Would it work to run a length of wire out the window & clip one end (using
alligator clip) to the attached telescoping antenna of my Grundig Mini 300
(w/no external antenna jack)?

Lisa Simpson wrote:
Would it work to run a length of wire out the window & clip one end (using
alligator clip) to the attached telescoping antenna of my Grundig Mini 300
(w/no external antenna jack)?

Hello Lisa,

Yes absolutely you can try it. You even have commercial antennas that get
connected to the radion with an alligator clip. You can also simply wrap the
antenna wire end around the whip if you don't have such clip.

Charly

I have used this method before, and it works fine; but...

I would recommend, rather than a direct connection between *bare* wire
and antenna, that the OP use *insulated* wire to wrap around the
antenna, maybe 10 or 20 times in a coil...inductive signal rather than
direct. While the signal strength might be diminished a *little*, this
would prevent static during a poor connection, and discharges of same
through the guts of the radio. One can always increase the number of
wraps to increase the signal if necessary. This works well for me, and
prevents damage. It may also help prevent overloading of the receiver
on strong signals.

For what it's worth, there are commercial antennas that come with
little inductive coils that slip over the whip - but it's cheaper and
completely easy to do by hand with a plain insulated wire.

Bruce Jensen

Thanx - I'll try it! : }

"bpnjensen" wrote in message
oups.com...
I'd use a length of insulated copper wire, single or multiple strand,
whatever gauge works for you, as long as you can wrap it snugly around
your whip. If it tends to unwrap, a piece of tape to hold it in place
won't hurt a thing. Insulation will make no practical difference in
reception, will help to insulate against touching other metal, as well
as give you the safe inductive coil you need at the whip. The longer
the length, the more signal you will pull in - which is not always
fully desirable, by the way, because a strong signal can overload the
radio, resulting in reception and interference on frequencies other
than the primary one.

The wire could be cut from an old extension cord, but less than about
10 feet may not help your reception much. Something around 30 feet or
so might be a good place to start. Run your wire up as high as you can
off the ground. Make sure you don't connect an uninsulated piece of of
it to a grounded metal object. See what happens!

Bruce Jensen