AM radio reception......That's right, AM.

[Bassman2]

I've been having a lot of trouble picking up a weak AM news talk station that I really like and getting a new Yamaha receiver only helped a little. Well if anybody here listens to AM anymore here's my remedy for a weak signal so far.

The little loop that came with the receiver was little help and running a 30 or 50 foot outdoor wire antenna was not practical, so I got one of the Terk amplified antennas which was even worse than the loop antenna. I next tried a Terk "AM advantage" which is a bigger loop with a tuneable capacitor built in and it was a big improvement. it made listening during the day quite good but as the sun went down the station drifted and after dark it was gone.

Next I got a 50 foot wire with a 3.5 mm plug for connection to the antenna with the idea of running it upstairs to try getting some height for the new loop. Well just plugging it in between the receiver and antenna all coiled up just about doubled the signal strength so now I think I'm good to go.

I hope this helps others with the same problem because I thought it was hopeless at first. Does anybody listen to AM on their gear anymore?

 

[markw]

good luck on ya.

virtually all receivers I've run unto in all my years have a "token" AM section that more fitting of a shirt-pocket radio, if not less. I'n glad you were able to squeeze some usefulness out of yours.

On the rare instances where I want AM, such as sports or the occasional talk show, I use a big old Silvertone tabletop radio from the late 40's (which comes with a 6x9 speaker as original equipment) I keep in a corner of the living room. Sounds great, looks wonderul and picks up like a cheap hooker.

You might want to look into something like this as well. they knew how to build AM radios in those days. Heck, it was SOTA then.

 

[highfihoney]

Does anybody listen to AM on their gear anymore?

I do i dont fire up the main rig for am but i do use a little table top am radio to listen to a few news programs i like while im reading the forums.

I also listen to am radio in my work truck while commuting to & from work,fm radio has nothing i want to hear.

 

[mtrycrafts]

I've been having a lot of trouble picking up a weak AM news talk station that I really like and getting a new Yamaha receiver only helped a little. Well if anybody here listens to AM anymore here's my remedy for a weak signal so far.

The little loop that came with the receiver was little help and running a 30 or 50 foot outdoor wire antenna was not practical, so I got one of the Terk amplified antennas which was even worse than the loop antenna. I next tried a Terk "AM advantage" which is a bigger loop with a tuneable capacitor built in and it was a big improvement. it made listening during the day quite good but as the sun went down the station drifted and after dark it was gone.

Next I got a 50 foot wire with a 3.5 mm plug for connection to the antenna with the idea of running it upstairs to try getting some height for the new loop. Well just plugging it in between the receiver and antenna all coiled up just about doubled the signal strength so now I think I'm good to go.

I hope this helps others with the same problem because I thought it was hopeless at first. Does anybody listen to AM on their gear anymore?

How far is the station? What power is it? I bet at night it might be required to reduce power to prevent the signal from skipping and traveling all over the place. Or, if it is not reducing power, it is still skipping and may pass you over.
Did you try to stretch that wire out if that changes its curled up output?

Do you have an attic? In wall to it and a long wire?

 

[Hi Ho]

I listen to AM talk radio all day at work and in my car. If I listen at home it's usually a podcast of a previous show.

However, I have found that my Yamaha 2700 picks up stations surprisingly well. The loop antenna must be in just the right position and the TV cannot be turned on but it pulls in 710 KIRO as clear as AM radio can be.

It does even better with FM, which I never listen to, but it's nice to know Yamaha included a decent tuner.

 

[Bassman2]

Yes my receiver does fine for most AM stations but this one is at the extreme end of the dial (1600) and maybe it does reduce power at night. I've heard that it's known not to come in at night but no one ever said why.

No I havent uncoiled the wire yet, When I plugged it in and the station came in so strong I was afraid to even touch it LOL. I'm thinking of taping or tiewrapping it in place just as it is now and never touching it again.

I don't know the power of the station except that it's not a top level station. It's about 25 miles as the crow flies and one problem in this area is that all radio station antenna's in New York City used to be atop the World Trade Center but now they're using the older system on the Empire State Building for obvious reasons. I've heard that you cant use TV rabbit ears either anymore for the same reason.

Like I said I bought the 50 foot extension to run the antenna to the second floor window that has a direct line of sight behind the neighbors house and over the school on the next block with no obstructions in a straight line due west toward NYC and the Empire State Building.

