I'm picking up AFN on their Puerto Rico freq. of 7.507Mhz. Now this may not
seem a remarkable thing but I am in the South East of the UK. Again not
remarkable but being new to this Shortwave stuff, I have no idea what I have
done to enable me to pick up this station. Yesterday I purchased some
common "household" wire (not copper). As I live on the first floor, but
have full "sole" use of the garden I attached one end of the wire near to my
entrance door (18'/20' from the ground) and it slopes about 60' down to the
end fence panel at the bottom of the garden. I have then run the wire back
along the top of the fence about another 42' (I have measured by counting
the 6 foot fence panels) and about 4' from the ground. This gives a sort of
wedge shape wire antenna (as opposed to an inverted L).

I have attached the wire via home made insulators (made from pieces of
drilled 1" plastic pipe) at both ends and have attached the coax (TV grade)
directly to the wire at the end near my entrance door. This is then
attached to th "Li-Z" phono antenna socket at the back of my DX-394 (B
revision).

Bearing in mind that the ATN reception is not brilliant but listenable, does
my antenna sound as though it is OK or do ATN really broadcast from my
neighbours house and is therefore the antenna is crap

I have no antenna tuner or other equipment (wouldn't know how to use them
even if I did). What other things can I do to improve things, especially in
the lower 1-3Mhz where I get awful noise (I do not get a huge amount of
noise above this and the higher the freq the less noise I get).

Regards

MC

I do not get a huge amount of
noise above this and the higher the freq the less noise I get

Hi MC-
The antenna sounds like a very nice compromise for your situation, and you're
better off than some folks I know. Getting a hundred or so feet of wire
outside, no matter how high, is a much better start toward better reception
than using an active antenna (which some folks have to use because they can't
even get ten feet of wire outside!) or other compromise system.
It sounds like it's working well for you, orthodox or not.
As for the noise, if you're living in an urban or otherwise electrically noisy
environment, you're going to find that noise in the lower bands, and there's
not much you can do about it immediately, or without other gear.
You CAN figure out a way to ground the antenna and the coax feedline to reduce
that noise considerably, and if it's really done right it may get rid of most
of the noise right off the bat, but this requires ground rods hammered into the
earth (having 'sole' use of the garden may allow this?) and ground lines/straps
to do it right. Search online and ask this room about low-noise grounding
systems for SW reception.
You can also purchase a noise-cancelling/phasing unit, such as the ANC-4 from
JPS or MFJ's 1026. These units take the input from TWO antennas (your main
antenna and a second auxilliary noise sampling antenna) and you then use the
unit to phase out the noise. Such units can also null an unwanted station on a
given frequency, so that you may hear a station you DO want on the same
frequency, so it can do two jobs for you!
I use one of these units and it works VERY well at removing hash and noise, but
takes some practice to use correctly. You'd also have to set up another antenna
to phase between and you may not have the same amount of room for a second
antenna. It would need to be seperated from the main antenna to some extent,
and should be able to hear the noise as well as the first antenna to really do
it right.
There's a LOT to get into when it comes to antenna grounds and noise-cancelling
gear, and I'm neither an expert nor have time to get into it all, hahah, but
I'm certain others in here have better advice and can lead you to some useful
sites for just this purpose.
Bottom line on the antenna though, get as much wire outside, as high and in the
open as you can, and safely away from power lines, and what works, works. Most
of us are lacking the full antenna land we want, so you build what you can and
go for it. Sounds like you've got a winner there!
Good luck-
Linus

- Sounds like a great antenna to me !!


Subject: Is this homemade antenna OK
From: "MC"
Date: 4/15/2004 7:22 PM Eastern Standard Time
Message-id:

I'm picking up AFN on their Puerto Rico freq. of 7.507Mhz. Now this may not
seem a remarkable thing but I am in the South East of the UK. Again not
remarkable but being new to this Shortwave stuff, I have no idea what I have
done to enable me to pick up this station. Yesterday I purchased some
common "household" wire (not copper). As I live on the first floor, but
have full "sole" use of the garden I attached one end of the wire near to my
entrance door (18'/20' from the ground) and it slopes about 60' down to the
end fence panel at the bottom of the garden. I have then run the wire back
along the top of the fence about another 42' (I have measured by counting
the 6 foot fence panels) and about 4' from the ground. This gives a sort of
wedge shape wire antenna (as opposed to an inverted L).

