I've seen people reference a news group for radios and am wondering which
one (found many radio related newsgroups). My questions relate to improving
AM/FM reception in a valley area. I can get the stations on the car radio
but almost nothing in the house(wood frame). I have the standard antennas
hooked up and want to do some research before I find myself at the mercy of
the radio shack sales guy.

Thanks

Andrew V

Andrew V wrote:
I've seen people reference a news group for radios and am wondering which
one (found many radio related newsgroups). My questions relate to improving
AM/FM reception in a valley area. I can get the stations on the car radio
but almost nothing in the house(wood frame). I have the standard antennas
hooked up and want to do some research before I find myself at the mercy of
the radio shack sales guy.

Thanks

Andrew V




Take a look at what C.C. Crane may have to help you.

http://www.ccrane.com/news/am-reception.08.25.03.aspx

HTH,

Jeff

--
Jeffry Wisnia

(W1BSV + Brass Rat '57 EE)

"As long as there are final exams, there will be prayer in public
schools"

Andrew V wrote:
I've seen people reference a news group for radios and am wondering which
one (found many radio related newsgroups). My questions relate to improving
AM/FM reception in a valley area. I can get the stations on the car radio
but almost nothing in the house(wood frame). I have the standard antennas
hooked up and want to do some research before I find myself at the mercy of
the radio shack sales guy.

Thanks

Andrew V


A standard TV antenna with an FM splitter on the downline will get you
decent FM reception. I think AM will be a little tougher.

--
- -
Rex Burkheimer
WM Automotive
Fort Worth TX

Andrew V wrote:

I've seen people reference a news group for radios and am wondering which
one (found many radio related newsgroups). My questions relate to improving
AM/FM reception in a valley area. I can get the stations on the car radio
but almost nothing in the house(wood frame). I have the standard antennas
hooked up and want to do some research before I find myself at the mercy of
the radio shack sales guy.

AM radios work well with a long wire antenna. Get a long wire, copper 1/8"
cable is good, and string it as straight as you can as long as you can as
high as you can, and run one end of it to your AM antenna screw. I've done
this and it really works. And remember this well -- you will NEVER get good
antenna advice from some minimum wage pimple-faced flunk at Rat Shack! They know
NOTHING about electronics! Stay entirely away from Radio Shack and you will
be better off for it. I learned this a long time ago when I was going through
electrical engineering school and they have gone downhill (waaaay downhill)
since then. For advice, go to the Internet. For purchasing, look at reputable
suppliers like Mouser, Parts Express, Digikey, or many others. - GWE

"Jeff Wisnia" wrote in message
...
Andrew V wrote:
I've seen people reference a news group for radios and am wondering
which
one (found many radio related newsgroups). My questions relate to
improving
AM/FM reception in a valley area. I can get the stations on the car
radio
but almost nothing in the house(wood frame). I have the standard
antennas
hooked up and want to do some research before I find myself at the mercy
of
the radio shack sales guy.

Thanks

Andrew V




Take a look at what C.C. Crane may have to help you.

http://www.ccrane.com/news/am-reception.08.25.03.aspx

I second the motion. I like to listen to distant AM at night and got one of
the Twin Coil Ferrite Antennas. It worked wonders on my Nakamichi bedside
clock radio which was already way ahead of the typical $20 Wal-mart special.

see http://www.ccrane.com/am-antenna.aspx

It is a well made, high-quality device that does for me everything the
testimonials say about it. YMMV.

Randy

In article , Grant Erwin says...

AM radios work well with a long wire antenna. Get a long wire, copper 1/8"
cable is good, and string it as straight as you can as long as you can as
high as you can, and run one end of it to your AM antenna screw.

1/8 inch diameter is a bit on the large size. R/S used to sell
SW antenna kits iwth the insulators and a feed through. I think
they've been discontinued.

Number 14 or 12 stranded wire works pretty well.

One end goes to a tree with an insulator (think cermamic, or
piece of plexiglass) and the other end ties off to the house
with a similar insulator.

Near the house there's a T-tap on the antenna which leads
in to the radio.

I like to put the far end of the longwire through a pulley, and
then down to a weight. That way ice storms don't rip them down.

