i am making an antenna out of an 8' PVC pole, some thin red copper wire i had lying around, some tinfoil, and a few other things to help me detect lightning strikes near and far. lightning makes a unique crackling snapping noise on AM shortwave under 70khz, so i think my 8' tall antenna will work well and hopefully listen in on distant thunderstorms.
If my radio has a plug for an external antenna, is it better to hook the wire to that plug type, and then plug that into the radio vs. clipping it onto the telescoping antenna?
i'd run that as an outdoor 100 ft long wire, the higher the better. i do that in the summer when in Yellowstone and toss it up into the trees using a rock. does awesome.
I am wondering, if you got that red wire and placed the loop and bundle of it on a desk / sofa or what ever, sat the radio on the wire (not making electrical contact, just literally sat on the bundle of wire) , and instead of running the crocodile clip to the radio you ran to ground outside,,, would that help remove some of the electrical interference you are getting as it may create a sort of "grounded shield" that, in turn, may shield the circuits in the radio. It is just a thought, but it shouldn't cost anything to try out as long as you can get to the ground with the wire you have, clip it to a long nail, screwdriver or something and bury / stake it in the ground, wet ground tend to ground better so maybe add a bucket of water on it.
I've tried using about 100' of old wire taken from everything from line cords and wire salvaged from scrap wiring harnesses,etc.I've noticed that by adding the scrap wire,it makes no difference.When I touch the loop antenna with it,it either nulls the signal or shows no signal gain.
Did something close to your idea, I used a hanger, copper braided thread and alligator clip,...wrapped the hanger with copper braided thread,. Can use in any room, can also make the length longer or shorter..
My radioshack dx-398 (Sangean ats 909) when I'm on the FM band the clock goes back 01:12 for example I correct the time to 10:00 after a few seconds the clock changes to 09:12 minutes only in FM RDS. I've done a factory reset but it didn't help. Has anyone had this problem and how did they solve it, can anyone help?
I'm in a small ground floor concrete block apartment with a sliding glass door in the middle of the city and trying to create an antenna like I used to in the mountains. Unfortunately no nearby tree and the patio is only 8 feet without a fence. I bought a 40ft roll of stranded 18gauge speaker wire and some alligator clips. I thought the clip had to be soldered to stripped wire and the wire had to be extended not coiled or it would choke the signals. Now I'm trying to do one like yours.
Some guys on /r/amateurradio told me that a longwire antenna works better with a 9:1 unun in it. But also that some radios have the unun built in. Is this true and how can one know if their radio already has one or not?
On a portable receiver it is not very important ... but on a higher end tabletop with a long wire antenna it is true that you need to match the impedance with a Balun ... but many receivers have a already matched input
It is true, but I think the first thing a SW listener should probably do is what our friend here is doing, which is to try to find a low noise area to hold the wire. I guess the next step would be to make a 9:1 balun, they should be cheap to make no matter where you live. After that I would start to research antenna tuning units, as these will generally out perform a 9:1 balun but try to make one yourself rather than buying one. If the science behind them baffle you a little do not worry, there is a whole internet of information and people will to explain what you need and so on. But I think the first step really should be to experiment with placing a relatively short wire in different areas, it is almost free and can get you some amazing results in very noisy areas.
I've hunted and gathered 30ft of wire around my place, Radio works well but now my tv won't turn on. I realized that I had cut my tv's electrical cord :p Hunt Carefully.
yes thanks for the reply. it will be for an indoor random for use w/ my radios which do not have an external antenna option. is 12 guage ok.? or is it better to use something thicker. 73,tree huggah aka kb3aum
Correct. Wire size is not important because the signals you are seeking are in the microwatt/microvolt range. Insulated wire is best in order to avoid shorting out sections of the wire.
NEVER connect to the whip directly if you can help it. One static zap and the radio is likely dead. If it has an external antenna connector, try to use that instead.
sorry for the loss :( rest in peace buddy
Im in australia and I tried this and it works really well. Cool video
Gilles your quick wire antenna in your live room for your portable shortwave radios receivers are cool
Thanks again for another awesome video update.
Thank you very much for this video 73's sir,very good work 📻
would leaving the excess looped like that help with reception also? kind of like a loop antenna type thing
Thank you for sharing your video. I have some old speaker wires laying around I will try that.
make sure its copper vs aluminum
Thanks, but I'll need to wait, my bird is still hanging on
i am making an antenna out of an 8' PVC pole, some thin red copper wire i had lying around, some tinfoil, and a few other things to help me detect lightning strikes near and far. lightning makes a unique crackling snapping noise on AM shortwave under 70khz, so i think my 8' tall antenna will work well and hopefully listen in on distant thunderstorms.
Alex Lubbers I often use radios to check for thunderstorms
Alex Lubbers 520 khz is what I use to look for lighting strikes.
Hopefully it won't work TOO good... KABOOM! ZZzzzt.
If my radio has a plug for an external antenna, is it better to hook the wire to that plug type, and then plug that into the radio vs. clipping it onto the telescoping antenna?
Does this typically work better than putting a straight line going through the house?
That Degen DE-1105 front panel reminds me a lot of the Eton Elite Executive.