I have attached the wire via home made insulators (made from pieces of
drilled 1" plastic pipe) at both ends and have attached the coax (TV grade)
directly to the wire at the end near my entrance door. This is then
attached to th "Li-Z" phono antenna socket at the back of my DX-394 (B
revision).

Bearing in mind that the ATN reception is not brilliant but listenable, does
my antenna sound as though it is OK or do ATN really broadcast from my
neighbours house and is therefore the antenna is crap

I have no antenna tuner or other equipment (wouldn't know how to use them
even if I did). What other things can I do to improve things, especially in
the lower 1-3Mhz where I get awful noise (I do not get a huge amount of
noise above this and the higher the freq the less noise I get).

Regards

MC

Sound like your off to a goood start. I would recamend reading up on ant.
design. Joe Carr's Receiving Antenna Handbook & Practical Antenna Handbook
is a good start. Both can be found on Ebay or used book outlets online.


--
73 Brian
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
There he goes. One of God's own prototypes. Some kind of high powered mutant
never even considered for mass production. Too weird to live, and too rare
to die.

Brian's Radio Universe
http://webpages.charter.net/brianehill/

"MC" wrote in message
...
I'm picking up AFN on their Puerto Rico freq. of 7.507Mhz. Now this may
not
seem a remarkable thing but I am in the South East of the UK. Again not
remarkable but being new to this Shortwave stuff, I have no idea what I
have
done to enable me to pick up this station. Yesterday I purchased some
common "household" wire (not copper). As I live on the first floor, but
have full "sole" use of the garden I attached one end of the wire near to
my
entrance door (18'/20' from the ground) and it slopes about 60' down to
the
end fence panel at the bottom of the garden. I have then run the wire
back
along the top of the fence about another 42' (I have measured by counting
the 6 foot fence panels) and about 4' from the ground. This gives a sort
of
wedge shape wire antenna (as opposed to an inverted L).

I have attached the wire via home made insulators (made from pieces of
drilled 1" plastic pipe) at both ends and have attached the coax (TV
grade)
directly to the wire at the end near my entrance door. This is then
attached to th "Li-Z" phono antenna socket at the back of my DX-394 (B
revision).

Bearing in mind that the ATN reception is not brilliant but listenable,
does
my antenna sound as though it is OK or do ATN really broadcast from my
neighbours house and is therefore the antenna is crap

I have no antenna tuner or other equipment (wouldn't know how to use them
even if I did). What other things can I do to improve things, especially
in
the lower 1-3Mhz where I get awful noise (I do not get a huge amount of
noise above this and the higher the freq the less noise I get).

Regards

MC


Hiya :-)

Sounds like a good solution to me. I'm not an expert, but I think the key
to having a good antenna isn't really how much wire you have, or what shape
it is in. What is best is to have an antenna that is constructed to give you
a good "signal to noise ratio" That meaning, if you have an antenna; even a
very long one, that is close to an electronic noise source, your antenna
probably won't be too good. You will get lots of noise and static and it
will drown out lots of good DX. If you live in a densely populated area
like I do here in the NY/NJ metro area, noise is always a factor. One of my
antennas is a 200' random wire. It works great now, but when I first set it
up, it wasn't so good. At first, I had 400' of wire. I got a lot of noise
with it, and even worse then that, I would hear the local 50 kilowatt AM
stations all over the band. After reading a few articles and getting some
advice from other DX'ers, I made some modifications to the antenna. I
shortened it to 200' and I made three additions to the antenna's
construction that really helped with noise. I used a coax feed line from
the receiving wire into the radio and I added a matching transformer between
the coax feed and the receiving wire. I also set up a ground wire that goes
from the radio's ground connection, to the ground connection on my matching
transformer and then into the earth. Since those additions, the antenna is
now a prime DX'ing antenna with great signal to noise ratio. So... The
longer antenna at 400' didn't work so good, but the shorter one does.

I think your wire antenna will probably work good. You have more then
enough receiving wire, and a coax feed. If you want to try to improve on
it, you may want to try using a matching transformer between your receiving
wire and your coax feed. Also... It couldn't hurt to set up a ground if you
already haven't. Again, though... I think the all important factor is the
location of the antenna rather then the size or shape. Your antenna, if set
up near serious noise sources won't work good no matter what you do. If you
take that same antenna and set it up out in the wilderness far away from any
noise sources... VIOLA ... You got a prime DX'ing antenna :-)

Hope that helps...

