On 1 Jun 2006 16:06:40 -0700, wrote:

I have tried a CCrane CCPlus with and without Terk AM Adavantage
antenna and while both work pretty well at home the reception in my
windowless basement office (hey, I'm new there) still sucks. I get the
same stations as I got on a cheap pocket unit just a little clearer.
Since I am in a podunk town I am stuck with local AM stations and a few
strong FM stations. AM won't even pick up over 25-30 miles so DX'ing
looks unlikely. FM is limited to about 50 miles to the north and less
than that for stations to the south (which are sadly the better ones).
I am pretty sure the Crane is going back but I like the features
AM/FM/WX/TV and the digital tuning, SW is optional to me especially in
this location. With no window satellite is out and online satellite or
streaming is also not an option. So here's my question, can anyone
reccommend a good desktop radio that has AM/FM/WX/TV and maybe SW? I
know it is trial and error but if anyone has some good advice I'd
appreciate it.

Keep the CCRadio. Its digital readout will come in handy when you know
a station's frequency but can't hear it (yet).

For AM, you need to get your hands dirty and build a rotatable loop
that you can place outside your window, with a feedline running in to
the AM antenna terminals on your CCRadio. Here's a page where you can
start, to see what you need:

http://www.schmarder.com/radios/misc-stuff/loops.htm

For FM, buy something like a GE SuperRadio. It's cheap (maybe $50) and
it has terminals for an external FM antenna. Get a rotatable
multi-element beam antenna that picks up FM stations, and put it on
your roof. Run the feedline in to your radio.

That's it. Your problem isn't your radios. Your problem is your
antennas (or lack of them).

Otherwise, get satellite radio and put the antenna outdoors, and run
the feedline in to the radio in your basement. This will probably be
your easiest choice. Ordinary AM and FM will take a lot of work, and
don't expect much in the way of AM reception until the sun goes down.

bob
k5qwg