My wife would severely injure me
Rookie mistake
I loved that Degan model but it went faulty & I had to bin it, I looked for another but there was non for sale anywhere.
i'd run that as an outdoor 100 ft long wire, the higher the better. i do that in the summer when in Yellowstone and toss it up into the trees using a rock. does awesome.
I am looking at finding a way to have that 100 ft wire when summer comes ...
Great idea.....
I am wondering, if you got that red wire and placed the loop and bundle of it on a desk / sofa or what ever, sat the radio on the wire (not making electrical contact, just literally sat on the bundle of wire) , and instead of running the crocodile clip to the radio you ran to ground outside,,, would that help remove some of the electrical interference you are getting as it may create a sort of "grounded shield" that, in turn, may shield the circuits in the radio. It is just a thought, but it shouldn't cost anything to try out as long as you can get to the ground with the wire you have, clip it to a long nail, screwdriver or something and bury / stake it in the ground, wet ground tend to ground better so maybe add a bucket of water on it.
I've tried using about 100' of old wire taken from everything from line cords and wire salvaged from scrap wiring harnesses,etc.I've noticed that by adding the scrap wire,it makes no difference.When I touch the loop antenna with it,it either nulls the signal or shows no signal gain.
Could you clip it too you're TV antenna?
Did something close to your idea, I used a hanger, copper braided thread and alligator clip,...wrapped the hanger with copper braided thread,. Can use in any room, can also make the length longer or shorter..
A coat hanger?
long wire ant. has always proven to be great performance..thanks
My radioshack dx-398 (Sangean ats 909) when I'm on the FM band the clock goes back 01:12 for example I correct the time to 10:00 after a few seconds the clock changes to 09:12 minutes only in FM RDS. I've done a factory reset but it didn't help.
Has anyone had this problem and how did they solve it, can anyone help?
I wonder if you ever thought this might be working like a loop antenna?
I'm in a small ground floor concrete block apartment with a sliding glass door in the middle of the city and trying to create an antenna like I used to in the mountains. Unfortunately no nearby tree and the patio is only 8 feet without a fence. I bought a 40ft roll of stranded 18gauge speaker wire and some alligator clips. I thought the clip had to be soldered to stripped wire and the wire had to be extended not coiled or it would choke the signals. Now I'm trying to do one like yours.
Grab a magnetic loop antenna
Do you happen to know if it works better to strip the speaker wire one from the other left from right?
Speaker wire doesn't work.
Some guys on /r/amateurradio told me that a longwire antenna works better with a 9:1 unun in it. But also that some radios have the unun built in. Is this true and how can one know if their radio already has one or not?
On a portable receiver it is not very important ... but on a higher end tabletop with a long wire antenna it is true that you need to match the impedance with a Balun ... but many receivers have a already matched input
It is true, but I think the first thing a SW listener should probably do is what our friend here is doing, which is to try to find a low noise area to hold the wire. I guess the next step would be to make a 9:1 balun, they should be cheap to make no matter where you live. After that I would start to research antenna tuning units, as these will generally out perform a 9:1 balun but try to make one yourself rather than buying one. If the science behind them baffle you a little do not worry, there is a whole internet of information and people will to explain what you need and so on. But I think the first step really should be to experiment with placing a relatively short wire in different areas, it is almost free and can get you some amazing results in very noisy areas.
I've hunted and gathered 30ft of wire around my place,
Radio works well but now my tv won't turn on.
I realized that I had cut my tv's electrical cord :p
Hunt Carefully.
Couldn't you have just ran a wire to the empty cage?
My radio has a wire antenna. But reception isn't that good. How can I improve the reception? Thanks a lot!
Noise around you is probably too high, the best would be to move away as much from your home or if noise is a problem, get a MLA 30 loop antenna
I will follow your advice! Thank you very much! @OfficialSWLchannel
what gauge wire is best to use. Thank and 73
TREE HUGGAH it does not really matter but something strong enough to withstand wind and outdoor elements for a outdoor wire
yes thanks for the reply. it will be for an indoor random for use w/ my radios which do not have an external antenna option. is 12 guage ok.? or is it better to use something thicker.
73,tree huggah aka kb3aum
Is 16 gauge copper wire good enough? Also is bare copper wire is better? Cause the thinner the wire I think you get less signal
wire size does not matter and bare or not does not matter either
Correct. Wire size is not important because the signals you are seeking are in the microwatt/microvolt range. Insulated wire is best in order to avoid shorting out sections of the wire.
Sorry for your bird loss
This well help you get more FM stations
dont you want to spread the wire around. I was told the best way is to spread it so to increase the yardage that the wire covers
NEVER connect to the whip directly if you can help it. One static zap and the radio is likely dead. If it has an external antenna connector, try to use that instead.
Did this hundred of times and never happened. it does not matter and works great for a quick test
How do you hook this up if your radio has a plug in the back for an external antenna?
Solder on an antenna connector.
👍 👍
You should of zip tied the loop.
why?
RIP poor bird
Telescopic antenna is for FM RADIO,,,,,what about AM RECEPTION
We are talking about Shortwave radio here