--

Respectfully,

Michael

Location: Northern NJ
Primary Radio: R-75 with full Kiwa mods.
Antennas: 200ft "Frankenstein" roof wire, G5RV
Additional Radios:GE Super Radio III, PL-550,
KA-1101, KA-1102, Kaiwa KA-989, Info-Mate 837,
Westinghouse H-104 (seven tube)
Home Page: http://md_dxing.tripod.com/

"Michael" wrote in message
. ..


Hiya :-)

Sounds like a good solution to me. I'm not an expert, but I think the
key
to having a good antenna isn't really how much wire you have, or what
shape
it is in. What is best is to have an antenna that is constructed to give
you
a good "signal to noise ratio" That meaning, if you have an antenna; even
a
very long one, that is close to an electronic noise source, your antenna
probably won't be too good. You will get lots of noise and static and it
will drown out lots of good DX. If you live in a densely populated area
like I do here in the NY/NJ metro area, noise is always a factor. One of
my
antennas is a 200' random wire. It works great now, but when I first set
it
up, it wasn't so good. At first, I had 400' of wire. I got a lot of
noise
with it, and even worse then that, I would hear the local 50 kilowatt AM
stations all over the band. After reading a few articles and getting some
advice from other DX'ers, I made some modifications to the antenna. I
shortened it to 200' and I made three additions to the antenna's
construction that really helped with noise. I used a coax feed line from
the receiving wire into the radio and I added a matching transformer
between
the coax feed and the receiving wire. I also set up a ground wire that
goes
from the radio's ground connection, to the ground connection on my
matching
transformer and then into the earth. Since those additions, the antenna is
now a prime DX'ing antenna with great signal to noise ratio. So... The
longer antenna at 400' didn't work so good, but the shorter one does.

I think your wire antenna will probably work good. You have more then
enough receiving wire, and a coax feed. If you want to try to improve on
it, you may want to try using a matching transformer between your
receiving
wire and your coax feed. Also... It couldn't hurt to set up a ground if
you
already haven't. Again, though... I think the all important factor is the
location of the antenna rather then the size or shape. Your antenna, if
set
up near serious noise sources won't work good no matter what you do. If
you
take that same antenna and set it up out in the wilderness far away from
any
noise sources... VIOLA ... You got a prime DX'ing antenna :-)

Hope that helps...

--

Respectfully,

Michael


Thanks for the input.

I'm in the middle of town (more or less) but most utility cables are
underground. However, my garden is enclosed amongst the buildings, mixture
of residential and retail (none more that 2 floors, ground and first).

I have grounded the antenna at the farthest end of the wire (nearest to the
ground). I have not grounded the coax though as it is not pactical due to
the distance between the coax and the ground itself. The other alternative
would mean creating an unhappy wife should I run wire around the flat
seeking out the nearest water pipe.

Regards

MC

Bearing in mind that the ATN reception is not brilliant but listenable, does
my antenna sound as though it is OK or do ATN really broadcast from my
neighbours house and is therefore the antenna is crap

MC,
You did a fine job to pick that up, I don't know what everyon else is
saying.....I haven't read it yet.

O often been curious about trying another antenna on another hookup on the
back, just never got around to it.

Good job and have fun. :-)

~*~*Monitoring The AirWaves~*~
*****GO BEARCATS*****
Hammarlund HQ129X /Heathkit Q Multiplier
Hammarlund HQ140X
Multiple GE P-780's(GREAT BCB Radios)
RCA Victor *Strato- World*
RCA Victor RJC77W-K(Walnut Grain)
1942 Zenith Wave Magnet 6G 601M
Cathedral/ Ross#2311/Rhapsody-MultiBand
DX100/394/398/399/402
OMGS Transistor Eight/Realistic 12-1451
Henry Kloss Model One/Bell+Howell
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
Alpha Delta DX Sloper 57ft.
600ft. 12AWG. (non-terminated)
120ft. 12 AWG Sloper
2 Radio Shack Loop Antennas
Radio Shack Amplified Antenna
30X30 DiamondLoop(six section 830pf Cap)
* Diamond Loop mounted to Lazy Susan TurnTable*

"MC" wrote in message [snip]
I have attached the wire via home made insulators (made from pieces of
drilled 1" plastic pipe) at both ends and have attached the coax (TV grade)
directly to the wire at the end near my entrance door. This is then
attached to th "Li-Z" phono antenna socket at the back of my DX-394 (B
revision).

