I need a kick-A@@ AM radio antenna

[hewhocaves]

Living in Morgantown (population 40,000 and at least as many livestock) I was pleasantly surprised to discover I can receive WCBS 880 at night all the way from NYC.

It's staticy, but at least I can listen to Yankee baseball.
the trouble is that it doesn't come in at all during the day and it sometimes fades out at night. Its the atmosphere or underpants gnomes or something.

Can anyone suggest an antenna model or brand or even a radio or a do-it-yourself project that might help me to get radio free NYC?

Thanks!

john

[ScottM]

Art Bell used to advertise for this company on Coast to Coast AM. I bought my first LED flashlight off here some 10 years ago. The have some very good and pricey AM antennas also.

http://www.ccrane.com/

[Wayne Harrison]

Here's your answer:

http://www.wonderquest.com/radio-waves.htm

In Colorado at night I can listen to the Dallas station I used to work for: KRLD 1080, but I can't get it during the day. I frequently listen to it while driving to work before dawn.

There are lots of DXers out there... people who tune through the dial at night, trying recieve faraway signals. I used to do it a lot when I was a teenager, on a home-made crystal set. We had an L-shaped house and I ran a single 150' wire attenna from one corner to the other:

http://www.answers.com/topic/mw-dx

[NZcaver]

Your results will depend a little on the sensitivity and selectivity of you receiver, but you could try stringing up a simple random-length longwire antenna to see if that helps.

Check out these other links for DIY tips:

http://geocities.com/SunsetStrip/Towers ... radio.html (watch out for the pop-ups)

http://www.hard-core-dx.com/nordicdx/an ... mloop.html (fairly technical, but not too difficult to grasp)

And (of course) there's an entire discussion board dedicated to shortwave listening antennas...
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/Shortwave-SWL-Antenna/

Good luck!

[Cheryl Jones]

Art Bell used to advertise for this company on Coast to Coast AM.

Awesome! Another Coast to Coast fan!

Cheryl

[Wayne Harrison]

George Nori is way better at it than Art Bell, IMO. I listen to him on the way in to work. Bell has this way of repeating what the interviewee says... and then saying "huh" like he's letting it sink in.. which gets a little tiresome..

"You say ALIENS picked you up and then TOOK you to the mother ship... huh"

[Cheryl Jones]

I don't like Art Bell much either.

But I do like being kept up to date on UFO sightings, alien kidnappings and discoveries, the civilization that lives in the center of the earth, the relics of the civilization on Mars, paranormal experiences, numerology, predictions and prophecies, chemtrails, bottomless holes, gov't weather control, and the rest of the stuff and goings-on that talk radio and news programs won't tell us about.

Cheryl

[hewhocaves]

I really need to stay up late and listen to him one of these days. And open up a second thread for our Zetan overlords.

Sadly, i could almost put that thread in the political / religious forum. lol.

[troutboy]

It's staticy, but at least I can listen to Yankee baseball.
the trouble is that it doesn't come in at all during the day and it sometimes fades out at night. Its the atmosphere or underpants gnomes or something.


john

Well, if the monthly fee is not bothersome, Satellite radio (XM) will bring you Yankees broadcasts with the home town announcers, day or night, static free. Of course you'll need the receiver and a home docking unit unless you want to sit in your car and listen ($200, maybe).

Another option is the MLB streaming video over your computer. $80 for every game of the year.

T (displaced Cincy fan in Delaware) S

PS - RE: Underpants gnomes, great episode.

[Sean Ryan]

Doesn't cloud cover or other atmospheric conditions affect what radio signals you can pick up at a given time? (I drove from New Jersey to Buffalo during one of the presidential debates in 2004. We found an AM station playing it live, and only after the whole thing was over and we had driven 100 miles did we start hearing ads for local Detroit businesses. I doubt I could find that station the next time I drive to Buffalo.)

If you're in your house, you could always go online and get streaming radio. It's no substitute for stumbling upon it in the car, but it's an option.

[hewhocaves]

i did eventually get MLB for radio... $14.95 / yr for all out of market radio games. I couldn't justify the $14.95 / mo for the video feed.

Yesm Sean.. cloud cover can improve radio feed at night. thunderstorms do the exact opposite. so it's very much touch and go. its an interesting experience listening to 880 as the sun sets. in about a half an hour it goes from complete static to fairly clear reception. this was a big thing for radio before TV. you could literally get WCBS across half a continent with a good antenna. Some of the sites listed are for links about just this thing. If i wasn't a complete doofus about elevtronics, it would be a great hobby to pick up. Oh well, never too old to learn

john