AM radio reception

[Dom]

I live way out, about 50+ miles NW of Missoula Montana, at about 3000' elevation, east slope of the mountain. . I very much would like to listen to my favorite talk shows on the AM dial. Problem is , reception is terrible. Static is overwhelming.What can I do ? Is there a radio brand that will deliver decent reception ?

[JoeG52]

Reception will be very difficult.
They might stream their broadcast on the internet.

[MaryB]

I live way out, about 50+ miles NW of Missoula Montana, at about 3000' elevation, east slope of the mountain. . I very much would like to listen to my favorite talk shows on the AM dial. Problem is , reception is terrible. Static is overwhelming.What can I do ? Is there a radio brand that will deliver decent reception ?

AM reception in summer is always bad, all the thunderstorm static... in winter is when I listen to long distance AM...

As mentioned try streaming it online, most radio stations do it now.

[Kestrel4k]

Highway 200 ?
Drove thru there a few years ago, pretty sparse I must say. I liked the area.

[JonB_in_Glencoe]

I live way out, about 50+ miles NW of Missoula Montana, at about 3000' elevation, east slope of the mountain. . I very much would like to listen to my favorite talk shows on the AM dial. Problem is , reception is terrible. Static is overwhelming.What can I do ? Is there a radio brand that will deliver decent reception ?
I also love the AM talkers.
I have good luck with the Bose Wave radio.

Here are a couple other hints.
First, in case you didn't already know, the external antenna on your average radio is for FM and does nothing for AM reception. With rare exception, every AM radio has a internal antenna and the direction it is facing will effect reception, so try turning the radio in different directions. Some AM radio's get better reception due to having a better antenna. I've found the Terk antenna to do a great job at boosting AM reception, especially at night.

https://www.amazon.com/Terk-Indoor-AM-Antenna-Advantage/dp/B000069EUW/ref=psdc_3230976011_t3_B001KC579Q

[45DUDE]

If you have internet you can buy an echo dot and listen to over 60000 station for free. I have two control by voice.

[725]

Google up "Crane Radios". They have a wide variety of radios and antennas. I, too, live in an area with poor AM reception and I use round antennae booster that is about the size of a dinner plate. You tune it to the station you want to listen to while it is in proximity to your radio. It's very sensitive to tuning and positioning and there is a small learning curve to get it operational. It does work once you find out how to find the sweet spot. Still, AM reception is sensitive to time of day, weather, sun spots, etc. Good luck.

[Reg]

If you have internet, get a app called Radio Garden. It’s free. Basically it will let you listen to about any radio station in the world.

[trebor44]

The joy of being a RURAL! It's Montana! Get used to it!

[hiram]

World-wide radio

https://radio.garden/visit/murray-ia/jGSDp66H

[Dom]

Thanks so much to all the info. I will look into the advice given. I talked to some of the locals ( pictured ) but they could not help.315523 Again thank you so much.Will check with someone more able to understand the info given.

[Shawlerbrook]

I also live in a very rural area. Internet streaming is the way to go.

[MT Gianni]

We are under a 50 foot hill and get no repeater traffic. If you're near Dixon then you have to get an antenna out of the river bottom. Internet is probably the way to go or wait until after dark.

[Outpost75]

Free app radiostationusa.fm they have am stations too. Select by city, state or market and whether you want news-talk, music, ethnic, or whatever.

[JimB..]

It’s amazing to me that there is broadband available in placed where there is poor AM radio reception.

[gc45]

I get perfect am reception using my cell phone; am radios are lousy for me...

[GhostHawk]

Radio Garden ROCKS! Thanks for the tip!

[DocSavage]

+1 on internet streaming. I♡Radio has an app that streams all their stations thru out the country. In my area they own most of the AM/FM stations. If you have an Alexa or similar device it can pick up the station as well.

[firefly1957]

I started listening to AM radio as a kid of 9 years old at night a little am radio I won at a church carnival . I never slept well so would put in the earpiece and go though the dial finding stations from all over at night .
Today I have several AM radio's one I use the most is a C. Crane pocket radio I have times of terrible interference L.E.D. lights is a big source but there is area wide static as well that usually but not always goes away during power outages . Just last week I was up and had terrible static mostly at the lower end on the AM dial I tracked it down a couple days later to the bug light on my from porch .

Like many have said the internet can be your friend listening to the radio I have a C. Crane internet radio I use day and night when my internet is on* and it works pretty well for me . I did have to get a second newer one because of changes and most stations went away using my first one . The thing I like about the internet radio is it does not put "JUNK" on my computer as some stations want to do . I have a few acres here and use a high power FM transmitter with it and also for TV sound . The transmitters have become more available in recent years this is a link to several types https://www.amazon.com/long-range-fm-transmitter/s?k=long+range+fm+transmitter . I have the top $99 one for the TV and and older one for radio they transmit legally at .1 watt or depending on current politics not legally at a half watt . The one I use on radio when upstairs on low power travels 1 1/2 miles or further but only a 1/4 mile downstairs I have never put them at full power . They connect in two ways to any sound source some have bluetooth connection.
I have hearing loss so I can listen with headphones from any FM radio receiver or from stereo in my workshop or by the pool or in car nearby.

* I have satellite internet and turn it off at night so if I get up I just use C. Crane radio to listen to distant stations . I am "UP NORTH in Michigan so there are really no local AM stations that come in well I can get 760 Detroit and sometimes 1300 Grand Rapids . Longer range stations that come in well at night are 1210 Philly, 1040 Iowa , 840 Kentucky, 650& 1510 Nashville , and many more .

