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How to Make the Ultimate AM Antenna
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Michael Trew
Jul 24, 2021, 11:27:46 PM7/24/21
to
"Carver Corporation of Lynnwood, Washington once made the ultimate AM
Stereo/FM Stereo tuner, the Carver TX-11b. The performance of this tuner
was nothing short of spectacular on FM; the AM side was even more
impressive, as it was designed to have an audio bandwidth of 20 Hz - 15
KHz -- the same as broadcast FM!"
http://socalradiowaves.com/columns/am_antenna.html
I'd like to make this at some point soon to start pulling in long
distance AM transmissions in the evenings. I rarely have the motivation
to try that at home anymore; sometimes I will in my car.
Stereo/FM Stereo tuner, the Carver TX-11b. The performance of this tuner
was nothing short of spectacular on FM; the AM side was even more
impressive, as it was designed to have an audio bandwidth of 20 Hz - 15
KHz -- the same as broadcast FM!"
http://socalradiowaves.com/columns/am_antenna.html
I'd like to make this at some point soon to start pulling in long
distance AM transmissions in the evenings. I rarely have the motivation
to try that at home anymore; sometimes I will in my car.
pf...@aol.com
Jul 25, 2021, 6:41:42 AM7/25/21
to
On Saturday, July 24, 2021 at 11:27:46 PM UTC-4, Michael Trew wrote:
> "Carver Corporation of Lynnwood, Washington once made the ultimate AM
> Stereo/FM Stereo tuner, the Carver TX-11b.
Someone is telling little porkies.... I have an Antenna book written in 1928 that has half-a-dozen variants on that design. Carver may be many things - but reinventors of the wheel - not hardly.
> "Carver Corporation of Lynnwood, Washington once made the ultimate AM
> Stereo/FM Stereo tuner, the Carver TX-11b.
Peter Wieck
Melrose Park, PA
Michael Trew
Jul 25, 2021, 7:19:48 PM7/25/21
to
you have a better design or one that's easier to make, please do share
before I start on one at some point here!
pf...@aol.com
Jul 26, 2021, 6:33:52 AM7/26/21
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> I've heard of people making huge AM loop antennas in their attics... if
> you have a better design or one that's easier to make, please do share
> before I start on one at some point here!
I will have to dig out the book and scan a few pages for you. Give me a bit.
> you have a better design or one that's easier to make, please do share
> before I start on one at some point here!
Jim Mueller
Jul 26, 2021, 2:30:30 PM7/26/21
to
Most of them are tuned as opposed to the untuned one described in the
link above. Tuning makes them more responsive to a particular frequency
than an untuned loop. It also requires that the user tune the loop each
time he changes frequency. Some of the loops on the Internet have a
Faraday shield which helps reduce interference from local sources.
Any loop antenna by itself is unlikely to work well with a car radio.
Car radios are optimized to work with the antenna that came with the
car. Some intermediate circuitry will be needed.
--
Jim Mueller wron...@nospam.com
To get my real email address, replace wrongname with eggmen.
Then replace nospam with expressmail. Lastly, replace com with dk.
Michael Trew
Jul 26, 2021, 4:08:16 PM7/26/21
to
projects here anyway.
Michael Trew
Jul 26, 2021, 4:09:13 PM7/26/21
to
On 7/26/2021 2:30 PM, Jim Mueller wrote:
> On Sun, 25 Jul 2021 19:19:46 -0400, Michael Trew wrote:
>
>> On 7/25/2021 6:41 AM, pf...@aol.com wrote:
>>> On Saturday, July 24, 2021 at 11:27:46 PM UTC-4, Michael Trew wrote:
>>>> "Carver Corporation of Lynnwood, Washington once made the ultimate AM
>>>> Stereo/FM Stereo tuner, the Carver TX-11b.
>>>
>>> Someone is telling little porkies.... I have an Antenna book written in
>>> 1928 that has half-a-dozen variants on that design. Carver may be many
>>> things - but reinventors of the wheel - not hardly.
>>>
>>> Peter Wieck Melrose Park, PA
>>
>>
>> I've heard of people making huge AM loop antennas in their attics... if
>> you have a better design or one that's easier to make, please do share
>> before I start on one at some point here!
>
>
> Search the Internet; there are many sites that describe loop antennas.
> Most of them are tuned as opposed to the untuned one described in the
> link above. Tuning makes them more responsive to a particular frequency
> than an untuned loop. It also requires that the user tune the loop each
> time he changes frequency. Some of the loops on the Internet have a
> Faraday shield which helps reduce interference from local sources.
>
> Any loop antenna by itself is unlikely to work well with a car radio.
> Car radios are optimized to work with the antenna that came with the
> car. Some intermediate circuitry will be needed.
