Improving AM reception (Full Version)

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iwannapullurhair -> Improving AM reception (5/24/2007 9:46:54 PM)

I like the Art Bell show, but when it hits 9PM around here, the signal goes to total shit. The show starts at 1AM EST. My stereo has a regular AM antenae. I'm wondering if there is a super AM antenae. I had XM radio, but I just wasn't enjoying the monthly bill. I'm wanting something I purchase once.

I live in some sort of weird area of radio interferrence. When I'm in my car, I get the channel at most hours, but I get around my house and the signal goes to total crap. Sometimes there is this other channel overlaying the channel I want.



OrangeJulius -> RE: Improving AM reception (5/24/2007 9:59:58 PM)

Well, if there's another channel over the one you want, you don't really have many options. Either somebody's broadcasting a pirate radio station around your house, or you live in the border of a couple of stations. If it's obviously pirate, you could "inform" the FCC, and they'll fine whoever's responsible, but if it's legit, you're just stuck with them.



iwannapullurhair -> RE: Improving AM reception (5/24/2007 10:09:16 PM)

As far as radio goes, this place is the twilight zone. The overlying station sounds legit, but the two just drown each other out. Sometimes it is 550WKRC and then sometimes the other station from who knows where.



OrangeJulius -> RE: Improving AM reception (5/24/2007 10:15:05 PM)

If it comes in at night only, it could be from just about anywhere, like you said.

The not so fun thing about radio is that it will pick up just about everything that broadcasts. You could in theory get a reciever that allows for very fine tuning, and try that, but it could just be a waste of cash.



ElectraGlide -> RE: Improving AM reception (5/24/2007 10:17:43 PM)

I had problems with FM reception, until I bought a good receiver. A metal cased radio blocks out interference. A friend was having FM reception problems, I told him to hook his radio up to that unused TV antenna on his house and know he gets great reception.



iwannapullurhair -> RE: Improving AM reception (5/24/2007 10:18:06 PM)

My cheapest alternative at this point is Coast to Coast AM streamlink-7 bucks a month. I was just wondering if there was some 20 dollar Super AM antennae that another AM radio fan would know about.



iwannapullurhair -> RE: Improving AM reception (5/24/2007 10:19:45 PM)

My FM is fine. That seems to be the only reliable signal I can get here. Back when I had a tv antennae, reception was such shit, I had to have cable just to see any tv.



popeye1250 -> RE: Improving AM reception (5/24/2007 11:33:51 PM)

I like The Howie Carr Show wrko 680 a.m. on from 3-7 pm weekdays out of Boston, Mass.
So I just go into yahoo search type in wrko.com and listen to his show down here in Myrtle Beach, S.C.
Just listen to Art Bell on the computer!



Real0ne -> RE: Improving AM reception (5/24/2007 11:45:04 PM)

once upon a time there was a little device called grandpas spider web antenna.  What it is-is nothing more than a tank circuit with a variable tuner.

Not sure if you can get them any more or how you would define them to look them up on the web if they are availiable.

You can easily make one.   Just make a loop, (a circle) say 1 or 2 feet in diameter several turns of magnet wire say 20 - 50ish then use a dip meter to find the resonant frequency of the coil, (most ham operators have them), then find a corresponding variable capacitor to obtain resonance at the desired radio freq.

that will boost the heck out of your signal, you rotate the loop while tuning while your radio is set to the station  you wish to receive and presto like majic it all comes in.

i made one when i was a kid for my crystal radio and they do work quite well to boost if the signal is there in the first place.



ExploringSlave -> RE: Improving AM reception (5/25/2007 12:00:54 AM)

Greetings,

The problem you seem to be having is some form of interference, but with AM signals this could be from anything, a surge in electricity (highy voltage lines and similar things). Hence why FM is mainly used instead of it as it has a resistance to interference.

But there are some ways to go around this, try relocating the antenna in case it could be something near by (for example a Air Conditioning unit), or some form of amplifier that could pick up the signal earlier and send it on to you.

Even if possible check with your local electronics shop or online for a tunable filter that will get rid of the excess noise and leave you with the fine station you want to enjoy.

Best of Luck,

-exploring sean



seeksfemslave -> RE: Improving AM reception (5/25/2007 12:18:19 AM)

As far as I know, if you are receiving two, at least, signals very close in frequency to one another and similar in signal strength there is nothing you can do to boost the one you want without boosting the  one you dont want.

It is not possible to get an aerial (antennae) to select because of the relatively low frequencies 550KHz-about 1.5 MHz for medium wave transmission.



Real0ne -> RE: Improving AM reception (5/25/2007 12:38:34 AM)

quote:

ORIGINAL: seeksfemslave

As far as I know, if you are receiving two, at least, signals very close in frequency to one another and similar in signal strength there is nothing you can do to boost the one you want without boosting the  one you dont want.

It is not possible to get an aerial (antennae) to select because of the relatively low frequencies 550KHz-about 1.5 MHz for medium wave transmission.


well that may be true for him if his radio is a funnel and has a very low selectivity rating.  Take for instance a good ham radio on the am band you get virtually no squealing the selectivity is so high.

