Long Wire Antenna
Dave
I have an Icom R71A, that I am using with a 300' (plus or minus
10-20'). I have the antenna coming straight into the house, hooked to
a tentec antenna tuner and then to the receiver. Both the receiver and
the tuner are grounded. I would like to get some ideas on how to
reduce some of the static and to boost the signal on some of the
weaker stations. All suggestions would be gratefull.
Dave
Tony Meloche
Corrections welcmed from anyone, but here is what has always been my
understanding, Dave:
SW is amplitude modulation. Noise (and it will be most noticeable with
a longwire) is inherent. Anything that will amplify the signals more,
will equally amplify the noise you are getting with those signals. Net
improvement - nothing.
That said, many posters here like "tunable loop" antennas, very good for
cancelling out noise coming from *other directions* than the one you are
zeroed into with the loop. Look for good links - you can make your own
fairly easily. Others will have links at their fingertips, but a Google
search for "AM loop antenna" is a good start. The trade-off again: The
most distant and faint signals you can receive with your longwire will
probably disappear with the loop - but the signals you still receive
will likely be much quieter. Also, you have to turn the loop for
maximum effectiveness on different signals.
Bottom line: Maximum signal gathering ability, including "barely
theres", and the noise be damned? Stick with the longwire.
(Probably) less signals overall, but quieter reception? Try a loop.
Hope this helped.
I use a longwire, myself.
Tony
DesignGuy
"Dave" <kc0...@yahoo.com> wrote in message
news:b712087d.0409...@posting.google.com...
Try grounding the antenna at the far end through a 100 ohm resistor (play
around with the resistance but stay between 10 and 1000 ohms). That may
reduce noise but will make the antenna directional off the far end.
Howard
Good advice. Not mentioned are type of feedline, grounding, matching
transformer. I've found that a good ground, coax feedline (using 75
ohm RG-6 as it's cheaper than RG-8 variants and easier to work with)
and an ICE-182A (DC isolated transformer) provides some relief from
household appliances & the neighbors dimmers (a device that is
outlawed in my home as are flourescent lights - real noise
generators). Not much you can do to boost the signal only, just do
what you can to reduce the noise floor. That may mean ferrite chokes
on power cords for computers & televisions, vcr's etc and perhaps
giving up on the motion sensitive outdoor lights. Also, running the
antenna perpendicular to power lines can provide some relief - if that
is possible given your property.
Howard - an inverted L and an Alpha Delta Sloper and proud holder of
WAN (Worked All Noise) Certificate
Mark
property about them. Any noise received in one half of the di-pole is picked
up by the other half as "equal and opposite" (180 degrees out-of-phase) and
cancels out the other, to some degree.
Depends on several other variables how well this effect works.
(Pretty much why double-coil pickups in electric guitars are inherently
quieter than single-coil).
Mark.
"Dave" <kc0...@yahoo.com> wrote in message
news:b712087d.0409...@posting.google.com...
dxAce
Mark wrote:
> You could make yourself a di-pole. They have an inherent "noise-cancelling"
> property about them. Any noise received in one half of the di-pole is picked
> up by the other half as "equal and opposite" (180 degrees out-of-phase) and
> cancels out the other, to some degree.
>
> Depends on several other variables how well this effect works.
>
> (Pretty much why double-coil pickups in electric guitars are inherently
> quieter than single-coil).
Dipoles are best on only one small portion of a band. Not really all that good
for general all-round shortwave listening, though he could use it with the
tuner.
dxAce
RHF
= = = news:<b712087d.0409...@posting.google.com>...
DAVID,
First - Buy the following items:
* One Hundred Feet (100 Ft) of Coax Cable
* Eight Foot (8 Ft) Ground Rod
* A so called Magnetic Long Wire Balun (MLB)
- Palomar "MLB" Magnetic Longwire Balun @ $50
http://www.palomar-engineers.com/MLB-1/mlb-1.html
- RF Systems Magnetic Longwire Balun (MLB) @ $60
http://www.universal-radio.com/catalog/antsup/1484.html
- WinRadio Long Wire Adapter @ $40
http://www.winradio.com/home/lwa.htm
http://www.grove-ent.com/WR0130.html
- The ICE 180 / ICE 182 @ $40 {My Choice}
Broadband Impedance Matching Units intended for use with HF
Lowband, Low-Noise Receiving Antennas.
ICE=> http://tinyurl.com/38unr
<http://www.arraysolutions.com/Products/ice/reconly.html#Beverage%
20Matching>
- - Model 180A Shortwave Band Coverage: 1.5 - 30 MHz
- - Model 182A Medium & Shortwave Bands Coverage: 0.1 - 30 MHz
- Par Electronics EF-SWL (Use the MLB Only)
http://www.parelectronics.com/swl_end.htm
Second - Run the Coax from your Radio Shack 'location' along
the path of your current Long Wire Antenna. Account for any
up-leads and down-leads of the Coax Run. The Far-End of the
Coax Cable is the new starting point of your Antenna Element.