Jim


--
==================================================
please reply to:
JRR(zero) at pkmfgvm4 (dot) vnet (dot) ibm (dot) com
==================================================

Andrew V wrote:
I've seen people reference a news group for radios and am wondering which
one (found many radio related newsgroups). My questions relate to improving
AM/FM reception in a valley area. I can get the stations on the car radio
but almost nothing in the house(wood frame). I have the standard antennas
hooked up and want to do some research before I find myself at the mercy of
the radio shack sales guy.

Thanks

Andrew V


Car radios have better low signal performance than the average domestic
radio--so use a car radio in your house and get a good external aerial.

On Thu, 24 Feb 2005 08:57:14 +1300, Roger_Nickel
wrote:

Car radios have better low signal performance than the average domestic
radio--so use a car radio in your house and get a good external aerial.

Yup. AM car radios usually have tuned RF stages, house radios very
seldom do.

No physically small antenna will work as well as a long wire on AM.
The longer and higher it is, the better it will work. A quarter wave
at mid-broadcast-band is 75 meters, so a small antenna just doesn't
have much capture.

In article , Don Foreman says...

On Thu, 24 Feb 2005 08:57:14 +1300, Roger_Nickel
wrote:

Car radios have better low signal performance than the average domestic
radio--so use a car radio in your house and get a good external aerial.

Yup. AM car radios usually have tuned RF stages, house radios very
seldom do.

No physically small antenna will work as well as a long wire on AM.
The longer and higher it is, the better it will work. A quarter wave
at mid-broadcast-band is 75 meters, so a small antenna just doesn't
have much capture.

With the possible exception of tuned loops. Those can be very
handy for nulling out local intereference in spite of their low
cross section.

Jim


--
==================================================
please reply to:
JRR(zero) at pkmfgvm4 (dot) vnet (dot) ibm (dot) com
==================================================

On Thu, 24 Feb 2005 08:57:14 +1300, Roger_Nickel
wrote:


Car radios have better low signal performance than the average domestic
radio--so use a car radio in your house and get a good external aerial.

Not in my wife's VW. AM is useless on that car.
Factory defect?, dealer wouldn't fix it.

Grant Erwin wrote:

snipped

AM radios work well with a long wire antenna. Get a long wire, copper 1/8"
cable is good, and string it as straight as you can as long as you can as
high as you can, and run one end of it to your AM antenna screw.

I agree with the long wire antenna, but how many AM radios *have* an
antenna screw these days? If the OP's doesn't have one he may still have
to use inductive coupling to get the rf into his radio. Unless of course
he has the knowledge, skills and tools to open up his set and make an
appropriate (and safe) antenna connection.

snipped

And remember this well -- you will NEVER get good
antenna advice from some minimum wage pimple-faced flunk at Rat Shack!
They know
NOTHING about electronics! Stay entirely away from Radio Shack and you will
be better off for it. I learned this a long time ago when I was going
through
electrical engineering school and they have gone downhill (waaaay downhill)
since then.

Well!!! You wouldn't have said that if you went into one of the less
than ten Radio Shack stores in existence circa 1955 and met me (an EE
student) working his way through college behind the counter there. I was
a licensed ham and I'm sure I would have been able to advise you all
about the antennas of the day. G

That was back when Radio Shack was still owned by Theodore and Milton
Deutschmann, about 9 years before Tandy bought them. The store I worked
in was on "lower Washington Street" in Boston.

But, I agree with your comments about the present store staff, they're
not much better than what you find in most other retail operations. I
consider Radio Shack as a convenient "self service" place where I may be
lucky enough to pick up something I need "right away".

Jeff



--
Jeffry Wisnia

(W1BSV + Brass Rat '57 EE)

"As long as there are final exams, there will be prayer in public
schools"

Andrew

I might be able to assist you. I have a little experience with similar
problems in the San Diego Calif. desert. I dont know what your "standard
antenna" is. If your radio has no connections for attaching an external
antenna, there is little you can do to improve the AM reception.

If you want to get involved in amplified AM antennas, I might be of some
help.

Jerry



"Andrew V" wrote in message
...
I've seen people reference a news group for radios and am wondering which
one (found many radio related newsgroups). My questions relate to
improving AM/FM reception in a valley area. I can get the stations on the
car radio but almost nothing in the house(wood frame). I have the standard
antennas hooked up and want to do some research before I find myself at
the mercy of the radio shack sales guy.