What can be done gets more involved than a simple loop booster, where you can use notch filters and in really worst case flip onto on of the side bands, (opposite the interference signal), that is assuming it is a carrier to begin with, an that will eliminate the carrier interference.

All antenna's are selective just that they are designed for low q in the band you wish to use them so you can get more channels if you will.  That grandpa's thingie is more like a tuned ariel where it has a high q and better, (not great) selectivity, but is more of a signal booster than interference rejector.  a good set of prefilters on an am radio really rock.  Check out some of the icom and kenwood ham sets they all go down to 450 meters or less and have great alternate channel selectivity.





seeksfemslave -> RE: Improving AM reception (5/25/2007 1:03:29 AM)

Doesn't Ham radio operate in the short wave bands. ie 10 Mhz and above ?



OrangeJulius -> RE: Improving AM reception (5/25/2007 1:05:12 AM)

AM goes all the way down to short wave.

I think HAM is a form of low level AM broadcasting.



Real0ne -> RE: Improving AM reception (5/25/2007 6:45:55 AM)

quote:

ORIGINAL: seeksfemslave

Doesn't Ham radio operate in the short wave bands. ie 10 Mhz and above ?




hmm i am not exactly sure how to answer this.

In a nutshell the frequency does not matter.  you can transmit am on any carrier frequency from a few cycles to the gigahertz and above range.  What you say i think is correct they lossely label anything above the am band starting at 1.6khz up to about 30mhz as short wave, and if memory serves me correctly then comes the low bands on the tv set at channels 2 - 13(vhf) which end around 86mhz then the fm band which is 88-109ish mghz then the hiband tv(uhf) from 110to not sure where LOL.

my radio is what they call opened up and you could have your am receiver tuned to 550 on the am dial and if i keyed up it would wipe out and go over the top of whatever you were listening to if i had more power than they do sort of thing.

So the mode of transmission does not matter if its am, ssb, fm, tty etc it can be done on any frequency as long as you have the appropriately matched antenna and a good swr.

i have to talk with a few friends on this but it would be really kool to convert one of these radios to a tesla lw set where uk to america tranmission would go right through the earth on only a few watts.  Whats different though is that instead of boosting just the transmitter if the signal is weak you can to boost the receiver power too, so i suppose that some kind of prefilter tuner would work well there too.  anyway off on a tangent now LOL





pahunkboy -> RE: Improving AM reception (5/25/2007 9:48:29 AM)

try cutting your electricy and tuning in. then you will know if any of your homes wires or appliances are in the path of reception.



seeksfemslave -> RE: Improving AM reception (5/25/2007 12:21:07 PM)

 
Reply to RealOne
I said
quote:

Doesn't Ham radio operate in the short wave bands. ie 10 Mhz and above ?

This was a rhetorical question in that I knew the answer to be Yes when I posed it.
The point is that it is easier to discriminate between high frequency signals than low frequency ones because  it is possible to construct higher Q factor circuits.
Q = Delta f divided by F
F = a centre frequency . delta f = frequency range to some defined point in the frequency spectrum, say +- 3 db.

Thus I say again for medium wave reception interference cannot be removed, by a lay person any way.
It is quite likely that govnt spy agencies have highly sophisticated quantised samplers that can seperate interweaved signals. I do not know this I just guess it is true.




iwannapullurhair -> RE: Improving AM reception (5/25/2007 1:31:20 PM)

quote:

ORIGINAL: popeye1250

I like The Howie Carr Show wrko 680 a.m. on from 3-7 pm weekdays out of Boston, Mass.
So I just go into yahoo search type in wrko.com and listen to his show down here in Myrtle Beach, S.C.
Just listen to Art Bell on the computer!


Since they sell the show online, usually they are very guarded about the show appearing anywhere online for free.



iwannapullurhair -> RE: Improving AM reception (5/25/2007 1:33:25 PM)

quote:

ORIGINAL: ExploringSlave

Greetings,

The problem you seem to be having is some form of interference, but with AM signals this could be from anything, a surge in electricity (highy voltage lines and similar things). Hence why FM is mainly used instead of it as it has a resistance to interference.

But there are some ways to go around this, try relocating the antenna in case it could be something near by (for example a Air Conditioning unit), or some form of amplifier that could pick up the signal earlier and send it on to you.

Even if possible check with your local electronics shop or online for a tunable filter that will get rid of the excess noise and leave you with the fine station you want to enjoy.

Best of Luck,

-exploring sean



I live on a corner where two electric lines meet. Two sides of my house are spanned by electric lines.



Sanity -> RE: Improving AM reception (5/25/2007 2:10:04 PM)

quote:

ORIGINAL: iwannapullurhair
I live on a corner where two electric lines meet. Two sides of my house are spanned by electric lines.


Then tune in on your computer. KIDO 580 brodcasts it live over the Internet here

http://www.kido.net/pages/listenlive.html

And they're on the air live 24/7

Although I don't know how anybody could stand to listen to Art Bell for more than just a few minutes. I'd rather have my teeth pulled... 



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