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Antennas - Printable Version

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Antennas - WallaceRoger - 03-20-2023

Hi guys. I've been MIA for a few years, moving house a couple times among other significant events keeping me from this hobby.

I listened to my Model 20 a fair amount during 2020 while working from home until the power stopped working. I finally had a look and discovered a poor original wire from the power switch. Replaced and it's back in business (except for an issue of occasional good signal that becomes poor and drops as the set warms up over a couple minutes. My original thought was a hot tube issue, but will start looking into it more this spring).

Now that I'm settled in a house, I'm thinking of improved reception for my radios. What do you guys think of a roof aerial or something mounted in the attic? I've used an assortment of plain wire antennas over the years that have been "ok", but would like better performance overall. I'm about 30 miles southwest of Chicago and can pick up a couple stations pretty well, but not much else. I'd like to listen to something besides the ballgame and political talk radio.

RE: Antennas - Chas - 03-20-2023

Quote:I'm thinking of improved reception for my radios. What do you guys think of a roof aerial or something mounted in the attic?
Good idea Icon_biggrin 

Give it a good ground too, short and direct to earth, not the ground for the wall outlet...

Chas

RE: Antennas - WallaceRoger - 03-20-2023

Quote:Give it a good ground too, short and direct to earth, not the ground for the wall outlet...

I figured I'd run a long wire to the basement and ground it to the water main from the city. It's copper and certainly underground!

462ron - 462ron - 03-21-2023

Hi Greg, as for an antenna, I’ve had great results using my landline phone line. In most homes, there are 4 wires in the line coming in. 2 of them are fore the phone and the other 2 have nothing on them. I hooked a .001mfd cap to either one of those and run a wire to my radio. That gets me about 60’ or more of antenna running from the house, up high and out to the pole on the street plus the extra footage run throughout the house. And now since we’ve done away with our home phone, I can put my radio in any room in the house and have access to that antenna from any phone Jack.

Ron