[waksupi]

Hook up an old car radio, and it gets better reception than regular radios. No idea why. Probably because you can rig a real serious antenna to it.

[Bent Ramrod]

I got a C. Crane dial antenna back when they sold them separately. By judicious tweaking of dial on the radio and on the Crane I can maximize signals that have to go over mountains and over distances up to a couple hundred miles.

I heard that Crane doesn’t sell the dial units separately any more; you have to buy a radio from them with one installed. Still a handy thing to have; if you don’t want to buy a new radio, you might look for a used C. Crane dial.

[Dom]

The old car radio sounds interesting, with a large outside antenna. Something I could try.

[MUSTANG]

The following will hopefully provide an understanding of the issue; and from that opportunity to overcome the Challenge. Some of our experts will see "Exceptions" in my description; but this type of description has worked for most cases since Marconi.

1. The Radio Signal (radiating) pattern for AM Radio station is going to be similar to your old fashioned donut with a hole in it. Looking at one side; there is a wide area at the sides, and as one goes to the top (hole) the signal gets weaker (the donut thinner).

2. On flat terrain like the Great Plains of the US of A; the signal from the sides go out in all directions across the terrain. As one gets further from the antenna, three things happen - (a) the signal weakens the further it travels through the atmosphere, (b) the curvature of the earth causes the signal to become "Unseen" by the "Line of Sight" between transmitter and receiver, (3) obstacles in the path block the signal (such as behind a hill/mountain or down in a draw or river bed/drainage.

Commercial Radio antennas are positioned on tall towers to extend the range, overcome the curvature of the earth, and to a lesser degree cover areas behind hills and mountains and in depression areas. Additionally; the power the Station is allowed to broadcast with affects range - More Power and it travels further through the earths atmosphere. This is why the 50,000 watt stations late at night were popular in the 1940's through 1980's and their Frequency approval by the FCC was like gold.

3. As a general statement, AM radio stations will have broader coverage at night compared to daylight. This is because the atmosphere collapses and is much closer to the earth than it is during the day. AM stations will "Bounce" off the atmosphere back to earth (From that top portion of the donut example) which gives both longer distances, and some coverage behind terrain obscured locations (why one can get a signal at night - but not during day).

Potential corrective actions:

(a) place an external antenna on as tall a pole as possible connected to the AM Radio

(b) Place an antenna on a Ridge Line to provide "Line of Sight" to the AM Radio station antenna; and extend the signal via cable to the AM radio or via a "Repeater/Translator" retransmitting the signal to the AM Radio. The"Repeater/Translator" solution is one that many small communities/organizations have done as a combined effort over the years to access both Commercial Radio & TV Broadcast where coverage was not available.

Others have provided some ideas that will provide other work arounds. Depending on where you are at and what your conditions are; some strange things might work also. As an example:


In the 1980's I was tasked by the Commanding Officer of 7th Communications Battalion to find out why the Jeep mounted High Frequency Radio Teams could not successfully communicate with designated Navy Ships and Navy Fixed Communications Locations (300 to 2000 miles away) as required during quarterly exercises. I discovered that the Operators did not understand radio frequency theory and antenna propagation patterns, and frequency assignment/selection requirements. Additionally; I researched and discovered during the period they had failed to meet the requirements - there was tremendous Sunspot Activity playing havoc with HF radio signals.

I conducted corrective training and arranged for additional long range "Connection Times" with the Navy for practical long range training. One team operating up in the Okinawa NTA (Northern Training Area) was having difficulties, so we diagnosed a defective antenna array. Solution - I had them tie the HF radio into a 500 foot Guard Rail to act as an antenna (This would be a Horizontal antenna arrangement - dependent on reflections off the ionosphere for radio path.) They were able to establish a positive HF Radio connection 2,500 miles away - longer than any of the other Teams using the Antennas available with their Vehicular Radio Systems. This connection made the Guard Rail an HF Radiation Hazard during transmissions; but they had visual on the entire guard rail so they could ensure safety. Using a guard rail or similar existing feature as a Receive Antenna does not represent a Hazard; except potentially if a lightning strike should occur.


There is vastly more involved in Radio Signals than I wrote above; but that's why I have literally many thousands of pages across multiple books, manuals, and articles I have collected over the years.

[WILCO]

I also love the AM talkers.
I have good luck with the Bose Wave radio.

Bose was the brand I'd suggest.
I stream a lot of things these days, but there's magic in AM static on an old radio.

[MaryB]

A dedicated shortwave receive with an external antenna is the way to go. Not cheap but a long wire antenna at night and AM comes alive! On my ham rigs and the stubby 43 foot vertical antenna I can hear stations out thousands of miles... and that is a very substandard antenna for AM reception!