Thanks

Andrew V

In article , Jeff Wisnia says...

I agree with the long wire antenna, but how many AM radios *have* an
antenna screw these days? If the OP's doesn't have one he may still have
to use inductive coupling to get the rf into his radio. Unless of course
he has the knowledge, skills and tools to open up his set and make an
appropriate (and safe) antenna connection.

One way to do this on loopstick radios is to simply put a few turns
on the ferrite stick as a link. Or simply wrap a few turns of the
lead-in around the set.

But, I agree with your comments about the present store staff, they're
not much better than what you find in most other retail operations. I
consider Radio Shack as a convenient "self service" place where I may be
lucky enough to pick up something I need "right away".

The key here is to manage to avoid any "help" from the counter.

It isn't as though they actually *try* to hinder my shopping, but
I've spend too much time trying to explain things to them that from
now on I just holler "no, thanks, I know what I'm after!" as I
go into the back of the store.

Jim


--
==================================================
please reply to:
JRR(zero) at pkmfgvm4 (dot) vnet (dot) ibm (dot) com
==================================================

I had a stack of consumer audio gear in my bedroom in 1979, but terrible
radio reception.
I figured it out:
1) AM radio reception was getting interference from the snap off of the
rectifying diodes in the power supply in the power amplifier. Snubbers
fixed that.
2) The FM reception was getting interference from the electric blanket
regulator. I got a wool blanket.





--
Be careful what you pray for, it can happen.

Jeff Wisnia wrote:

Andrew V wrote:

I've seen people reference a news group for radios and am wondering
which one (found many radio related newsgroups). My questions relate
to improving AM/FM reception in a valley area. I can get the stations
on the car radio but almost nothing in the house(wood frame). I have
the standard antennas hooked up and want to do some research before I
find myself at the mercy of the radio shack sales guy.

Thanks

Andrew V



Take a look at what C.C. Crane may have to help you.

http://www.ccrane.com/news/am-reception.08.25.03.aspx

HTH,

Jeff

I have their CC radio - and enjoy the improved range. Don't use it much, but
it is within arms reach right now. In a storm, it can watch out for storm alerts
and switch over to that signal when one is done.

I think it was a birthday one year... :-) IIRC.

--
Martin Eastburn, Barbara Eastburn
@ home at Lion's Lair with our computer
NRA LOH, NRA Life
NRA Second Amendment Task Force Charter Founder

On 23 Feb 2005 17:54:29 -0800, jim rozen
wrote:


I agree with the long wire antenna, but how many AM radios *have* an
antenna screw these days? If the OP's doesn't have one he may still have
to use inductive coupling to get the rf into his radio. Unless of course
he has the knowledge, skills and tools to open up his set and make an
appropriate (and safe) antenna connection.

One way to do this on loopstick radios is to simply put a few turns
on the ferrite stick as a link. Or simply wrap a few turns of the
lead-in around the set.

The last time I did this..it changed the freq range of the radio..I
was picking up WWV at 5mhz when I was trying to get KABC at 790kc

Gunner

Rule #35
"That which does not kill you,
has made a huge tactical error"

On Thu, 24 Feb 2005 01:48:01 GMT, "Jerry Martes"
wrote:


Andrew

I might be able to assist you. I have a little experience with similar
problems in the San Diego Calif. desert. I dont know what your "standard
antenna" is. If your radio has no connections for attaching an external
antenna, there is little you can do to improve the AM reception.

If you want to get involved in amplified AM antennas, I might be of some
help.

Jerry


I suspect Jerry may be someone yall want to listen to.

Gunner

Rule #35
"That which does not kill you,
has made a huge tactical error"

On Thu, 24 Feb 2005 06:31:29 GMT, Gunner
wrote:

On Thu, 24 Feb 2005 01:48:01 GMT, "Jerry Martes"
wrote:


Andrew

I might be able to assist you. I have a little experience with similar
problems in the San Diego Calif. desert. I dont know what your "standard
antenna" is. If your radio has no connections for attaching an external
antenna, there is little you can do to improve the AM reception.

If you want to get involved in amplified AM antennas, I might be of some
help.

