AM antenna

super99 · Feb 12, 2021

bc was asking about a FM antenna in a metal shed, I like AM and have issues inside my metal building. I get a lot of static and poor reception. It's best with the overhead door open and the radio setting next to or outside the door. It works OK like that until it starts raining or gets too cold to have the door open. What do I need for an outside antenna, not sure if the radio has a place to hook to, it just has the single upright antenna that doesn't seem to help. Thanks, Chris

js305 · Feb 12, 2021

This is kinda crude but it works. Find a suitable place in your roof, or maybe up next to the roof on a wall, drill a hole about the size of a nickel or there abouts. Find a piece of an antenna rod, or something like that that is about two or three feet long and attach a wire to it. Most anything works but I found a piece of RG6 (TV cable) and stripped it back a little from the inner conductor. Twist and solder if possible to the end of the rod and run the other end close to where you want to put the radio. Here you can either twist the wire around the existing antenna on the radio, or put an alligator clip on the wire and use that to attach to the antenna. Stick the rod through the hole and seal it up with silicone or anything that will keep it from leaking. Try not to let it make contact with the metal on the building.

Works well for me in a metal building with no windows or other openings.

One place I worked had me on a second floor where no radio would work at all. I did something similar and had the only working radio on the floor.

caterpillar guy · Feb 12, 2021

An old car radio with the antenna for it set the antenna up outside the wall run the cable inside to your now new car radio will work fine. The more antenna the better your signal will be. Good AM radios are hard to find. The best one I've seen in 20 years was the one in my Pete. I think it is a Panasonic or something like that. I listen to stations close and out to 1000 miles depending on where I'm at at the time. At home I can get WSM,WBAP,WRVA,WABC,WBZ,WOWO,WLW I think it is in Louisiana, WJR and some more. Some in daylight and some at night. More of the longer distance ones at night. Bunch around Chicago also. An old battery that only holds a small charge for a small charger will work for the power source.

Bret4207 · Feb 12, 2021

Years back I read something about an "earth antenna". IIRC it basically was a ground rod and wiring that would work as an antenna. I think it was an offshoot of something Tesla developed- Tesla the inventor, not Elon Musk and the car. Might be worth a shot.

leroy in ne · Feb 12, 2021

Crazy but it works. Car radio from mid 80's, car antenna mounted on roof, enough coax with correct ends, to reach, power supply for using mobile CB as base in house. This also mostly eliminates buzz from some lights but not all LED lights. You might get by using mag mount CB antenna and just changing coax end to fit radio.

Tony in SD · Feb 12, 2021

Lots of good ideas below. Almost anything will work for an AM antenna. You might try to use a clip lead , one end on the antenna you mentioned the other end to the metal building. Or build a wooden weather proof box outside and run speaker wires to inside speakers

John T · Feb 12, 2021

Ive had good luck using an external high above the roof regular automotive antenna with coax cable ran inside. There are of course a number of more expensive options that may work much better if you search Amazon or E Bay but I got by fine with an automotive antenna..........

God Bless America keep her safe strong and great

John T Unlike some athletes I stand for the Flag and kneel for the Lord but yall do as you please

Janicholson · Feb 12, 2021

188m to 566m is the wave length spread of AM. any antenna that is a fraction of that will work. the longer the better. But if the tuner is pretty good, a car antenna will work as described by others. the longer the better. a wire stretched to an adjacent building is good. insulated from metal contact. Jim

John T · Feb 12, 2021

Hey Jim, I used to be into antenna theory but its been tooooooo long lol. Of course 188 m makes for a longgggggg run of wire while as I recall a 1/2 wave or 1/4 wave etc is better then nothing, something to do with a length such that theres a reflective node on the ends of the run ??????? Back on the farm when I was into short wave listening and distant AM reception I strung several long wire antennas but if there was any local interference they picked that up as well. I have a Zenith 11 tube antique radio (restored since the picture below) and a Grunow Majestic 7 tube and a Grunow Tombstone and they sure need an external long wire antenna for shortwave and AM

John T

Ralph, Ohio · Feb 12, 2021

Probably connecting anything to the telescoping antenna is going to do no good on AM because usually that antenna is only used for FM. The AM antenna on older radios was usually a ferrite rod or bar with some fine wire wrapped around it. If you can open up the radio & find that rod, carefully wrap about 10 or more turns of any reasonable size wire around it & connect that to your long wire outside antenna for improved AM reception.

Ralph, Ohio · Feb 12, 2021

John T, I couldn't resist, that wall socket in your Zenith photo looks pretty crude for an electrical engineer! Maybe it's kind of like "The cobbler's children have no shoes"? Just kiddin' with ya!

John T · Feb 12, 2021

Yep that was the home we bought after we sold our farm and had all the cover plates off so the walls could be painted and it took me a while before I replaced them lol my bad my wife kept yelling at me about that grrrrrrrr

Fun chatting with you

John T

Ralph, Ohio · Feb 12, 2021

Those are some beautiful old radios.

John T · Feb 12, 2021

Ralph, "The AM antenna on older radios was usually a ferrite rod or bar with some fine wire wrapped around it"

I agree thats how many I owned were... I had a fairly expensive NON WIRE CONTACT Tuneable AM Wave Magnet antenna I placed by my transistor radio at different angles and locations then tweaked its tuning knob and it like doubled reception and quality, not sure where that is now but the old Zenith doesn't need it

John T

Red Dave · Feb 12, 2021

AM reception is often a problem, usually because of some the reasons cited in this thread.

You can get AM antenna Boosters like this one:

https://www.radiolabs.com/radio/am-radio-antennas/am-radio-antenna-am-signal-booster/
(copy and paste it into your browser)

I have a similar booster and it does help somewhat, but inside a metal covered building it probably isn't enough help.

This company has a longer explanation and offers some more sophisticated equipment to boost AM signals:
C Crane Company

John T · Feb 12, 2021

Thanks, the Zenith 11 tube pic was BEFORE total restoration it has new grille cloth now and looks and performs MUCH better

John T

John T · Feb 12, 2021

Dave, over the years I have owned two so called "antenna boosters" sold by C Crane and they performed quite well. One was Passive (Wave Trap or something like that) and the other Active requiring power for some sort of an amplifier. Come to think of it the totally passive tunable wave trap worked the best, just move it around the radio and tweak it for the best performance. I used to really be into this stuff but then I got more into Electrical Power Distribution.

John T

Janicholson · Feb 12, 2021

I had the living snot shocked out of me trying to hook a new speaker to a radio (Philco multi band cabinet like those) It had some 600 volts running to an electromagnet in the speaker. I still have a hard time believing it.
My best tube device was a HH Scott amplifier it died when the transformer smoked. It had 5 output voltages. No source for that. Jim
like this

buickanddeere · Feb 13, 2021

A FM dipole broadcast antenna is approx 30 long to be tuned to 1/4 wave length for the highest gain/received signal strength .
An ideal 1/4 wave antenna for broadcast AM radio is between
Between 145 ft to 456 ft depending if tuned at the top end or the bottom end of the broadcast band .
Your metal drive shed is a Faraday Cage and is blocking the radio signals .
A Beverage Can Antenna is a possibility if you time to station from one specific direction .

Ralph, Ohio · Feb 13, 2021

Perhaps you meant "Beverage Antenna" rather than "Beverage Can Antenna"? Two completely different animals.

buickanddeere · Feb 13, 2021

Freudian Slip

AM antenna

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