Base model, comes with a short wire antenna you can place outside https://www.amazon.com/Tecsun-PL-660-Portable-Shortwave-Single/dp/B004H9C4JK/ref=sr_1_7?crid=EHGSM9EHXH2&keywords=shortwave+receiver+external+antenna+jack&qid=1688228619&refinements=p_89%3ATECSUN&rnid=2528832011&s=electronics&sprefix=shortwave+receiver+external+antenna+jack%2 Caps%2C184&sr=1-7&ufe=app_do%3Aamzn1.fos.f5122f16-c3e8-4386-bf32-63e904010ad0

I used to own this one, very good AM receive with a directional bar antenna on top you can spin or add a long wire antenna and bypass it(I had a long wire that stretched 300 feet... ) NOT CHEAP! But also covers shortwave, has good sound quality...

https://www.amazon.com/Eton-Elite-750-Receiver-Leather/dp/B0BMKK1RVD/ref=sr_1_3?keywords=shortwave+receiver&qid=1688228819&refinements=p_89%3AEton&rnid=2528832011&s=electronics&sr=1-3&ufe=app_do%3Aamzn1.fos.c3015c4a-46bb-44b9-81a4-dc28e6d374b3

[MaryB]

The following will hopefully provide an understanding of the issue; and from that opportunity to overcome the Challenge. Some of our experts will see "Exceptions" in my description; but this type of description has worked for most cases since Marconi.

1. The Radio Signal (radiating) pattern for AM Radio station is going to be similar to your old fashioned donut with a hole in it. Looking at one side; there is a wide area at the sides, and as one goes to the top (hole) the signal gets weaker (the donut thinner).

2. On flat terrain like the Great Plains of the US of A; the signal from the sides go out in all directions across the terrain. As one gets further from the antenna, three things happen - (a) the signal weakens the further it travels through the atmosphere, (b) the curvature of the earth causes the signal to become "Unseen" by the "Line of Sight" between transmitter and receiver, (3) obstacles in the path block the signal (such as behind a hill/mountain or down in a draw or river bed/drainage.

Commercial Radio antennas are positioned on tall towers to extend the range, overcome the curvature of the earth, and to a lesser degree cover areas behind hills and mountains and in depression areas. Additionally; the power the Station is allowed to broadcast with affects range - More Power and it travels further through the earths atmosphere. This is why the 50,000 watt stations late at night were popular in the 1940's through 1980's and their Frequency approval by the FCC was like gold.

3. As a general statement, AM radio stations will have broader coverage at night compared to daylight. This is because the atmosphere collapses and is much closer to the earth than it is during the day. AM stations will "Bounce" off the atmosphere back to earth (From that top portion of the donut example) which gives both longer distances, and some coverage behind terrain obscured locations (why one can get a signal at night - but not during day).

Potential corrective actions:

(a) place an external antenna on as tall a pole as possible connected to the AM Radio

(b) Place an antenna on a Ridge Line to provide "Line of Sight" to the AM Radio station antenna; and extend the signal via cable to the AM radio or via a "Repeater/Translator" retransmitting the signal to the AM Radio. The"Repeater/Translator" solution is one that many small communities/organizations have done as a combined effort over the years to access both Commercial Radio & TV Broadcast where coverage was not available.

Others have provided some ideas that will provide other work arounds. Depending on where you are at and what your conditions are; some strange things might work also. As an example:


In the 1980's I was tasked by the Commanding Officer of 7th Communications Battalion to find out why the Jeep mounted High Frequency Radio Teams could not successfully communicate with designated Navy Ships and Navy Fixed Communications Locations (300 to 2000 miles away) as required during quarterly exercises. I discovered that the Operators did not understand radio frequency theory and antenna propagation patterns, and frequency assignment/selection requirements. Additionally; I researched and discovered during the period they had failed to meet the requirements - there was tremendous Sunspot Activity playing havoc with HF radio signals.

I conducted corrective training and arranged for additional long range "Connection Times" with the Navy for practical long range training. One team operating up in the Okinawa NTA (Northern Training Area) was having difficulties, so we diagnosed a defective antenna array. Solution - I had them tie the HF radio into a 500 foot Guard Rail to act as an antenna (This would be a Horizontal antenna arrangement - dependent on reflections off the ionosphere for radio path.) They were able to establish a positive HF Radio connection 2,500 miles away - longer than any of the other Teams using the Antennas available with their Vehicular Radio Systems. This connection made the Guard Rail an HF Radiation Hazard during transmissions; but they had visual on the entire guard rail so they could ensure safety. Using a guard rail or similar existing feature as a Receive Antenna does not represent a Hazard; except potentially if a lightning strike should occur.


There is vastly more involved in Radio Signals than I wrote above; but that's why I have literally many thousands of pages across multiple books, manuals, and articles I have collected over the years.




#2 AM transmission antennas are the towers themselves... often 300+ feet tall... around me they try to put them in a swamp because wet ground makes a better ground plane and a more efficient antenna/longer range.

Crazy friend of mine in high school climbed one and hung a flag "class of 1980" at the top. He had to jump to get on the tower because it was live... but at night they had to reduce power to 100 watts so not crazy dangerous as far as RF burns and he wore gloves to protect his hands. Thy never did figure out who did that LOL they were miffed, they had to hire a tower climber to remove it! It was a "low power" AM station with only 1,000 watts during the day.

Reason they reduce power at night is signals travel a lot farther and channels are shared. It reduces interference. So night reception of more distant stations is actually easier with less local interference.

[GregLaROCHE]

Where I used to live there was no radio reception with a normal radio. You needed a booster. You could buy one or make one yourself. I’ve used both.

Take a wooden dowel and wrap it with insulated wire. Make it 4-6 inches long and 2-3 inches in diameter. Attach one end to a good ground and the other to a long wire outside. Make sure it dose get grounded. Place the booster on top the radio near the internal antenna. Rotate the radio and booster 360* to get the best signal. It’s amazing what a difference it makes day or night.

