Best Indoor (or outdoor) Antenna?? HELP???

[plainsmith]

Good day brothers,

Looking to get back into listening to worldwide shortwave, on a Kaito Voyager Pro, currently using a clothesline clip-on antenna.

Have the clothesline loosely hung around living room in L shape...

A: Would having the antenna in a straight line be best?

B: Would running the clothesline out the wall and straight out (like a clothesline) be best?

C: What are the best options a poor electrician could do for a better result?

D: What is 9k -vs- 10k Step, which is best to set this radio at?

Thanks in advance!

Radio being used (and no I cannot afford another right now):
KAITO KA600L 5-WAY POWERED EMERGENCY AM/FM/SW NOAA WEATHER ALERT RADIO WITH SOLAR,DYNAMO CRANK,FLASHLIGHT AND READING LAMP, DIGITAL RADIO WITH LARGER BATTERY AND SOLAR PANEL, SILVER

AM (MW):520-1710KHz
LW (longwave):150-521KHz
SW (shortwave):2,300-23,000 KHz
NOAA Weather:1-7
Internal speakeriameter 66 mm
Headset jack socket: 3.5 mm
Sensitivity:
FM<10uV
MW<1mV/m
SW < 30uV

 

[plainsmith]

See pIc

Research so far makes me want to go with this 4 wire 145' long antenna, but then what wire is best that can support 4 runs...

 

[ka3jjz]

Here is what the OP has bought;

https://www.universal-radio.com/catalog/portable/0470.html

Unfortunately it appears that this radio doesn't have an external antenna jack, so there's not much, short of connecting a wire directly to the whip, you can do. This is a bit dangerous, because any static electricity on the wire (or your finger) can permanently deafen that radio. Bending the antenna is generally not a problem for receiving, but never bend it back upon itself - this can induce opposing currents that will, in some cases, cancel each other out. Outside is always best - away from the home to get away from all the various noise sources.

The 9 khz / 10 Khz steps on MW is for compatibility in Europe, where spacing between stations is 9 khz. For North America, leave it at 10 khz

The antenna you show is likely to be way too much for the portable to handle, especially if you are on the East Coast. A more modest antenna of probably no more than 50 foot would be about as good as you can do. Normally I would recommend the PAR EF-SWL, but the lack of an external antenna jack gives me pause. As the feedline for the antenna is usually coax cable, it's possible that you might make it work by connecting the center conductor to the whip, and grounding the braid. But I can't definitely say that would work. The PAR can be found at many distributors, including Universal Radio, viz. (links are always blue, by the way)

https://www.universal-radio.com/catalog/sw_ant/2205.html

And of course, being an electrician, you know about proper grounding and following the NEC.

Mike

 

[plainsmith]

thank you for the information

 

[bob550]

Be aware that using an outdoor antenna connected to a portable invites signal overload. This causes phantom signals to wash over the HF bands making reception challenging. I had that problem years back with my Sony 2010 and an outdoor long wire. I had to make use of an antenna pre-selector to reduce the overload.

 

[bob550]

As another thought, you may try a thin (22 gauge) coated wire of any workable length. On the radio side, wrap the wire several times around the partially extended whip antenna, making sure the actual wire does not contact the whip. Improved reception may be obtained through the indirect transfer of signals into the whip.

 

[plainsmith]

So, took a 50' of # 12 THHN (stranded insulated copper), ran it out the wall across the porch an off an insulator stretching out 36' to a 2'step ladder (till I make an end pole. Results are very nice compared to the 20 indoor clothesline! Plus learned how to make the Voyager auto-scan & save stations, then I write down the fq I want, wait a few hours and have it scan again... repeat. Once I have 50 good stations I like I will punch those into the manual memory and enjoy

Awesome!