Which antenna for the house?
oktx
HOA bylaws any antenna of this type would have to be hidden. I have 2
possible configurations for a longwire. I can string it around the house
under the eaves - about 120 ft with about 6 angles to turn.. My coax feed
would only need about 10 feet or so. Or I could go around the fence -
about 70 ft with only 3 angles. The coax would have to be about 60 feet.
Which would you choose to install?
Maybe I should just go commercial and get a RF Systems MLBA-MK1 or MK2
from Universal-Radio?
xganon
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Carl Solomon
house than the 10' coax/120' wire antenna...I'd go with the 60/70. Once your
wire is as long as 70', you're picking up plenty of signal. The increase in
signal from the extra 50' of antenna is negligible compared to the amount of
household electrical noise it would pick up by going around the eves. I
wouldn't worry a bit about the longer coax. At hf frequencies, the loss from
the 70' (vs 10') of coax is less than your ear would even recognize.
Ever consider some nearly invisible wire like magnet wire? You could string
it almost wherever you want, and nobody would see it. Only problem is it's
not very strong, but what the heck...if it breaks, it breaks.
/Carl (W5SU)
Dallas TX
Diverd4777
( around the fence; )
and away from anything that produces RF
then feed it to the RX-320 with the 60 feet of co-ax;
In article <FFD6DE6C88CFAF5E.277A2249...@lp.airnews.net>,
The Axelrods
oktx wrote:
Both wires have a chance to work..hard to say which is better but longer may
win out.
--
73 and Best of DX
Shawn Axelrod
Visit the AMANDX DX info site with info for the new or experienced listener:
http://www.angelfire.com/mb/amandx/index.html
REMEMBER ON A CLEAR DAY YOU CAN HEAR FOREVER
CW
a transformer though. You can buy the MLB for about $60.00 or build your own
for about $5.00. Your choice.
"oktx" <y...@somehost.somedomain> wrote in message
news:FFD6DE6C88CFAF5E.277A2249...@lp.airnews.net...
Ross Archer
news:FFD6DE6C88CFAF5E.277A2249...@lp.airnews.net:
> I'll try posting this again. I'm ordering a RX-320 on Monday. Due to
> HOA bylaws any antenna of this type would have to be hidden. I have 2
> possible configurations for a longwire. I can string it around the
> house under the eaves - about 120 ft with about 6 angles to turn.. My
> coax feed would only need about 10 feet or so. Or I could go around
> the fence - about 70 ft with only 3 angles. The coax would have to be
> about 60 feet.
>
> Which would you choose to install?
The fence option sounds better to me.
The theory is noise pickup is more likely
to limit what you can hear than a lack of
signal. If the wire runs near your (or
your neighbor's) house, it's likely to
pick up electrical crud from all the
dimmers, TVs, monitors, PCs, VCRs,
flourescent lights, etc. etc. etc.
that may drown out weaker signals.
It's often worse than it sounds because
the AC wiring in the house nicely
radiates this crud for some ways
outdoors.
Better to have 30 feet of wire away from
your house and your neighbor's house than
200 feet that runs very near noisy electrical
and electronic devices. Even if your signal
is S9+20dB, that's not much use if the noise
is S9+10! :)
That said, the particulars of every installation
are different and it can't hurt to experiment.
> Maybe I should just go commercial and get a RF Systems MLBA-MK1 or MK2
> from Universal-Radio?
>
A fine antenna, I'm sure, but probably no better than
any old length of wire on your fence going to the same
transformer and coax.
Good luck. Let the group know how your antenna works!
-- Ross
>
Peter Lampione
Some time ago I posted a summary of my excellent experience with
these antennas, that also explains how to mount it to the fence
(few people will guess it's an antenna).
You can look up the post with Google groups.
Or even more hidden: get an ALA 100, and do your loop attached
to the fence.
In my experience, a longwire in urban environment is more
noisy than such antennas (look at my previous post).
Best,
Peter
oktx <y...@somehost.somedomain> wrote in message news:<FFD6DE6C88CFAF5E.277A2249...@lp.airnews.net>...
RHF
I would suggest the Antenna Location away from the House. (Less Man
Made Noise.) Hopefully the fence is wood and not metal. Here is a
Link to a Low Noise Antenna that you can run and shape to your needs.
(Read the QUOTE Below.) Using the fence would make your antenna
horizontal and low. Yours would have the coax run from the house to
the point the antenna starts. Your Ground Pint should be at this
spot. It would be better if you could bury the Coax from the house to
the Antenna. You may wish to consider using the better quality TV
Twine Lead (with the foam insulation) instead of a single wire. This
would double your wire length from 70' to 140'. Connect the center of
the Coax to one of the near end twin leads; join the far ends of the
twin leads together; leave the other near end of twin lead
un-connected. The Shield of the Coax would go to ground. Use 6-9" TV
Stand-Offs to get the wire off the fence. If you use the TV twin
lead; you can simple use a TV Matching Transformer (TV-MT) 300 Ohms to
75 Ohms at the point the antenna meets the Coax. It will work OK for a
Receive Only Antenna of this type.
* * * The 'Low Noise' SWL Antenna * * *
From the Association of North American Radio Clubs (ANARC) website
and Rec.Radio.ShortWave(NG).
Written by John Doty 26 Nov 1993
A Very Simple and Basic Low Noise SWL Antenna
* 50-100 Feet of 18 AWG Insulated Stranded Wire
* Height of Support Points 15-30 Feet.
* Bottom Feed Point for both Ground and Coax.
* Buried the Coax if possible.
* Three Antenna 'Forms' to consider are:
** Inverted "L" Configuration requiring two support points. (50')
** "Sloper" Configuration requires one support point. (70')
** "Open Triangle" Configuration requires one support point. (100')
NOTE: The Open Triangle is just a Sloper with a Bottom Return Leg and
a Gap of One Foot between the Antenna End and the Bottom Feed Point.
=Quote=
* It doesn't take very much wire to pick up an adequate signal for
anything but the crudest shortwave receiver.
* The Difference between a mediocre antenna system and a great
antenna system isn't the antenna itself: it's the way you feed signals
from the antenna to the receiver.
* The Real Trick with a shortwave receiving antenna system is to keep
your receiver from picking up noise from all the electrical and
electronic gadgets you and your neighbors have.
=Un-Quote=
http://www.anarc.org/naswa/badx/antennas/low-noise_antenna.html
~ RHF
oktx <y...@somehost.somedomain> wrote in message news:<FFD6DE6C88CFAF5E.277A2249...@lp.airnews.net>...