You know how it goes, one day I'll just HAVE TO know how that works and I'll chance uncoiling the wire and running it upstairs. Then when I find that it was better the way it was, I'll coil it back up and it wont work.

 

[mtrycrafts]

Yes my receiver does fine for most AM stations but this one is at the extreme end of the dial (1600) and maybe it does reduce power at night. I've heard that it's known not to come in at night but no one ever said why.

No I havent uncoiled the wire yet, When I plugged it in and the station came in so strong I was afraid to even touch it LOL. I'm thinking of taping or tiewrapping it in place just as it is now and never touching it again.

I don't know the power of the station except that it's not a top level station. It's about 25 miles as the crow flies and one problem in this area is that all radio station antenna's in New York City used to be atop the World Trade Center but now they're using the older system on the Empire State Building for obvious reasons. I've heard that you cant use TV rabbit ears either anymore for the same reason.

Like I said I bought the 50 foot extension to run the antenna to the second floor window that has a direct line of sight behind the neighbors house and over the school on the next block with no obstructions in a straight line due west toward NYC and the Empire State Building.

You know how it goes, one day I'll just HAVE TO know how that works and I'll chance uncoiling the wire and running it upstairs. Then when I find that it was better the way it was, I'll coil it back up and it wont work.

At the AM band, even at 1600kHz, the signal is not much of a line of sight deal compared to FM at 100MHz.
Call the station and see what their power is day and night.
If that coil of wire is working well enough, not much more to say.

 

[daleg3]

The FM & TV stations antennas were located on the WTC. Line of site is important at those higher frequencies. AM stations are located outside of the city due to the real estate needed for multiple towers to support directional arrays and the towers' grounding system.

1600 WWRL is 25000 watts during the day and only 5000 watts at night. Their directional patterns and other information is located at http://www.radio-locator.com/cgi-bin/finder?call=wwrl&sr=Y&s=C&x=13&y=2.

According to the station's website, they stream their programming so that may be an option for night-time listening.

 

[xray]

AM Radio

I solved my AM problem by purchasing an AM-FM radio with the AM portion tuned specifically for the human voice and has both aux audio in and out. A large portable with specs of 11"Wx6,5"
Hx4"D and weighing just over 4pounds with 4 "D" batteries, this radio can also be plugged into ones receiver and function on AC power.

As an aging retired military aviator, my high frequency hearing is miserable but now the AM mush has turned to clarity and distance reception so outstanding I don't regret the $165 cost.

If interested, call 800 522 8863 for a free catalogue that will provide more details than I've included. The company is C.Crane and the radio is called the CCRadio plus. I learned about this from the San Francisco Bay Area classical music station and not in the business.
Chuck

 

[mtrycrafts]

The FM & TV stations antennas were located on the WTC. Line of site is important at those higher frequencies. AM stations are located outside of the city due to the real estate needed for multiple towers to support directional arrays and the towers' grounding system.

1600 WWRL is 25000 watts during the day and only 5000 watts at night. Their directional patterns and other information is located at http://www.radio-locator.com/cgi-bin/finder?call=wwrl&sr=Y&s=C&x=13&y=2.

According to the station's website, they stream their programming so that may be an option for night-time listening.

That is an interesting web site
So they do reduce power by 80%

 

[Ampdog]

Interesting discussion!

Yah ... sadly I also grew up as long ago as the AM era (I fortunately cannot find an emoticon for "old man" - oops, sorry! That should be veteran!)

Only to keep in mind (though I cannot imagine it is not), that antenna matching only starts round about a 1/4 wavelength ... and that for the high end of the AM band is about 50m (150ft)! So any wire shorter than that will be capacitive and less efficient. Also at that frequency buildings do not do much attenuation - BUT, it will depend on the amount of steel girders in the construction.

As said if the long wire worked, use that; only uncoil and extend as long as possible upwards. Insertion of a series (equalising) coil at the receiver end would help, but that is getting a little academical and difficult to advise about here. Forget about patent small AM antennas. One patent antenna might be better than another, but they will all be less efficient than a long wire. Also, proper ferrite antennas were useful, but I rather think inferior to a long wire ..... that will depend. I cannot remember exactly.