Jerry


I suspect Jerry may be someone yall want to listen to.

Roger that!

"Don Foreman" wrote in message
...
On Thu, 24 Feb 2005 06:31:29 GMT, Gunner
wrote:

On Thu, 24 Feb 2005 01:48:01 GMT, "Jerry Martes"
wrote:


Andrew

I might be able to assist you. I have a little experience with similar
problems in the San Diego Calif. desert. I dont know what your
"standard
antenna" is. If your radio has no connections for attaching an external
antenna, there is little you can do to improve the AM reception.

If you want to get involved in amplified AM antennas, I might be of
some
help.

Jerry


I suspect Jerry may be someone yall want to listen to.

Roger that!

Thanks for the vote of confidence. But, I actually dont know how much
improvement the CCCrane add on antenna provides. That might be a 'fix' for
the Andrew V's poor reception. I understand their advertisement for their
$100.00 Twin ferrite antenna indicates that it will double the reception.
I would think doubling the output would be about 3 db. I didnt realize a 3
db gain antenna would be something that would be worth $100.00.
I'd like to hear from someone who has tried the CCCrane AM antenna.

Jerry

In article ,
jim rozen wrote:

In article , Grant Erwin says...

AM radios work well with a long wire antenna. Get a long wire, copper 1/8"
cable is good, and string it as straight as you can as long as you can as
high as you can, and run one end of it to your AM antenna screw.

1/8 inch diameter is a bit on the large size. R/S used to sell
SW antenna kits iwth the insulators and a feed through. I think
they've been discontinued.

Number 14 or 12 stranded wire works pretty well.

One end goes to a tree with an insulator (think cermamic, or
piece of plexiglass) and the other end ties off to the house
with a similar insulator.

Near the house there's a T-tap on the antenna which leads
in to the radio.

I like to put the far end of the longwire through a pulley, and
then down to a weight. That way ice storms don't rip them down.

You can also go to your local farmers co-op and get aluminum electric
fence and insulators cheap; the aluminum holds up to ice better than
steel or copper and is cheaper to repair/replace.

--
Free men own guns, slaves don't
www.geocities.com/CapitolHill/5357/

Remember the caveat about stringing long antenna wires: lots of wire in the air can
pick up a static charge, and knock you on your ass when you touch it. The old-timers
would be sure to ground one end of the wire before they started to string it up.
Once it's up, you can connect it to your gear. Reference an old ARRL handbook for
more info. Use a spark-gap arrestor, too.

I'm about ready to try that very thing. One local businessman, almost as a hobby, is
operating an AM station (on automation) that plays a mix of 90% blues - from the
1920s to present, and 10% eclectic alternative. Before I found out about it, I
wouldn't even give AM a second thought. Unfortunately (for me) the station is too
weak to receive at my home, about 35 miles away.

Joe

Grant Erwin wrote:


AM radios work well with a long wire antenna. Get a long wire, copper 1/8"
cable is good, and string it as straight as you can as long as you can as
high as you can, and run one end of it to your AM antenna screw. I've done
this and it really works.

In article , Nick Hull says...
eight. That way ice storms don't rip them down.

You can also go to your local farmers co-op and get aluminum electric
fence and insulators cheap; the aluminum holds up to ice better than
steel or copper and is cheaper to repair/replace.

If aluminum is used, connections have to be bolted up rather
than soldered for the lead-in, for obvious reasons.
Aluminum is a lot stronger than soft-drawn copper.

Jim


--
==================================================
please reply to:
JRR(zero) at pkmfgvm4 (dot) vnet (dot) ibm (dot) com
==================================================

In article , Gunner says...

One way to do this on loopstick radios is to simply put a few turns
on the ferrite stick as a link. Or simply wrap a few turns of the
lead-in around the set.

The last time I did this..it changed the freq range of the radio..I
was picking up WWV at 5mhz when I was trying to get KABC at 790kc

Was this with a link around the loopstick inside the set, or
was it just a few turns around the outside?

Jim


--
==================================================
please reply to:
JRR(zero) at pkmfgvm4 (dot) vnet (dot) ibm (dot) com
==================================================

I had the same question, and posted to a lot of these radio ngs as to why.
Forgot the details, but there are very specific diffs between the tuning
circuitry in car radios and that of your home stereo. Why home
stereos/radios don't incorporate these is beyond me.