Install a Ground Rod in the ground 'under' the "Junction Point"
of the Far-End of the Coax and your Antenna Element.
NOTE: You give-up 50-100Ft of Wire Antenna Element for a Coax
Cable Feed-in-Line with a MLB Coupler to create a "Low Noise"
Antenna.
Third - WHY? - Read these Messages posted to the Shortwave
Listeners (SWL) Antenna eGroup on YAHOO !
* Improving the 'basic' Long Wire Antenna with a Coax Lead-in-Line
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/Shortwave-SWL-Antenna/message/1024
* Basic Antenna ? -and- Better Antenna ?
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/Shortwave-SWL-Antenna/message/1135
* Checking for "RF" Noise
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/Shortwave-SWL-Antenna/message/707
* IMPROVING on the Classic simple "Random" Wire Antenna
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/Shortwave-SWL-Antenna/message/466
* An OutSide Ground for Better Safety and more . . .
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/Shortwave-SWL-Antenna/message/206
* Understanding the Random Wire Antenna . . .
and Building a Better One !
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/Shortwave-SWL-Antenna/message/200
* The "Low Noise" SWL Antenna
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/Shortwave-SWL-Antenna/message/2
.
.
REMEMBER: "The AM/MW and Shortwave Antenna is 55.5% . . .
of the Radio/Receiver and Antenna/Ground Reception Equation"
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/Shortwave-SWL-Antenna/message/288
A Shortwave Antenna is "Equally" Important for Good Reception [.]
.
.
iane ~ RHF
.
Some Say: On A Clear Day You Can See Forever.
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/Shortwave-SWL-Antenna/message/502
I BELIEVE: On A Clear Night . . .
You Can Hear Forever and Beyond - The Beyond !
.
.
Sanjaya
"RHF" <rhf-new...@pacbell.net> wrote>
> First - Buy the following items:
> * One Hundred Feet (100 Ft) of Coax Cable
> * Eight Foot (8 Ft) Ground Rod
> * A so called Magnetic Long Wire Balun (MLB)
> - Palomar "MLB" Magnetic Longwire Balun @ $50
> http://www.palomar-engineers.com/MLB-1/mlb-1.html
> - RF Systems Magnetic Longwire Balun (MLB) @ $60
> http://www.universal-radio.com/catalog/antsup/1484.html
> - WinRadio Long Wire Adapter @ $40
> http://www.winradio.com/home/lwa.htm
> http://www.grove-ent.com/WR0130.html
> - The ICE 180 / ICE 182 @ $40 {My Choice}
> Broadband Impedance Matching Units intended for use with HF
> Lowband, Low-Noise Receiving Antennas.
> ICE=> http://tinyurl.com/38unr
> <http://www.arraysolutions.com/Products/ice/reconly.html#Beverage%
> 20Matching>
> - - Model 180A Shortwave Band Coverage: 1.5 - 30 MHz
> - - Model 182A Medium & Shortwave Bands Coverage: 0.1 - 30 MHz
> - Par Electronics EF-SWL (Use the MLB Only)
> http://www.parelectronics.com/swl_end.htm
Hi RHF.
This confuses me a bit, since the PAR EF-SWL has a 9:1 transformer built in.
If one gets the PAR do they connect the built in transformer to the MLB you suggest,
then run the coax to the receiver?
Dale
What a helpful reply. Thanks for taking the time and effort to post all of
that good information. I am trying to figure out what antenna well best
suit my needs and that will go a long way toward helping me make up my mind.
:)
"RHF" <rhf-new...@pacbell.net> wrote in message
news:ff3145e8.04091...@posting.google.com...
RHF
= = = news:<uIG2d.4667$mb6....@newsread3.news.atl.earthlink.net>...
> > First - Buy the following items:
> > * One Hundred Feet (100 Ft) of Coax Cable
> > * Eight Foot (8 Ft) Ground Rod
> > * A so called Magnetic Long Wire Balun (MLB)
> > - Palomar "MLB" Magnetic Longwire Balun @ $50
> > http://www.palomar-engineers.com/MLB-1/mlb-1.html
> > - RF Systems Magnetic Longwire Balun (MLB) @ $60
> > http://www.universal-radio.com/catalog/antsup/1484.html
> > - WinRadio Long Wire Adapter @ $40
> > http://www.winradio.com/home/lwa.htm
> > http://www.grove-ent.com/WR0130.html
> > - The ICE 180 / ICE 182 @ $40 {My Choice}
> > Broadband Impedance Matching Units intended for use with HF
> > Lowband, Low-Noise Receiving Antennas.
> > ICE=> http://tinyurl.com/38unr
> > <http://www.arraysolutions.com/Products/ice/reconly.html#Beverage%
> > 20Matching>
> > - - Model 180A Shortwave Band Coverage: 1.5 - 30 MHz
> > - - Model 182A Medium & Shortwave Bands Coverage: 0.1 - 30 MHz
- Par Electronics EF-SWL (Use the MLB Only) @ $60
http://www.parelectronics.com/swl_end.htm
http://www.universal-radio.com/catalog/sw_ant/2205.html
.