Unfortunately, Fm seems to be taking over most of the radio audiences and I think there are less and broadcasts on AM.

[TD1886]

Back in the day when I had console model tube radio, geesh am I showing my age, I got better reception by grounding it. I remember back in those days am radio had a ground wire.

[10x]

When I was 12 i got a 3 transistor hitachi radio with an external antenna plug.
Because the two radio stations that were within 70 miles were the only two I could receive during the day I decided to put up a 90 foot long wire antennae. I had 90 feet of 8 gauge copper wire and 30 feet of 16 gauge. I ran the antennae wire from the roof peak of the house to the roof peak of a granary about 90 feet away. I used porcelain electric fence insulators. I had an old lightning arrestor from the old battery radio that required a long wire antennae. I ran the 30 feet of insulated 16 gauge from the 8 gauge copper wire to the window of my room. I also put down a ground rod and ran that wire into my room. my dad had suggested grounding the negative battery end of the radio along with the lightning arrestor.
I discovered that reception improved dramatically when the radio was wrapped in 4 to 6 coils of the insulated wire and the insulated wire was attached to ground.
When the external antennae lead was attached to the long wire antennae - signal increased but so did static.
Antennae and external ground hooked to the negative battery, signal increased, so did static.
With the direct connection to antennae the radio also picked up any electric motors in the house circuit, stopping and starting. My mothers sewing machine gave interference that sounded like canvas ripping
The best reception was from the 5 coils of long wire wrapped around the radio then the end of the long wire connected to ground.
My friend had a 50's car radio that had a long wire antennae.
Night listening was incredible as stations no longer faded in and out with changes in the ionosphere.
There were a number of US stations we listened to at night KOMO Seattle,
one in san diego - i do not recall the call sign
Mostly CKLG and CFUN in Vancouver

My best guess at improving your AM radio reception is a 50 to 100 ft long wire antennae, with an insulated lead to the radio (Shielded coax if you can salvage any) and then 5 or 6 loops from the end of the coax around the radio and the end of that coil connected to ground....

[MUSTANG]

Back in the day when I had console model tube radio, geesh am I showing my age, I got better reception by grounding it. I remember back in those days am radio had a ground wire.

Adding to my story from post #23; Grounding was one of the issues I addressed with the Young Marine Radio Operators. A grounding Rod was part of the Equipment that came with the HF Vehicle/Radio. Marines were suing it; but did not grasp the intricacies of Grounding. Much of the Earth on Okinawa and many of the Islands in the pacific is very High Resistance. The old saying "Ground is Ground the World Round" does not apply to the quality of ground. I taught them to dig a 6 inch deep trench 30 to 300 feet long depending on site conditions to establish a much better ground by burning a bare copper wire into the trench. This coupled with wetting the trench and peeing on the trench or if using a ground wire peeing around the ground rod drastically improved the ground achieved - and through that the ability to receive and transmit over long distances.

[Finster101]

Thanks so much to all the info. I will look into the advice given. I talked to some of the locals ( pictured ) but they could not help.315523 Again thank you so much.Will check with someone more able to understand the info given.



Aww, you can't listen to them turkeys...

[Dom]

WOW!! I'm overwhelmed...

[Good Cheer]

FM, not AM
A little something I created in 1983; a long range antenna made with 24" chicken wire.
You unroll the wire and lay it out flat. Attach a lead wire to both ends. Cover the chicken wire with two layers of newspaper and roll it back up. The two leads are used as with any other dipole.

Those overlapping hexagons let me rotate the antenna to selectively dial in different stations without changing the setting on the receiver. Wanted to try it encased in a piece of plastic pipe on top of a rotating mast but never got around to it.

And yeah, it worked awesome.

[1hole]

Radio Antennas and "African Rifles and Cartridges"

To get a cleaner reception you will need a better signal to noise ratio. The only way to obtain that is a stronger signal and the only way to obtain that is to use a better antenna. A simple external aerial, i.e., a long wire antenna (maybe 60-100 feet), mounted as high as possible outside your house is probably your best bet. And it would be best to install a proper sized (series connected) antenna tuning condenser in the feed line.

I'm not going to attempt to tell you how to make that work but if you know anyone who is a competent ham radio operator he should be able to help.


As an aside, Mr Taylor wrote his book, "African Rifles and Cartridges", about 1948; it's an excellent read of those old days. I believe he was right for that period but the simple thin copper jacket and heavy soft core bullets he knew have seen some serious improvements since then.

[MaryB]

Adding to my story from post #23; Grounding was one of the issues I addressed with the Young Marine Radio Operators. A grounding Rod was part of the Equipment that came with the HF Vehicle/Radio. Marines were suing it; but did not grasp the intricacies of Grounding. Much of the Earth on Okinawa and many of the Islands in the pacific is very High Resistance. The old saying "Ground is Ground the World Round" does not apply to the quality of ground. I taught them to dig a 6 inch deep trench 30 to 300 feet long depending on site conditions to establish a much better ground by burning a bare copper wire into the trench. This coupled with wetting the trench and peeing on the trench or if using a ground wire peeing around the ground rod drastically improved the ground achieved - and through that the ability to receive and transmit over long distances.