I haven't gotten around to it yet, but I think I'm gonna have a lot of 12V
car batteries lyin around the house soon....
----------------------------
Mr. P.V.'d
formerly Droll Troll

"Andrew V" wrote in message
...
I've seen people reference a news group for radios and am wondering which
one (found many radio related newsgroups). My questions relate to
improving AM/FM reception in a valley area. I can get the stations on the
car radio but almost nothing in the house(wood frame). I have the standard
antennas hooked up and want to do some research before I find myself at
the mercy of the radio shack sales guy.

Thanks

Andrew V

On Thu, 24 Feb 2005 10:09:07 -0500, "Proctologically Violated©®"
wrote:

I had the same question, and posted to a lot of these radio ngs as to why.
Forgot the details, but there are very specific diffs between the tuning
circuitry in car radios and that of your home stereo. Why home
stereos/radios don't incorporate these is beyond me.

I haven't gotten around to it yet, but I think I'm gonna have a lot of 12V
car batteries lyin around the house soon....

Just one, deep cycle, with a well-filtered float charger from an
alarm system.

And a typical car vertical stick antenna needs a big ground plane to
work against. Sheet metal center piece for mounting the antenna, with
hardware cloth soldered to it for the 'big' part.

-- Bruce --
--
Bruce L. Bergman, Woodland Hills (Los Angeles) CA - Desktop
Electrician for Westend Electric - CA726700
5737 Kanan Rd. #359, Agoura CA 91301 (818) 889-9545
Spamtrapped address: Remove the python and the invalid, and use a net.

On 24 Feb 2005 06:35:32 -0800, jim rozen
wrote:

In article , Gunner says...

One way to do this on loopstick radios is to simply put a few turns
on the ferrite stick as a link. Or simply wrap a few turns of the
lead-in around the set.

The last time I did this..it changed the freq range of the radio..I
was picking up WWV at 5mhz when I was trying to get KABC at 790kc

Was this with a link around the loopstick inside the set, or
was it just a few turns around the outside?

Jim

A couple turns around the loopstick as I recall.

Gunner

Rule #35
"That which does not kill you,
has made a huge tactical error"

Thanks for the vote of confidence. But, I actually dont know how much
improvement the CCCrane add on antenna provides. That might be a 'fix' for
the Andrew V's poor reception. I understand their advertisement for their
$100.00 Twin ferrite antenna indicates that it will double the reception.
I would think doubling the output would be about 3 db. I didnt realize a 3
db gain antenna would be something that would be worth $100.00.
I'd like to hear from someone who has tried the CCCrane AM antenna.

Jerry

The CC Crane is a ferrite antenna and RF amplifier. It requires a
9-volt battery and claims 32 dB of gain. The primary value of (low
noise) gain is to overcome noise and lack of gain in a mediocre
receiver -- so the worse the receiver the more it helps.

Being ferrite, it is probably an H-field antenna which would exhibit
some directionality. That's good: helps prefer a given signal over
external atmospheric and galactic noise.

Once an antenna captures enough signal + external noise to provide
signal significantly greater than the receiver's (or amplifier's)
internal noise, more antenna doesn't help until it is large enough to
have significant directional gain. At broadcast band, that's
hundreds of feet.

Making a low-noise broadcast band RF amp is simple, but probably more
than $100 worth of screwing around unless one enjoys building elex.

On 23 Feb 2005 13:31:56 -0800, jim rozen
wrote:

In article , Don Foreman says...

On Thu, 24 Feb 2005 08:57:14 +1300, Roger_Nickel
wrote:

Car radios have better low signal performance than the average domestic
radio--so use a car radio in your house and get a good external aerial.

Yup. AM car radios usually have tuned RF stages, house radios very
seldom do.

No physically small antenna will work as well as a long wire on AM.
The longer and higher it is, the better it will work. A quarter wave
at mid-broadcast-band is 75 meters, so a small antenna just doesn't
have much capture.

With the possible exception of tuned loops. Those can be very
handy for nulling out local intereference in spite of their low
cross section.