>
>
I had an old console radio with an internal antenna that could be
> On Sun, 25 Jul 2021 19:19:46 -0400, Michael Trew wrote:
>
>> On 7/25/2021 6:41 AM, pf...@aol.com wrote:
>>> On Saturday, July 24, 2021 at 11:27:46 PM UTC-4, Michael Trew wrote:
>>>> "Carver Corporation of Lynnwood, Washington once made the ultimate AM
>>>> Stereo/FM Stereo tuner, the Carver TX-11b.
>>>
>>> Someone is telling little porkies.... I have an Antenna book written in
>>> 1928 that has half-a-dozen variants on that design. Carver may be many
>>> things - but reinventors of the wheel - not hardly.
>>>
>>> Peter Wieck Melrose Park, PA
>>
>>
>> I've heard of people making huge AM loop antennas in their attics... if
>> you have a better design or one that's easier to make, please do share
>> before I start on one at some point here!
>
>
> Search the Internet; there are many sites that describe loop antennas.
> Most of them are tuned as opposed to the untuned one described in the
> link above. Tuning makes them more responsive to a particular frequency
> than an untuned loop. It also requires that the user tune the loop each
> time he changes frequency. Some of the loops on the Internet have a
> Faraday shield which helps reduce interference from local sources.
>
> Any loop antenna by itself is unlikely to work well with a car radio.
> Car radios are optimized to work with the antenna that came with the
> car. Some intermediate circuitry will be needed.
>
>
adjusted, I wondered what the purpose of that was. It looked like it
had some kind of foil shield/box incorporated into it. Thanks!
Jim Mueller
Jul 27, 2021, 7:39:21 PM7/27/21
to
directional. They can be rotated to maximize signal pickup from a
certain direction or to minimize interference from some other direction.
If the station and the interference come from the same direction you are
out of luck.
pf...@aol.com
Jul 31, 2021, 10:16:28 AM7/31/21
to
From Hugo Gernsback's 1922 opus - "The Future of Radio" - paraphrased for brevity:
A loop antenna may be from 12" to 120" across diagonally, usually consisting of between 5 and 15 turns of wire. Coupling to the radio may be direct, or indirect. As the loop antenna does away with the ground connection, one end of the loop may connect to ground, the other to the antenna input. Try both ways.
A small-value variable capacitor may be placed in series with the antenna connection for tuning purposes.
A loop antenna is highly directional, even a few degrees off the ideal angle may cut off all reception.
A loop antenna may be coupled with another loop antenna (placed close together) to increase the receiving bandwidth. In this case, a small variable capacitor may be placed within the loop for fine tuning.
That took about 4 pages.
A loop antenna may be from 12" to 120" across diagonally, usually consisting of between 5 and 15 turns of wire. Coupling to the radio may be direct, or indirect. As the loop antenna does away with the ground connection, one end of the loop may connect to ground, the other to the antenna input. Try both ways.
A small-value variable capacitor may be placed in series with the antenna connection for tuning purposes.
A loop antenna is highly directional, even a few degrees off the ideal angle may cut off all reception.
A loop antenna may be coupled with another loop antenna (placed close together) to increase the receiving bandwidth. In this case, a small variable capacitor may be placed within the loop for fine tuning.
That took about 4 pages.
Michael Trew
Aug 1, 2021, 9:48:59 PM8/1/21
to
So basically, a loop antenna mounted in the attic might not be the best
use of resources, since I can't tune it or alter it's angle/direction at
all. Unless I wire in one of those old-school TV antenna directional
devices that turn the antenna with a turn of the knob. I have the
indoor mechanism around here somewhere, but the motor on the antenna
outdoors is long gone. It seems that I'll have to build a smaller
antenna atop my console radio that I can pivot for best reception when
trying to tune in long-distance AM stations at night.
pf...@aol.com
Aug 2, 2021, 12:38:17 PM8/2/21
to
https://www.staples.com/rca-vh226f-outdoor-antenna-rotator/product_24329332
There is this - that will allow you to rotate the antenna from a distance. If you have enough 'swing' in your attic for a larger antenna than on top of the console, both the size and the height will give you an advantage. Again, loops are highly directional, so that might also mitigate towards a larger attic-mounted device as DXing is your stated goal.
Enjoy!
There is this - that will allow you to rotate the antenna from a distance. If you have enough 'swing' in your attic for a larger antenna than on top of the console, both the size and the height will give you an advantage. Again, loops are highly directional, so that might also mitigate towards a larger attic-mounted device as DXing is your stated goal.
Enjoy!
pf...@aol.com
Aug 8, 2021, 11:30:24 AM8/8/21
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Meant to add: All you need is 90 degrees of swing for a vertical loop, not the entire 360.
Michael Trew
Aug 8, 2021, 10:23:32 PM8/8/21
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cools down here, I'm swamped with outdoor house projects.
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