Antenna in Japan for BBC SW...?

[Douggie Doust]

I'm using a Sony SW-100 with its stock 6-meter line antenna joined (not
coupled) to a 10-metre length of standard PVC-covered antenna wire. I'm on
the top (5th) floor of apartments facing south-south-east, and I've run the
antenna vertically 3 meters, then 7 metres along the top rail of a fence
made of 13mm/half-inch mild-steel bars (i.e., many verticals + two
horizontal rails).

Reception is pretty poor, but I can't make any major changes in the layout
except use my 7-metre long balcony (same fence design).Like the roof fence,
it faces towards Hong Kong and Singapore, the major BBC relay stations
around here

Any suggestions? The Sony antenna tuner/amp AN2 made no difference. Would
dropping a vertical wire (max. 6 meters) be better? Insulation from the
fence?I've thought about cutting the roof fence from earth with insulators
so I have a 7m x 1.7m mild steel array, but I think the Apartment Police
would object...

DD

[Richard Herring]

Douggie Doust (gro...@bigfoot.com) wrote:
: I'm using a Sony SW-100 with its stock 6-meter line antenna joined (not

With anything but the deafest of receivers, you're almost always going
to be limited by external noise, rather than by lack of signal. Unless
you're very unlucky, the polarisation and orientation of your antenna
will hardly matter at all, and you certainly won't need extra
amplification. So the thing to do is to minimise the noise.
If you use a directional antenna you can reduce the QRM from distant
sources - but you don't have the space. What you may be able to do is
to reduce pickup of locally generated QRN, which will be carried on
power cables, ungrounded metalwork like that fence, etc. If you can,
run your wire in the open well away from other metalwork like this.

FWIW the best time to look (in Japan) for signals from Singapore at present
is 7-9h GMT, around 20-25 MHz, and from Hong Kong 0-9h GMT, 20-30 MHz
and maybe below. Hong Kong should be the better option.

--
Richard Herring | richard...@gecm.com | Speaking for myself
GEC-Marconi Research Centre |

[RCrusoe]

>
>I'm using a Sony SW-100 with its stock 6-meter line antenna joined (not
>coupled) to a 10-metre length of standard PVC-covered antenna wire. I'm on
>the top (5th) floor of apartments facing south-south-east, and I've run the
>antenna vertically 3 meters, then 7 metres along the top rail of a fence
>made of 13mm/half-inch mild-steel bars (i.e., many verticals + two
>horizontal rails).
>
>Reception is pretty poor, but I can't make any major changes in the layout
>except use my 7-metre long balcony (same fence design).Like the roof fence,
>it faces towards Hong Kong and Singapore, the major BBC relay stations
>around here
>
>Any suggestions? The Sony antenna tuner/amp AN2 made no difference. Would
>dropping a vertical wire (max. 6 meters) be better? Insulation from the
>fence?I've thought about cutting the roof fence from earth with insulators
>so I have a 7m x 1.7m mild steel array, but I think the Apartment Police
>would object...
>

>DD

You gotta get that wire away from that metal fence. That's messing you up more
than anything. Try making "masts" out of old broomhandles sawn in two. Even
getting the antenna up a foot or so from that steel fence will help. The more,
the better. Another thing that might help a little is to use an L-tuner. You
can easily build one of these, or buy one from MFJ for 40 bucks. I really
should whip up a quick design for an L-tuner and put it on my web-page, I
guess. I am at

http://members.aol.com/RCrusoe/ab5vh.index.html

and you might look there in a couple of weeks and see if I ever got something
up there.

good luck with your BBC reception.

73 EVRBDY DE AB5VH (Robinson)
dit dit