.
>
> Hi RHF.
> This confuses me a bit, since the PAR EF-SWL has a 9:1 transformer built in.
> If one gets the PAR do they connect the built in transformer to the MLB you suggest,
> then run the coax to the receiver?
SANJAYA,
The Answer lays in Availability and Cost:
PAR Electronics EF-SWL (Use the MLB Only) @ $60
http://www.universal-radio.com/catalog/sw_ant/2205.html
- The ICE 180 / ICE 182 @ $40 {My Choice}
- WinRadio Long Wire Adapter @ $40 (BNC Connector)
- Palomar "MLB" Magnetic Longwire Balun @ $50 {Easiest to use)
Buy the PAR and swap-out the Wire Antenna Elements for the
200-300 Ft Longwire. Save the PAR's 45 feet of genuine #14
black polyethylene coated Flex-Weave wire for a future antenna.
About "Flex-Weave" Antenna Wire:
http://www.davisrf.com/ham1/flexweve.htm
Also there is the "Universal Magnetic Balun" (UMB) a Receiving
(Only) Antenna Balun with a 9:1 impedance ratio by Wellbrook, UK.
UMB=> http://www.wellbrook.uk.com/UMB.html
LONGWIRE&UMB=> http://www.wellbrook.uk.com/longwire.html
Do-It-Yourself Antenna Balun Kits by ByteMark
http://www.bytemark.com/products/kit_bal1.htm
iane ~ RHF
.
.
adddress@spamfree.com CW
most are no problem. I have a four foot, two tube fluorescent in my shack.
No noise from it at all. I have four, four foot, two tube fixtures in the
garage. No problem with them either.
Telamon
Once the old ballast type have started up into a good bulb you will
probably not hear much noise from a fluorescent but the newer high
efficiency switching type can make plenty of noise.
--
Telamon
Ventura, California
Jack Painter
"Telamon" <telamon_s...@pacbell.net.is.invalid> wrote
>> Once the old ballast type have started up into a good bulb you will
> probably not hear much noise from a fluorescent but the newer high
> efficiency switching type can make plenty of noise.
>
> --
> Telamon
> Ventura, California
How about the new Xenon (flourescent-type) fixtures - we're getting ready to
put these under cabinets in a new kitchen. Anybody have experience with
interference from them?
Thanks,
Jack
Telamon
"Jack Painter" <223...@cox.net> wrote:
I would need more information from you on the model. I would get a
report on the fixture before I bought it. Basically it comes down to how
the current for the bulb is regulated in the amount of EMI generated.
Some RFI is generated by the bulb plasma when conditions are not good
for the bulb. You might want to just buy one unit and test it with a
radio. The problem is that things may change as the fixture ages. The
unit unit might not be a problem until later in its life.
--
Telamon
Ventura, California
Jack Painter
"Telamon" <telamon_s...@pacbell.net.is.invalid> wrote
"Jack Painter" <223...@cox.net> wrote:
>
> > How about the new Xenon (flourescent-type) fixtures - we're getting
ready to
> > put these under cabinets in a new kitchen. Anybody have experience with
> > interference from them?
>
> I would need more information from you on the model. I would get a
> report on the fixture before I bought it. Basically it comes down to how
> the current for the bulb is regulated in the amount of EMI generated.
> Some RFI is generated by the bulb plasma when conditions are not good
> for the bulb. You might want to just buy one unit and test it with a
> radio. The problem is that things may change as the fixture ages. The
> unit unit might not be a problem until later in its life.
>
> --
> Telamon
> Ventura, California
Thanks, I don't know any specs about them yet, as the first sets we got
turned out to be plug-ins and we need the hard-wired type. They are
expensive, and purportedly have advantages that the XYL's like. Fwiw, I
never experienced anymore than barely noticeable interference from
flourescent lights new or old, incl one within inches of my equipment. But
dimmer switches and sodium (security) lamps can sound like a buzz-saw.
73,
Jack
Telamon
"Jack Painter" <223...@cox.net> wrote:
Light dimmers are a big enemy of AM BCB or SW listeners which create
some of the worst interference listeners have to deal with. Those units
use solid state switches with very fast rise times for efficiency that
are rich in harmonics. The impulse from these can overwhelm a radios
front end causing intermodulation in the radio. The intermod products
can ruin the entire spectrum the radio is capable of tuning.
--
Telamon
Ventura, California
Mark
radios a very strong periodic crackling noise. Thought I might have
something burning out somewhere. So I used a small Sony radio (7600A) to
hunt down the problem. I found that when I went out in the street, away from
the house, the noise got louder. I found myself standing underneath the lamp
when it went off. (Of course, it came back on a couple of minutes later, as
these kind of lamps do that when they are dying).
I reported it to the power company and now all is well!
Mark.
"Jack Painter" <223...@cox.net> wrote in message
news:n7t3d.44776$Ka6.19448@okepread03...