On Aug 4, 3:19*am, Brian Anasta wrote:
On Aug 4, 4:39 am, "~ RHF" wrote:



BA - Most 'portable' AM/FM Shortwave Radios
can't take to big {long} of an Antenna or Active
{Amplified} Antennas.
Versus the MFJ-1020B Active Antenna -consider-http://universal-radio.com/catalog/sw_ant/1131.html
LF Engineering H800 Skymatch Active Antenna
-why- An "Outside/Outdoor" Active Antenna is
generally preferred to an 'Indoor' Active Antenna
because in most locations most of the time it
will provide clearer strong signals with less noise.
-result- Better Signal-to-Noise (S/N) Ratio from
the Antenna Output to the Radio's Antenna Input.

- Dear RHF, SC Dxing and Bushcraftgregg,
-
- Guys thank you so much for the extensive information you have
- provided. I have spent a good part of this afternoon reading over
your
- posts several times to try and get my head around everything you
have
- all mentioned. RHF, I took particular notice of your comments,
- particularly as you gave a wonderful overview and list of links
- pertaining to both the pros and cons of external wire antennas as
well
- as the active antenna variety. Now, after checking on several of the
- links provided, AS well as grabbing myself a couple of books from
the
- local library (the superb Shortwave Listening Guide Book, authored
by
- Harry Helms is a must have for beginners I believe) this morning, I
- have several queries.

- Firstly, I am concerned that if I settle on the
- active antenna, AM I at risk of picking up much more noise and
- interference?

Yes Active Antennas can be Noisy so you usually
have to do two things to get them to preform well :

1 - Placement / Location
a - Find a Location above the Peak of your Roof
by 5~10 Feet that places the Vertical Antenna
Element away from the envelop of Noise that may
surround your House.
b - Find a Location in your Backyard 15~25 Feet
away from the envelop of Noise that may surround
your House.

2 - Grounding - Most Active Antenna need to be
well Grounded via the Support and Coax Cables
using a 21 Foot piece of free-stand 'metal' Top-Rail
and an 8 Foot Ground Rod at its Base
http://groups.google.com/group/rec.r...d9abcf73ef3971

- Secondly, if *I instead choose the external wire type of
- antenna, isn't there a much greater chance of problems and issues
due
- to extensive overhead high voltage powerlines in my area? The more I
- read, the more confused I become....arghhhh heh.

Yes there is the 'potential' for Power Line Noise
pick-up with an backyard Random Wire Antenna.

The Far-End-Fed Shortwave Listener's (SWLs)
Inverted "L" Antenna
http://groups.google.com/group/rec.r...cfc6b9cb2447c0
1 - Inverted "L" Antenna
2 - Ground Rod at the base of the Antenna
3 - Matching Transformer at the base of the Antenna
4 - Coax Cable feed-in-line from the base of
the Antenna into the Radio Shack

hope this helps - iane ~ RHF