Even varies all over the USA, the higher the number the better the ground. I am on the edge of a 30/15 boundary and have excellent ground systems under my towers(each has 9 ground roads in an X(One center, 2 each leg) shape, all cadweld connected with #2 bare copper. 8' ground rods spaced 16 feet apart. I have survived direct lightning strikes with no damage.

https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/6/6d/United_States_Effective_Ground_Conductivity_Map.pn g/800px-United_States_Effective_Ground_Conductivity_Map.pn g

[MaryB]

To get a cleaner reception you will need a better signal to noise ratio. The only way to obtain that is a stronger signal and the only way to obtain that is to use a better antenna. A simple external aerial, i.e., a long wire antenna (maybe 60-100 feet), mounted as high as possible outside your house is probably your best bet. And it would be best to install a proper sized (series connected) antenna tuning condenser in the feed line.

I'm not going to attempt to tell you how to make that work but if you know anyone who is a competent ham radio operator he should be able to help.


As an aside, Mr Taylor wrote his book, "African Rifles and Cartridges", about 1948; it's an excellent read of those old days. I believe he was right for that period but the simple thin copper jacket and heavy soft core bullets he knew have seen some serious improvements since then.

There are MANY indoor antennas now to improve AM radio reception... this with the suggested parts amplifier does a VERY good job on my bedside shortwave radio https://www.dxengineering.com/parts/dxe-noiseloop

If you have some old transistor radios that are dead you can salvage the ferrite bars and glue them end to end and side to side then wrap with the wire you took off them to make a super bar antenna...

This is one made on pvc pipe http://www.iw5edi.com/ham-radio/4365/long-loopstick-antenna it won't be quite as directional as a ferrite core antenna but easier to make from common materials. The capacitor for tuning is this https://www.amazon.com/Capacitor-Variable-Single-365-Rotation/dp/B00EQI9K9O/ref=asc_df_B00EQI9K9O/?tag=hyprod-20&linkCode=df0&hvadid=312231563479&hvpos=&hvnetw=g&hvrand=8440964544905543691&hvpone=&hvptwo=&hvqmt=&hvdev=c&hvdvcmdl=&hvlocint=&hvlocphy=9020043&hvtargid=pla-570861820937&psc=1&tag=&ref=&adgrpid=63839798084&hvpone=&hvptwo=&hvadid=312231563479&hvpos=&hvnetw=g&hvrand=8440964544905543691&hvqmt=&hvdev=c&hvdvcmdl=&hvlocint=&hvlocphy=9020043&hvtargid=pla-570861820937 mount it in a plastic box and use a plastic knob so your touch doesn't detune it

[Reg]

Hook up an old car radio, and it gets better reception than regular radios. No idea why. Probably because you can rig a real serious antenna to it.

They always told me that car radios simply had to be better made because of how they were used. The bouncing, shaking and vibration that car radios are subjected to would simply demolish a normally made radio
Have one set up out in the shop. A good old radio out of a Chevy coupled with a cheap (Amazon) 12 volt 110 volt converter to bypass the battery and for now a old pickup whip antenna and it works fine especially at night. Just for the heck of it someday want to experiment with putting together a better antenna out of old tv antennas just to see if the reception will improve.

[GregLaROCHE]

As has been said, car radios worked really well. You still had to ground them and connect them to a long wire antenna.

[MaryB]

They always told me that car radios simply had to be better made because of how they were used. The bouncing, shaking and vibration that car radios are subjected to would simply demolish a normally made radio
Have one set up out in the shop. A good old radio out of a Chevy coupled with a cheap (Amazon) 12 volt 110 volt converter to bypass the battery and for now a old pickup whip antenna and it works fine especially at night. Just for the heck of it someday want to experiment with putting together a better antenna out of old TV antennas just to see if the reception will improve.

Having repaired hundreds over the years not a lot of difference. Once they went solid state on a circuit board they are basically the same. Other than the car radio has an extra amplifier stage to make up for having that short whip antenna. Old TV antenna as is will help for FM as long as it doesn't have an FM filter built in. Won't help AM, you need to string as long as a piece of wire as possible outside for that

[tommag]

Lots of good information here. Here's an antenna you can build for cheap. The grounding is important.
https://news.ccrane.com/2018/04/09/how-to-make-a-simple-powerful-am-loop-antenna-for-free/

[firefly1957]

I do use a couple old Delco car radios from the 1990's they have very good AM reception some after market radios do not .

For a 1980's receiver / stereo in my workshop with separate am/fm antenna connections I ran a wire antenna in my garage attic . The wire was unwound from a old electric motor and coated I lost track of how long it got as I wound it walking over the joists several times . It worked great with one issue a ham operator three miles away would come in when he talked on Single Side Band . The length of an antenna makes a difference in reception by the frequency and I was demodulating a higher frequency then my tuner would normally get with that length of wire. After a thunderstorm I lost all AM reception on the radio First thing I did was check the antenna it was severed at the point I had in soldered to the shielded cable running to receiver and the AM circuits are damaged in the receiver . The receiver was off at the time of the damage and I still have FM available that storm hit in 2012 and the antenna wire was fully inside the garage attic under a asphalt shingle roof .

P.S. to earlier post my front porch bug light giving off am static died , taking it apart revealed several places the circuit board had arc marks and some parts blown out .

[MaryB]

I do use a couple old Delco car radios from the 1990's they have very good AM reception some after market radios do not .

