On 5/12/20 3:00 am, Ralph Mowery wrote:
Why is it that I have one of the portable receivers with a whip antenna
that is about 2 feet long and can receive very well the short wave
stations, but my ham receiver with a couple of feet of wire on the back
receives almost nothing.
My theory is that the portable receiver is matched for a high impedance
short antenna, where the ham receiver is matched for a 50 ohm antenna.

Your portable probably has a ferrite loopstick in it also.