Good point, Jim. Some tube-type AM radios had loops comprised of
several turns of Litz wire spiral-wound on a fiberboard form the size
of the back of the radio. Sometimes it *was* the back of the radio.
They worked quite well if the radio was "pointed" at the radio
station.

In article , Don Foreman says...

...Some tube-type AM radios had loops comprised of
several turns of Litz wire spiral-wound on a fiberboard form the size
of the back of the radio. Sometimes it *was* the back of the radio.
They worked quite well if the radio was "pointed" at the radio
station.

That's how old loop antennas (the kind built on large crosses or
turnstyles) worked. IIRC they're sensitive off the edge of the
loop (it's been a while since I've had mine out and running).

They make great antennas for crystal radios where there's a
strong local station (WLNA in my case) so the strong local
signal can be nulled out. Basically just a germanium diode
and a set of phones makes a pretty good radio with that.

Jim


--
==================================================
please reply to:
JRR(zero) at pkmfgvm4 (dot) vnet (dot) ibm (dot) com
==================================================

Hello all .... The first thing I would tell the fellow is to definitely
stay away from Radio Shack. Also, I don't want to hurt anyone's feelings
but do the same for the CC Radio. I find the CC radio overpriced and
susceptible to noise sources that some of my other radios ignore. The CC
has some annoying features such as that damm beep on band change and that
click on the preselect buttons for tuning. Definitely the way to go would
be with a good antenna. I would do a search under broadcast band DXing.
There are a myriad of sites and ideas.

The radio I recommend would be an OLD car radio. I have been very
disappointed in the AM performance of car radios of late. I understand that
this is purposeful as the radio is less susceptible to interference from the
on board computers in the car. So instead of better shielding-design; they
degenerate the AM sensitivity. A decent 12 V power supply can be cheaply
built or bought. I would stay away from the small switching supplies as
some generate a lot of hash. You know what your needs are in the valley so
try some different combinations but trying to "buy" your way into good
reception would probably be counterproductive and disappointing.

God Bless and good luck pulling them in ......Tom Popovic Belle Vernon Pa.

Car radios have better low signal performance than the average domestic
radio--so use a car radio in your house and get a good external aerial.

Not in my wife's VW. AM is useless on that car.
Factory defect?, dealer wouldn't fix it.

Gunner wrote:

On 24 Feb 2005 06:35:32 -0800, jim rozen
wrote:



In article , Gunner says...



One way to do this on loopstick radios is to simply put a few turns
on the ferrite stick as a link. Or simply wrap a few turns of the
lead-in around the set.


The last time I did this..it changed the freq range of the radio..I
was picking up WWV at 5mhz when I was trying to get KABC at 790kc


Was this with a link around the loopstick inside the set, or
was it just a few turns around the outside?

Jim



A couple turns around the loopstick as I recall.

Gunner


A couple of turns around the radio would also work if the turns are
aligned so
that they also couple to the loopstick. The size of the turns are not
critical so make
a few turns and try it in different locations around the radio. The
neatest arrangement
is to put the turns around the loopstick.

Bill K7NOM

On 24 Feb 2005 06:33:47 -0800, jim rozen
wrote:

In article , Nick Hull says...
eight. That way ice storms don't rip them down.

You can also go to your local farmers co-op and get aluminum electric
fence and insulators cheap; the aluminum holds up to ice better than
steel or copper and is cheaper to repair/replace.

If aluminum is used, connections have to be bolted up rather
than soldered for the lead-in, for obvious reasons.
Aluminum is a lot stronger than soft-drawn copper.

Jim
IIRC there used to be a special antenna wire - 12-14 gage steel with a
heavy copper coating. I seem to recall that it was close to square in
cross section. It is close to 60 years since the tree supporting the
outboard end this antenna fell, so I won't guarantee the veracity of
this memory.
Gerry :-)}
London, Canada

On Thu, 24 Feb 2005 10:09:07 -0500, "Proctologically Violated©®"
wrote:



I haven't gotten around to it yet, but I think I'm gonna have a lot of 12V
car batteries lyin around the house soon....
Just don't keep them anywhere near any valued tools.
Gerry :-)}
London, Canada

In article , Gunner says...

Was this with a link around the loopstick inside the set, or
was it just a few turns around the outside?

A couple turns around the loopstick as I recall.