For a 1980's receiver / stereo in my workshop with separate am/fm antenna connections I ran a wire antenna in my garage attic . The wire was unwound from a old electric motor and coated I lost track of how long it got as I wound it walking over the joists several times . It worked great with one issue a ham operator three miles away would come in when he talked on Single Side Band . The length of an antenna makes a difference in reception by the frequency and I was demodulating a higher frequency then my tuner would normally get with that length of wire. After a thunderstorm I lost all AM reception on the radio First thing I did was check the antenna it was severed at the point I had in soldered to the shielded cable running to receiver and the AM circuits are damaged in the receiver . The receiver was off at the time of the damage and I still have FM available that storm hit in 2012 and the antenna wire was fully inside the garage attic under a asphalt shingle roof .

P.S. to earlier post my front porch bug light giving off am static died , taking it apart revealed several places the circuit board had arc marks and some parts blown out .

What I call a near miss damage pattern. It induced enough voltage in the antenna to melt the solder and blow the front end transistors in the radio. 90% of lightning damaged electronics is form a near miss inducing really high voltage n the power lines or on antenna lines. Measured in the thousands of volts... I have watch it arc across a disconnected antenna lead in my ham radio shack... 1/2 inch! It takes 38,000 volts to do that!

[Swineherd]

Make a hoop antenna and complete the circuit with a DIY variable capacitor. The capacitor can be made with a cardboard paper towel tube, a sheet of paper, some aluminum foil and 2 paperclips. I'll try to find some instructions to link. I've made and used one in the past and it's amazing how well it works. Of course, you've got to align the coil 90° to the incoming signal and then slide your tube capacitor till its tuned to the specific frequency.

[Swineherd]

Here's a good variable capacitor instruction.

https://0creativeengineering0.blogspot.com/2019/03/home-made-capacitors-diy-paper.html?m=1

[firefly1957]

Mary B that is what my thoughts are as well . I had a mess of things damage when lightening hit the two tall pines at the end of my driveway 400 feet from my house it blew the nearby power transformer also. The same stereo receiver in my garage with power off had all of the stations erased they are not dependent on power to be saved . I also lost a motion light and half of a string of L.E.D. lights that I had inside my gun safe . This string of lights had the power off inside steel safe and half the lights were exploded the other half of the string still worked. Also lost was the computer to my Onan generator in my motor home 200 feet from the blown transformer and it was in no way connected to the powerlines . I am guessing one heck of a EMP was caused by the lighting strike and internal shorting of the transformer .

I should have added this sooner about AM antenna reception I got a tip from C. Cranes owner from the old art bell show that works quite well At my last house I had the am antenna wired to my homes heating ducts and got great reception . For a while at this house I used the copper boiler pipes with decent reception in the house and these fixes are very near free .

[10x]

For a while I lived in an Apartment with hot water heating. Copper pipes between the radiators and copper baseboard radiators. This made a great ground for radios

[Tracy]

Read what MaryB says. She knows what she is talking about. Some of the others? Well enough about that.

I'll just say that I would look on auction sites and ham radio sites for a serious quality, desktop shortwave receiver. One of my favorites is an R390, but newer stuff by Yaesu, Icom and others (even the Radio Shack DX series) can work fine as well.
Then I would put up a horizontal wire antenna, outdoors to keep it away from RF noise sources in your home. 40 feet is good, longer is better. If you have a lot of noise, move the end of the wire to different positions to find the lowest noise level.

[GregLaROCHE]

While we’re on the subject of antennas, here’s an interesting experience I had. I used to have a steel sailboat. I once took the aluminum mast out so I could go under low bridges. The mast was arranged on top of the boat setting on wooden blocks. As I was passing at 90* under some very high tension wires and I could feel an electrical current. I quickly took my hand off the mast and it stopped. I’m pretty sure that the forty some foot mast acted like an antenna. The current flowed from the insulated mast, through me into the bronze steering wheel, that was bolted to the steel hull to ground in the water.

[45_Colt]

More likely was that the mast was a secondary winding of a transformer. The magnetic field of the high voltage lines induced a voltage into the mast. The power/electricity just needed a path to earth...

45_Colt

[MaryB]

While we’re on the subject of antennas, here’s an interesting experience I had. I used to have a steel sailboat. I once took the aluminum mast out so I could go under low bridges. The mast was arranged on top of the boat setting on wooden blocks. As I was passing at 90* under some very high tension wires and I could feel an electrical current. I quickly took my hand off the mast and it stopped. I’m pretty sure that the forty some foot mast acted like an antenna. The current flowed from the insulated mast, through me into the bronze steering wheel, that was bolted to the steel hull to ground in the water.

That is an old trick that was used back when electric power was just being run. Guys would run fences for 400+ yards under the power line, the top wire was insulated and acted as a transformer winding. They then rectified this and used it to charge the house battery to run lights and the radio. I can think of 1 modern case of this where the guy fed an inverter and was powering most of his house! Power company caught him because it causes a phantom load on that section and they monitor things pretty close these days to switch around failures

[GONRA]

GONRA doesn't no one end of a radio / TV from another, but
appreciates all the cool stuff you (ham radio nuts?) do for phun
and all the tricks-of-the-trade ya'll have developed

Waaay back (1960's) decided Little Family needed a color TV.
Ham Radio Nuts at verk said "get a Heath Kit" for "Best Quality".

So I did.
Soldered / assembled it all together over many days.
Passed the "smoke test".
Located / fixed one "cold soldered junction".
PERFECT !!

With my Fragile Male Ego Swelled with pride, told my Ham Radio buddy asap.
Still remember the shocked / defeated look on his face.

