
That's a good step forward toward getting a radio in the $500 range if you
think you are going to get into this pretty seriously. If nothing else I
would consider getting the Sony 7600 for just a little bit more money.

I hope this helps.

New User - New Receiver - Reception Questions
 

In article .com,
wrote:

GYT wrote:
If the entire building exterior is coated with aluminum this could explain
the reception problem

So what you're saying is that I *can't* use it as an antenna, eh? ;-)

but you said you have taken the radio outside and also
strung up a 20 foot antenna outside with little or no positive results.

Exactly. I've tried it all, with no positive results.

Snip

The aluminum exterior is a problem but if you place the radio near a
window it could still work inside and you indicated that the lower
frequency AM broadcast band comes through then so should SW at higher
frequencies.

Looks like the radio has a problem on SW.

--
Telamon
Ventura, California

New User - New Receiver - Reception Questions
 

In article .com,
wrote:

Telamon wrote:

The aluminum exterior is a problem

Just confirmed - or so my magnets say - that the siding is in fact
steel and not aluminum. I realize that this is still a problem, but
ever curious about the possibilities of using the house as an antenna I
nevertheless searched through all of the posts on the group regarding
steel siding and the verdict seems to be "it's worth a shot, but it
could go either way". It certainly didn't help with the current radio,
now highly under suspicion of being a lemon and on its way back to
Universal. I'll explore the possibilities again once I confirm that I
have a new, working radio.

Snip

Steel or aluminum are metals and will shield the interior from RF energy.

There are big holes in the shielding though comprised of doors and
windows and maybe the roof that lets the energy in. The waves are
smaller at higher frequencies and so if lower frequencies are getting
through then higher frequencies should also make it through.

Your reception should be better near the openings in the shielding. You
may be able to tell this with the weaker signals to your area where
there may be no noticeable difference with a strong station.

--
Telamon
Ventura, California

New User - New Receiver - Reception Questions
 

In article .com,
"MojaveDxer" wrote:

It's really hard to say if the radio is defective since propogation
has not been so hot this week and Peter does not really know what to
do. Peter you need to get the radio way from the condo and bring the
wind up antenna with you. Go to the a park or anywhere outside and
connect the wind up antenna strech it out over the ground. Dont use
the scan mode but tune the bands manually. Set the tune rate to 5 kz
and fine tune to 1 kz. The 49 meter band should be alive
and full of signals at sunset your time. Start at 5900 mz and tune in
5 kz steps. Unless there is solar flair-out going you should be
receiving something on 49 meters. If this is a no go then send the
Yachboy back. The best portable setup I have come across is the Sangean
909 paired with the Sony AN-LP1 travel loop. This will set you back
$350 US but is a pretty good setup to start with.

That was earlier this week. Conditions have been generally good the last
couple of days. Peter is further north than I am so his reception will
certainly be more affected by any solar disturbance of the ionosphere.

--
Telamon
Ventura, California

New User - New Receiver - Reception Questions
 

PeterCal...,

Here are a few prior Messages to Read that may interest you :

Grundig Yacht Boy 400 PE Radio
- - - Think "Portable Wire Antenna" (PWA)
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/Shortw...a/message/6688
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/Grundi...os/message/932
http://groups.google.com/group/rec.r...9457ce8e8879c9


So you have a Grundig Yacht Boy 400 PE or the re-badged
Grundig G4000A 'portable' AM/FM Shortwave Radio.
http://groups.google.com/group/rec.r...1d3229ef6973b6


Two Things that most 'portable' AM/FM Shortwave Radios Could Use
for "Improved" Shortwave Radio Listening (SWL) :
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/Shortw...a/message/5867
http://groups.google.com/group/rec.r...3b6d9bcdb872a8


Consider building and using the "Portable Wire Antenna" (PWA)
with your 'portable' AM/FM Shortwave Radio
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/Shortw...a/message/2758
http://groups.google.com/group/rec.r...990162f5b6eb0e


ABOUT - Portable "Roll-Up" {Reel-Up} Shortwave Antennas :
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/Shortw...a/message/2761
http://groups.google.com/group/rec.r...6c0be99497442f


READ - Compilation of "Portable Wire Antenna" (PWA) Messages
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/Shortw...a/message/5871

ALSO - 100 Foot Wire Antenna Hook-Up ?
{ with a 'portable' AM/FM Shortwave Radio }
- - - Think "Portable Wire Antenna" (PWA)
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/Shortw...a/message/5894


hope this helps - iane ~ RHF

New User - New Receiver - Reception Questions
 

Pete,

What did you find out about the radio you sent back to Universal? And what
about the reception problems? Where are you at on this situation?





wrote in message
ups.com...
Though I'm not a non-technical person, my area of expertise - or even
moderate knowledge - does not rest in the realm of shortwave radios.
However, I've always had an interest in pursuing the subject, and
towards that end my wife was kind enough to buy me a Grundig Yacht Boy
400PE for the holidays.

My problem is this. After reading the entire manual, reading the
Passport text and taking the plunge into the world of sw radio, I'm
having trouble getting reception for stations that I would expect to
get.

I live in the northeast United States (northern New England). My condo
is on the third (top) floor of a 15 unit building. My living room
window looks out onto a massive lake with no building in the way
through an 8 foot by 8 foot window. I have placed the receiver in this
window and even covered the window in an X pattern with the external
reel antenna.

Nevertheless, I can't get even a single station that Passport
recommends in the "First Tries: Ten Easy Catches" section. I've been
listening at night and the band that Grundig recommends as "Good all
night everywhere" in the 400PE manual - the 31m band - doesn't have a
single frequency that comes in for me. Neither does the 41m band -
also recommended as good all night in Northeastern America. The best
I've been able to manage are two frequencies in the 49m band - one of
which appears to be China Radio International on 5950. Neither of
these are terribly clear at that, and the best reception that I've been
able to get is with WWCR.

Does anyone have any recommendations? Being new to this, I don't know
what I should reasonably expect. Should I expect to be able to pick up
a variety of things with moderate clarity. I know that this is all
variable on many conditions, but realistically, what should I be
expecting here?

Thanks for your help.

New User - New Receiver - Reception Questions
 

Thanks for keeping up the investigation!

Unfortunately I'm still waiting. :-(

I'll keep you posted!