Presumably the LO-Z input, not the HI-Z. Switching between inputs can
have some interesting and maybe useful effects, the differences
varying with frequency.

[snip]
I have no antenna tuner or other equipment (wouldn't know how to use them
even if I did). What other things can I do to improve things, especially in
the lower 1-3Mhz where I get awful noise (I do not get a huge amount of
noise above this and the higher the freq the less noise I get).

If the noise source is primarily inside your house, shielding the
DX-394 can help. With an antenna of that size, you are probably
overloading it with strong MW signals causing the generation of hash
in this region. A high pass filter to attenuate the MW signals will be
a great help.

For more on how to get the most out of your DX-394, join the 600
member http://groups.yahoo.com/group/RADIOSHACKDX394/ .

73, Tom

Presumably the LO-Z input, not the HI-Z. Switching between inputs can
have some interesting and maybe useful effects, the differences
varying with frequency.

I use the Lo-Z which is for coax, what are some of the 'interesting and maybe
useful effects' Tom?

I think I know what you mean, I've never used the HI-Z, between the two,
which one do you prefer?

~*~*Monitoring The AirWaves~*~
*****GO BEARCATS*****
Hammarlund HQ129X /Heathkit Q Multiplier
Hammarlund HQ140X
Multiple GE P-780's(GREAT BCB Radios)
RCA Victor *Strato- World*
RCA Victor RJC77W-K(Walnut Grain)
1942 Zenith Wave Magnet 6G 601M
Cathedral/ Ross#2311/Rhapsody-MultiBand
DX100/394/398/399/402
OMGS Transistor Eight/Realistic 12-1451
Henry Kloss Model One/Bell+Howell
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
Alpha Delta DX Sloper 57ft.
600ft. 12AWG. (non-terminated)
120ft. 12 AWG Sloper
2 Radio Shack Loop Antennas
Radio Shack Amplified Antenna
30X30 DiamondLoop(six section 830pf Cap)
* Diamond Loop mounted to Lazy Susan TurnTable*

GO BEARCATS wrote:
Presumably the LO-Z input, not the HI-Z. Switching
between inputs can have some interesting and maybe
useful effects, the differences varying with frequency.

I use the Lo-Z which is for coax, what are some of the
'interesting and maybe useful effects' Tom?

I think I know what you mean, I've never used the HI-Z,
between the two, which one do you prefer?

The system comprising an antenna and receiver is so complex that there
aren't any hard and fast rules. The impedance characteristics of both vary
with frequency and that of the receiver at any fixed frequency can change as
the receiver is tuned. Thus the impedance match and voltage or power
transfer is all over the map. The RF energy in the vicinity of the antenna
changes with time and all receivers are susceptible to overload from too
much reaching the front end.

Connecting an antenna alternately to the LO-Z and HI-Z input almost always
results in a difference in the desired signal's strength but more
importantly can affect the signal-noise ratio. For example, I found that
with short antennas (say under 1/10 wavelength i.e. under 15-20 ft for the
49 metre band) and the DX-394 that the HI-Z input would give higher signal
readings. But with the strong local MW stations overloading the receiver the
background hash would be much higher. Connecting it to the LO-Z input
results in the antenna-receiver input combination acting as a basic high
pass filter that markedly improves the signal-noise ratio.

The DX-394 has some unique properties that differ between the two antenna
inputs that may not come into play with other radios. Only the LO-Z input
has a 20dB pad and the VHF image filter is probably more effective on this
input, if at all on the HI-Z.

I wrote a couple of articles about these issues that can be found at
http://www.mods.dk/view.php?ModelId=573 and at
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/RADIOS...iles/Mods/ANT/ . In "Options
for the DX-394 Telescoping Whip Antenna", I describe how I adapted the whip
antenna to the LO-Z input with an optional clip to the HI-Z input that
proves necessary for reception of low frequencies and can be a plus or a
minus at mid-frequencies.

Since everyone's situation is different and changing with time, there is
ample opportunity to experiment to find what works best at the time.

73, Tom