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help finding the antenna on my 37-660 ? - Printable Version

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help finding the antenna on my 37-660 ? - Tim - 11-27-2010

[Image: http://www.nostalgiaincorporated.com/37-660/whole_radio.jpg]

http://www.nostalgiaincorporated.com/37-660/

The above link shows pics of my newly acquired Philco 37-660. It has four bands, and I'd love to know where I can hook up a make-shift antenna so I can pick up local stations on the AM band. The second pic shows the backside, and my meager knowledge makes me think the four screws at the bottom would be where I hook up an antenna...but which screws? Obviously the one marked 'ground' is just that. However, that leaves 'red', 'black' and an unmarked 4. Anyone who could let me know if I'm on the right track, and where to properly go from here, would be my best friend for the day! Thanks a ton.

Re: help finding the antenna on my 37-660 ? - Carl Travis - 11-27-2010

Tim,
The aerial connections are listed in the service info:
http://www.nostalgiaair.org/PagesByModel/220/M0013220.pdf
Nice looking radio.

Re: help finding the antenna on my 37-660 ? - Tim - 11-27-2010

Thanks! I never would have found this online. I'll try it out today.

Re: help finding the antenna on my 37-660 ? - TA Forbes - 12-03-2010

Hi, Tim: I have a 665 Console and you are in for a treat. They are a super radio.

Re: help finding the antenna on my 37-660 ? - Music in a bottle - 12-03-2010

Sure looks nice indeed! Nicely done!

Re: help finding the antenna on my 37-660 ? - Tim - 12-03-2010

Thanks, it's a beauty for sure. There was an estate sale in Oakland, CA with a room full of old radios of all makes and models. I got this baby for $120, and just looking at it every morning makes it worth the price alone. I did hook up an AM antenna to it and can get a better signal, but unfortunately the strongest stations are Radio Disney and a Chinese language station coming from somewhere in the Bay Area. The rest is all talk radio. I'm thinking the same antenna setup for AM probably wouldn't work for the other bands, would it? I had an old short wave radio as a kid and seem to recall having only one long wire connected to one screw on the back. That setup allowed me to pick up stations all over the world. This radio has four bands, and I'm assuming one of them is short wave.

Re: help finding the antenna on my 37-660 ? - TA Forbes - 12-03-2010

Hello, Tim: I'm at my daughter's house right now and do not have Ron's book handy to refer to, but I believe your 37-660 has regular broadcast (AM) and 3 bands of shortwave. You will discover that as a rule the lower frequency bands are better at night and the higher frequency bands are better at day. However, no doubt with a decent antenna you will recieve low freq stationd during the day and vice versa.

A "longwire" antenna connected to your antenna post on the radio should be sufficient. As a rule, longer is better, but it really depends on how much room you have available for this. I would not recomment hanging an antenna outside unless you know how to protect it from potential lightning strikes.

I personally have one "longwire" antenna under the eave of my front porch in order to protect it from lightning, and inside my home I have several "loop" antennas that are either hung tight to the ceiling or are on a wall. You can make a "loop" simply bystringing your antenna's in a square or rectangular fashion. I use eye screws to run the wire through.

I have many rolls of "claymore" wire that I scavenged during my 25 years in the USMC that I use for antenna wire. This is a habit I developed when needing to construct expedient antennas for long range short wave radio reports using a small, man packed 20 watt HF radio. The wire came from expended claymore mine kits.

But since claymore mines are not routinely used in civilian life, I recommend going to Lowes or Home Depot and purchasing 20 to 30 feet of "stereo" wire. The copper is better for the antenna, the aluminum is better for grounds, doublets, or counterpoises.