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Old 31st Mar 2018, 7:13 am   #21
stevehertz
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Default Re: My long awaited outdoor AM aerial

Well, I don't want to enter into a debate about loops vs long wires. Suffice to say, my outdoor long aerial works perfectly well for my needs. Bags and bags of signal level, stations, and very low noise. Like I said above, almost FM like in quality. It cost about £50 all in including the rigger, is VERY authentic in the vintage wireless idiom, is nice for an enthusiast like myself to look upon, and it works a treat with no power supply, no power consumption and no electronic parts to fail. It is the defacto way to receive AM signals and for me it's a resounding success!!
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Old 31st Mar 2018, 10:21 am   #22
mark2collection
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Default Re: My long awaited outdoor AM aerial

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Originally Posted by MrBungle View Post
Hash is terrible. Is it better out in the sticks? I'm right in the middle of London and it's awful.
We're out in the sticks, the main house has all the usual modern noise, out in the 'escape room' it's a lot better, the only 'noisy' electrical item being the cordless phone charger & striplights, which soon gets switch off for serious listening or set alignment. I have since installed a standard 'pendant' light, with an authentic green enamel shade, of 1950's vintage ...

I have toyed with the idea of making one of these:-

http://bovan.net/gmweb2/The%20FS%20Loop.htm

Graham Maynard (sadly no longer with us), & I had email tennis a few years back regarding his phono stage, works a treat, the loop antenna on his site looks an interesting project.

Mark
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Old 31st Mar 2018, 2:52 pm   #23
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Default Re: My long awaited outdoor AM aerial

Indeed Mark. I built a copy of his 'ferrite sleeve' antenna a few years ago and I continue to be mightily impressed. Placing it a few inches from my portable causes a vast increase in signal level and as long as the local noise is low it can bring an almost non-existent signal up to full readability.
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Old 31st Mar 2018, 3:13 pm   #24
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Default Re: My long awaited outdoor AM aerial

You could always put a drip splodge of silicone and inch from the frame.
 
Old 2nd Jun 2018, 8:43 pm   #25
avocollector
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Default Re: My long awaited outdoor AM aerial

What sort of protection do you have against lightening strikes?
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Old 3rd Jun 2018, 7:59 am   #26
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Default Re: My long awaited outdoor AM aerial

You may need more than a hard hat when lobbing wires up trees:

A friend in the Dunfermline club was putting an antenna up into a tree in the park for a special event station. He tied the wire to the ring end of a spanner and threw it into the tree. It swung round a branch and he got the spanner back in his face. A&E to put his lip back together.

I get on well with all the neighbours. I fix the odd thing for them and provide advice on electronics, vehicles etc. So I seem to get seen as a valued local resource. I got a lot of help when I was ill some years ago and there's usually a spare pair of hands around when I need something holding. During the recent deep snow, my range rover got most of the cul-de-sac's shopping trips done. Living in a street where everyone helps each other is, well, civilised

David
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Old 3rd Jun 2018, 1:39 pm   #27
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Default Re: My long awaited outdoor AM aerial

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Originally Posted by Radio Wrangler View Post
You may need more than a hard hat when lobbing wires up trees:

A friend in the Dunfermline club was putting an antenna up into a tree in the park for a special event station. He tied the wire to the ring end of a spanner and threw it into the tree. It swung round a branch and he got the spanner back in his face. A&E to put his lip back together.
https://www.honeybros.com/Item/STEIN..._Throwline_Kit

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Old 4th Jun 2018, 8:25 pm   #28
MurphyNut
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Default Re: My long awaited outdoor AM aerial

Great job, I'm wondering if I should rig up something like this. I get a lot of interference on my sets in the house whereas I get very little with my sets down the end of the garden in my various sheds.
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Old 4th Jun 2018, 8:27 pm   #29
stevehertz
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Default Re: My long awaited outdoor AM aerial

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Great job, I'm wondering if I should rig up something like this. I get a lot of interference on my sets in the house whereas I get very little with my sets down the end of the garden in my various sheds.
Thanks. Go ahead and do it, the difference is like light and day!
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Old 5th Jun 2018, 11:52 am   #30
Al (astral highway)
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Default Re: My long awaited outdoor AM aerial

Nice one, Steve!

I remember when I made a long-wire to listen to my first crystal radio set when I was . From your account, it seems like a good way to outflank the hash on AM these days, and an alternative to building a loop aerial.

I’m happy for you that your set-up is working out. Keep us posted, happy listening!
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Old 5th Jun 2018, 12:22 pm   #31
dave walsh
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Default Re: My long awaited outdoor AM aerial

There's not much to lose Clive, especially if you've got wire available. Steve has gone for the "Full Monty" but a receiving aerial can be done on the cheap and it might depend on where the receivers are located. The higher the better as they said in your period [the 20's and 30's] is the usual rule but you can often run something just along fence and get good results. So many factors and ideas but just try it out. I've used biro cases and all sorts of things as insulators in the past. Mostly neighbours are fine but I don't advertise and many rigs have been pretty much invisible anyway

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Old 5th Jun 2018, 1:01 pm   #32
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Default Re: My long awaited outdoor AM aerial

Having read through this thread, reminded me of an anecdote once told me by a garage owner in the town where I grew up.

In the early 1920's, a Sir Charles Leonard imported a pair of kerosene engined plowing 'engines' for his wheat farm. These engines were based on the same concept as the steam traction engines, but fitted with internal combustion engines. The engines were shipped to South Africa, with a commissioning mechanic coming with. After the demise of the engines, Mr Christopher Ferrandi moved to the nearby town of Villiersdorp, where he opened up a motor garage.

He did not only sell and service motor cars, trucks and such, but also started selling 'wireless' sets.

His modus operandi was this: He knew that every afternoon after 5:30, the SABC's Cape Town service would play 'boeremusiek', featuring the concertina, accordion, violin, banjo and guitar in waltzes, polkas, etc, and this was a 'hit' with the local Afrikaans folk.

He'd charge a 6V car battery during the day, and then see to it that by 5 o'clock in the afternoon, he'd have his horse-cart all ready, put a radio, battery and a good length of aerial wire on the back, and on a leasurely trot set off for a nearby farm. Once he got to the farm, the aerial wire was quickly looped up into a bluegum tree (eucalyptus), the battery connected and the radio switched on. He'd then tune to the Cape Town station, waiting for the music to start up.

His son Derrick told me: 'You know, the old man never came back with a radio'.

Part of the deal was that the new owner of the radio also bought a 'charged' 6V battery. When the battery went flat, he could come and exchange it for a fully charged one from mr Ferrandi.

Ferrandi's Garage remained in business till 1997 when a new owner sadly 'managed' it into bankruptcy.
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