You might have been pulling the local oscillator.

Some sets wind the LO coil around the loopstick as well.

Other than that, I'd have a tough time figuring out what
happened unless I could inspect the receiver.

Jim


--
==================================================
please reply to:
JRR(zero) at pkmfgvm4 (dot) vnet (dot) ibm (dot) com
==================================================

In article , Gerald Miller says...

IIRC there used to be a special antenna wire - 12-14 gage steel with a
heavy copper coating. I seem to recall that it was close to square in
cross section. It is close to 60 years since the tree supporting the
outboard end this antenna fell, so I won't guarantee the veracity of
this memory.

Yep, that's called "copperweld." Steel core, copper over the
outside.

The next best thing is hard-drawn copper telegraph wire, from
the abandoned lines by the train tracks.

Er, or so they say....

Jim


--
==================================================
please reply to:
JRR(zero) at pkmfgvm4 (dot) vnet (dot) ibm (dot) com
==================================================

Car radios have better low signal performance than the average
domestic
radio--so use a car radio in your house and get a good external
aerial.

Not in my wife's VW. AM is useless on that car.
Factory defect?, dealer wouldn't fix it.


This is not an uncommon problem with VWs. The difficulty sometimes lies in
the antenna (the roof-top mounted kind). More (much more) information can
be obtained at:

http://forums.tdiclub.com

Laurie Forbes

On 24 Feb 2005 17:43:22 -0800, jim rozen
wrote:



The next best thing is hard-drawn copper telegraph wire, from
the abandoned lines by the train tracks.

Er, or so they say....

I've heard that too. I've also heard that those green glass
insulators were fun to plink with a .22, plinking from fewer than 5
poles distant didn't count.

"Don Foreman" wrote in message
...
On Thu, 24 Feb 2005 06:31:29 GMT, Gunner
wrote:

On Thu, 24 Feb 2005 01:48:01 GMT, "Jerry Martes"
wrote:


Andrew

I might be able to assist you. I have a little experience with similar
problems in the San Diego Calif. desert. I dont know what your
"standard
antenna" is. If your radio has no connections for attaching an external
antenna, there is little you can do to improve the AM reception.

If you want to get involved in amplified AM antennas, I might be of
some
help.

Jerry


I suspect Jerry may be someone yall want to listen to.

Roger that!

Roger on Don's Roger.

Bob Swinney

Don sez:
I've heard that too. I've also heard that those green glass
insulators were fun to plink with a .22, plinking from fewer than 5
poles distant didn't count.

Errr, lessee. "Standard" pole spacing used on some RR's was 30 poles per
mile. 5/30 mile = 880 feet. That's a some fancy plinking alright!

Bob Swinney




"Don Foreman" wrote in message
...
On 24 Feb 2005 17:43:22 -0800, jim rozen
wrote:



The next best thing is hard-drawn copper telegraph wire, from
the abandoned lines by the train tracks.

Er, or so they say....

"garigue" wrote in message
...
Hello all .... The first thing I would tell the fellow is to definitely
stay away from Radio Shack. Also, I don't want to hurt anyone's feelings
but do the same for the CC Radio. I find the CC radio overpriced and
susceptible to noise sources that some of my other radios ignore. The CC
has some annoying features such as that damm beep on band change and that
click on the preselect buttons for tuning. Definitely the way to go would
be with a good antenna. I would do a search under broadcast band DXing.
There are a myriad of sites and ideas.

The radio I recommend would be an OLD car radio. I have been very
disappointed in the AM performance of car radios of late. I understand
that
this is purposeful as the radio is less susceptible to interference from
the
on board computers in the car. So instead of better shielding-design;
they
degenerate the AM sensitivity. A decent 12 V power supply can be cheaply
built or bought. I would stay away from the small switching supplies as
some generate a lot of hash. You know what your needs are in the valley
so
try some different combinations but trying to "buy" your way into good
reception would probably be counterproductive and disappointing.

God Bless and good luck pulling them in ......Tom Popovic Belle Vernon
Pa.

Car radios have better low signal performance than the average domestic
radio--so use a car radio in your house and get a good external aerial.

Not in my wife's VW. AM is useless on that car.
Factory defect?, dealer wouldn't fix it.