Turned out Ham Radio Nuts always recommended "get a Heath Kit"
since they were counting on getting a big box of Free Parts
from the screwed up amateur assembly...

[trebor44]

Five dollar yard sale find, awesome reception, with batteries or power cord. It's a GE Superadio, long range AM/FM!

[Brassmonkey]

When I was 14 I ran an antenna wire out my window up to the roof, great reception! Fm though as I was too young to desire am and hated the static.

Anyways seems electric cars interfere with the signal so much that EV automakers want to eliminate am from the in car radio.

Don't anyone worry, our politicians are fighting for us! lol
https://fortune.com/2023/05/18/congress-bill-am-radio-new-car-models/amp/

[WRideout]

It's not AM broadcast, but when I was a teenage HAM operator, I ran a 40 meter dipole antenna from the house to the garage. Coax lead to my surplus bomber receiver and Heathkit transmitter. At that time novice class was limited to Morse code. Farthest I ever worked was Oregon, from Southern California where I lived.

Wayne

[MaryB]

It's not AM broadcast, but when I was a teenage HAM operator, I ran a 40 meter dipole antenna from the house to the garage. Coax lead to my surplus bomber receiver and Heathkit transmitter. At that time novice class was limited to Morse code. Farthest I ever worked was Oregon, from Southern California where I lived.

Wayne

As a novice I worked over 100 DX stations that came up into the novice band late at night... I used to rag chew on 80 meters to a friend across town. We both used a light bulb as the antenna so signals didn't go far(even then I worked some stations 1,000 miles away... on milliwatts of transmitted signal). We started out one night at 10wpm and kept increasing to see who would say uncle and ask to slow down. Friends listening in said we hit 30wpm with straight keys... I was always known for a really crisp clean sending style even at speed. Now my carpal tunnel says NO to CW... unless I use a keyboard to send it.

[Skipper]

I have cousin in Arkansas that was having reception problems. He tossed a long wire way up into a pine tree and connected it to the antenna input.
Worked like a charm.

[farmerjim]

I remember back as a novice. It took me about a month to learn morse to pass the 5 WPM test. It about 3 more weeks to get to 13 WPM. My first QSO with a 75 watt homemade transmitter was with a ham about 2 miles from me.
I quickly worked most of the US and even Japan.
I need to get my old HW16 (Morse transceiver) out of the barn and get back on HF CW. ( High freq Morse)

[William Yanda]

"Probably because you can rig a real serious antenna to it." Waksupi

And the tuner is very discriminating, at least that's what the boss told me when I worked at a radio station.

[MaryB]

I remember back as a novice. It took me about a month to learn morse to pass the 5 WPM test. It about 3 more weeks to get to 13 WPM. My first QSO with a 75 watt homemade transmitter was with a ham about 2 miles from me.
I quickly worked most of the US and even Japan.
I need to get my old HW16 (Morse transceiver) out of the barn and get back on HF CW. ( High freq Morse)

HW-16 was my first transceiver! A piece of garbage Eico VFO that frequency warbled if you bumped it LOL I loved 15 meters, worked a lot of DX on that band! 40 and 80 meters were okay from it but I had substandard antennas on those bands. 40m was a really low dipole all of 20' off the ground, 80m was a 30' tall electrical conduit vertical with a matching coil at the base and a capacity hat wire system guy wires/ropes, it worked but efficiency was horrible at around 3% since dad refused to let me run ground wires all over his backyard LOL

[farmerjim]

I had 2 inverted V,s. One for 40 and 15 and the other for 80.
Ground rod went into wet peat and soil.

[Tracy]

It's not AM broadcast, but when I was a teenage HAM operator, I ran a 40 meter dipole antenna from the house to the garage. Coax lead to my surplus bomber receiver and Heathkit transmitter. At that time novice class was limited to Morse code. Farthest I ever worked was Oregon, from Southern California where I lived.

Wayne

Ham is not an acronym.

[georgerkahn]

Google up "Crane Radios". They have a wide variety of radios and antennas. I, too, live in an area with poor AM reception and I use round antennae booster that is about the size of a dinner plate. You tune it to the station you want to listen to while it is in proximity to your radio. It's very sensitive to tuning and positioning and there is a small learning curve to get it operational. It does work once you find out how to find the sweet spot. Still, AM reception is sensitive to time of day, weather, sun spots, etc. Good luck.

I concur 100% with this. At camp there is little static/inteference-causing stuff, but alas and alack running the full spectrum on my G E SuperRadio received but three French-speaking Canadian stations, not too far distant. I listened to a neighbor and bought a Crane radio plus one of their antennas, and I have a choice of fifteen or sixteen English speaking stations during the day. and generally at night quite a few (I've never counted them) which include music, religious broadcasts, news, and "gum-flappers". An added benefit for me it that they are powered by 12V battery, too. Their URL is https://ccrane.com/
geo

[Tracy]

As a novice I worked over 100 DX stations that came up into the novice band late at night... I used to rag chew on 80 meters to a friend across town. We both used a light bulb as the antenna so signals didn't go far(even then I worked some stations 1,000 miles away... on milliwatts of transmitted signal). We started out one night at 10wpm and kept increasing to see who would say uncle and ask to slow down. Friends listening in said we hit 30wpm with straight keys... I was always known for a really crisp clean sending style even at speed. Now my carpal tunnel says NO to CW... unless I use a keyboard to send it.

