Poor AM radio reception?? Use the TV antenna!

Using approximately $50 worth of parts from Radio Shack, I hooked my Grundig G5 to the old TV antenna on the roof that wasn't being used because we have Cable TV now. This is me going through every frequency on the AM radio spectrum with the radio at 12:30 am Eastern Time. Virtually every frequency allocation is taken. I'm thinking most of the ones that aren't used are 'doubles' where there is more than one station broadcasting at a time at one place on the dial. And this isn't in the city either, although it's around midnight, when AM reception is better. I was suprised to find even music down there!

Category:

Science & Technology

Tags:

• bandscan
• AM
• radio
• reception
• Grundig
• G5
• amplitude
• modulation
• talk
• frequency
• allocations
• spectrum

[Moreoff]

Wow!! CKLW in Windsor ON, I heard Chapel Hill NC Wx, NY WCBS news radio and local traffic for south Florida, regardless of where you are that is impressive performance. Are you on the East Coast?

[Amishman35]

This is in Rhode Island.

[kramdeer]

does it have a spot to hook a long wire into?

[Amishman35]

On the side of the radio, there's a headphone plug which you can use either a coaxial adapter or you can solder a long wire to the Left channel signal of a headphone plug.

[RSNLGUNRZ]

That's a pretty sweet set up you got there. what exactly did you get from R Shack?

[Amishman35]

1. A Grundig G5 shortwave radio. $150

2. 25 feet of coaxial cable. $19

3. Two coaxial female connector to headphone plugs. $12.

4. Hookup wire to extend the coaxial cable $6.

5. Headphone Jack (to connect to the twin lead of the TV antenna) $4

(yes, I'm on the rich side)

[zookie85]

Your tv antenna is tuned for vhf/uhf, not medium wave. your radio automatically uses its internal ferrite antenna on MW so I hate to say it, you wasted $50 and that antenna does nothing for your signal except put more noise into it. If you want better MW antenna, check out loop antennas...

[NdYfUn4mE]

Near ten pm local time, tune your car radio to AM. You will hear stations near 1000 miles away with ease.

[jack002tuber]

My Sangean SW uses an internal antenna for am, the antenna hookup for it is only for SW. Don't know about the Grundig G5

[gps29070]

@zookie85 correct. The G5 does not switch from the ferrite to an external antenna when an antenna is pluged into the external jack. It still runs off the ferrite.

[mnpd007]

@zookie85 Not necessarily. While true for virtually all portable MW radios, but he's using a Grundig shortwave. Shortwave radios cannot work exclusively off the AM ferrite coil and require an external antenna connection via a provided jack. These radios usually allow anything fed into the external antenna jack to also supplement any signals present on the AM ferrite coil.

So yes, you can improve AM reception via an external antenna jack... if the jack is there.

[mnpd007]

Anything will improve AM reception... even a random length of wire hooked to your radio. A metal window screen, a guitar string, the refrigerator... even a water pipe or TV antenna. Like the water pipe, the TV antenna cannot be resonate, even though it shows an improvement.

Try a resonant loop; several calculated turns of wire and a variable capacitor tuned exactly to the AM station frequency for another surprise in reception.

[1MaskedMexican]

I'm here in Poy Sippi which is a really small town (or village) in Waushara county in Wisconsin. I have a large outdoor antenna pointed at Green Bay Wi. I'm getting one of those nice radios that have a coaxial input. I'm gonna connect it to the radio and see what stations I can get. I was once was at a friends house (that lives in Berlin in Green LakeCounty Wi) And he had the whole antenna and radio setup.He was getting a station from Minneapolis, Chicago, And someware in canada it was nightime.

[JZ2001JC]

Speaking of radio reception, anyone here know if any Radio stations have broken FCC rules and regulations over the airwaves from November 2009-present day? Need to know for a project.

[idkx08]

awesome, you get AM740 "zoomer radio" out of Canada, so do I!

[leejiasengthepro1]

i can hear am even fm only can listen

[leejiasengthepro1]

how to get the am anntena

[BDGregory]

@zookie85 You can use coax, just connect the inner and the outer to the antenna terminal and preferably connect the earth terminal to a good earth. I've often done this myself.