The light bulb antenna is interesting. I was at Four Days In May (QRP symposium in Dayton that happens in conjunction with the Hamvention) in 2000 or '01 when Ed Hare facilitated the temporary acquisition of Doug DeMaw's original Tuna Tin 2 transmitter by our QRP club. We were using it to make all kinds of contacts. After awhile I headed back to my room to join the festivities from the other direction. This inspired me, after I returned home, to make a short range all-band QRP antenna consisting of a lossy dummy load of a resistor shunt on a PL259, with a short wire antenna connected to the center conductor. I think I used 68 ohms or something like that. That way the SWR would be high enough to encourage radiation from the wire, but not high enough to harm the finals.

[MaryB]

The light bulb antenna is interesting. I was at Four Days In May (QRP symposium in Dayton that happens in conjunction with the Hamvention) in 2000 or '01 when Ed Hare facilitated the temporary acquisition of Doug DeMaw's original Tuna Tin 2 transmitter by our QRP club. We were using it to make all kinds of contacts. After awhile I headed back to my room to join the festivities from the other direction. This inspired me, after I returned home, to make a short range all-band QRP antenna consisting of a lossy dummy load of a resistor shunt on a PL259, with a short wire antenna connected to the center conductor. I think I used 68 ohms or something like that. That way the SWR would be high enough to encourage radiation from the wire, but not high enough to harm the finals.

I have watched videos of guys making contacts with a few milliwatts of power, modern receiver sensitivity is amazing. Now the difference between my entry level Icom IC-7300($1100, you guys think shooting is expensive...) and a top of the line IC-7851($13,300!!!!!) is barely discernible to the ear, it has to be measured with test equipment. Now the difference in stations boils down to antennas, he who has the most aluminum in the air wins! And antennas are a consumable item in some climates... sea air eats aluminum, where I am wind causes stress fatigue and aluminum failure... had one antenna I hated mowing under, never knew if it would try to lawn dart me with one of the elements! That tower suffered a catastrophic failure and that antenna was pile driven into the ground on one side wiping out the remaining elements. 6" diameter 1/4 wall steel tube the tower was made from had a crack that failed. Looked like it had been there from day one and slowly grew over the years. Finally gave way in 75mph gusts during a t-storm.

[firefly1957]

MaryB I have seen many steel pipes fail because they were left open at the top water goes in and rusts steel and freezes and expands cracking the steel at some point down in the pipe after a number of years . I have also seen steel with a flaw from day one it happened to the barrel of my early Stainless Steel Ruger Security Six. I noticed a dark "crack" while cleaning had it looked at and sent it back to Ruger and they really did a good job and a lot of other fixes as well like the nicked front sight and all for free .

[MaryB]

MaryB I have seen many steel pipes fail because they were left open at the top water goes in and rusts steel and freezes and expands cracking the steel at some point down in the pipe after a number of years . I have also seen steel with a flaw from day one it happened to the barrel of my early Stainless Steel Ruger Security Six. I noticed a dark "crack" while cleaning had it looked at and sent it back to Ruger and they really did a good job and a lot of other fixes as well like the nicked front sight and all for free .

This was wide open at the bottom so ice wasn't the issue It is a failure mode I am well aware of on tower legs! People forget to fish the hardware bag out when assembling and dirt builds up above it then water builds up and freezes. Usually towers put up by a radio company who has lots of spare hardware so the techs get lazy and don't check the legs.

This is the one that failed, I had the rotating base assembly and where it rotated against the straps is where it started cracking... https://worldradiohistory.com/hd2/IDX-Short-Wave/Archive-Ham-Radio-IDX/IDX/80s/Ham-Radio-198001-OCR-Page-0065.pdf

[firefly1957]

MaryB my son has one like that next to his house it is fairly old no antenna on it and no safe way to lower it with newer powerlines now on the street . Going down away from the road trees are in the way on neighboring lot .
I am not sure how tall (it is over 60 feet ) it is but it leaves the small property either way when it goes down .

[MaryB]

MaryB my son has one like that next to his house it is fairly old no antenna on it and no safe way to lower it with newer powerlines now on the street . Going down away from the road trees are in the way on neighboring lot .
I am not sure how tall (it is over 60 feet ) it is but it leaves the small property either way when it goes down .

If it is the TV antenna style with reinforcing "wires" that run from the top down to a center brace then down to the base they can be picked with a small crane. Mostly worth scrap iron value... The one I posted can handle a pretty large antenna.

[firefly1957]

MARYB I am not sure what the antenna mast was for originally it is old and needs to go you are correct a small crane is the safe way to get it down . It would have to be cut up to transport our of town . I do worry it can do a lot of damage when it falls ....

[MaryB]

MARYB I am not sure what the antenna mast was for originally it is old and needs to go you are correct a small crane is the safe way to get it down . It would have to be cut up to transport our of town . I do worry it can do a lot of damage when it falls ....

They have a bad tendency to rust out at the base... a lot of installers filled the mounting tube(s) with concrete so water would pool at the bottom... in cold climates freeze and thaw would also crack the steel. I installed a LOT of TV antennas on that style over the years and many were unsafe.

[firefly1957]

MARYB I would have to go look but if I remember correctly the parts in the cement are Thick solid channel steel about 4 feet out of the ground . I have no idea how deep they go but they are showing age as in much surface rust . This area was big into CB radios and ham radio in the past and people needed a pretty good TV to get stations well .