Listening to SW MW in basement apt?

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beamin

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Here is what I have:

A Grundig G5 radio with an antenna out
Front windows of my apartment are at ground level
The apartment is located at highest points in the Baltimore Area: many TV towers and a NEXRAD around here
A big spool of 18 or 20 ga wire
Home made ant. adapter with a connection for ground and ant (Cut rg6 coax using the shielding as ground in and center as ant feed in)

Is it worth my while to:
Put a ground rod right out side my window?
Will the grundig accept /benefit from it?

I can make a wire ant that loops around the ceiling of the apt
or
Make an antenna that I can unspool at night and lay horizontally outside


At one point I lived down the street in a house and got alot of signals I'm hoping this will be the same?

What say ye?
 

Boombox

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I don't see how a wire antenna in that situation will help MW reception.

Get an external tuned loop and set it near your G5, and that will help with MW/AM band reception.

If the G5 has an external antenna jack, one side of it is to the radio's ground -- whether an external ground will help is a good question. I've never had any benefit from grounds, on SW or MW. Others have. Your mileage may vary.

Don't rule out an on ground or near-ground, horizontal antenna. I once used one and it pulled in a few SW stations. Your ceiling wire indoor antenna idea would probably work better (higher up in the air), but it would also pick up RFI from your upstairs neighbors' TV, computer, router etc. No harm in trying, though.
 

WA8ZTZ

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Something as simple as the Grundig AN 200 loop antenna may work for you for MW BCB reception.
Using one here with some portable receivers in the basement and it works surprisingly well.

Running a wire around the ceiling of the apartment may pick up power line noise from every TV, computer, electronic ballast, etc. in the building.

My experience with ground rods is that sometimes they help but tend to increase noise along with the signal.
 

ka3jjz

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Unfortunately RF doesn't penetrate too far into the soil - a couple of inches at best, and that's when the soil is conductive. Your ceiling mounted antenna is one possibility - much as I would hesitate on this, a small active antenna, like the North Country, might also be of benefit. Don't go too heavy with the gain - where you are would very likely overload that little Grundig, and you'll start hearing all sorts of MW and FM hash where it doesn't belong. Some of the small active loops (like the Kaitos) might also work well here.

Grounding is a tricky subject. Just ramming a ground rod into the ground does NOT necessarily mean you have a good RF ground. It's worth trying, if your landlord will allow it, but because of several factors - not the least of which is proper bonding to the home's ground - it might cause more noise than help. Still it's worth trying

You are likely not to get quite as many signs as you did when you lived in the house - where you are is a real RF impediment

Mike
 

beamin

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What should I do in this location PICS for DXing

I live in an apartment thats half way underground but is on top of a large hill.

I have a Grundig G5 with load of coaz and wire to work with.

There are some flimsy trees out from but enough to keep the wire 10' feet off the ground.

What type of antenna would be suit it? A dipole a t antenna? one long wire going from tree to end tree

Here is some award winning artwork:
 

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beamin

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The ground rod is going right up against the building so It doesn't get whacked by the movers. Copper? Steel and metal? bury a 1 gal paint can with a wire attached?
 

ka3jjz

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This is the correct sub forum - and posting the same topic in more than one sub forum is a no-no, so I've merged your threads.

As to your questions - a copper rod will do, although as I've mentioned, it may not be the solution you're looking for, simply because a simple rod really isn't much of a RF ground, contrary to what you might have read. There are many other factors to consider - and it would take a lot more than the 5000 character limit to describe them

Getting the antenna outside will work far and away better than inside the apartment, if you can manage it without going crazy over your lease (most apartments don't allow outside antennas of any kind). However, being where you are, and using a portable, I would keep it short - there's a better than even chance that you will pick up a lot of trash from the FM and TV stations. A portable simply can't handle that amount of RF without issues.

You might well be better off with an active mini loop, since these loops need to be tuned - and the additional selectivity will help reject the FM and TV junk. But a wire antenna is a simple - and inexpensive- solution. Mike
 

pendulous

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Here are a couple of options to consider:

you can run a stealth random wire as you suggested and spool it in every night. sounds like a lot of work.
you can get yourself a quantum loop from DXTOOLS. I have one and it works amazing for mw and shortwave tropical bands. you can even take it with you when you travel. runs on 9v batter. you can rotate it to peak and null stations. it has a connector to connect a wire to it so you can use its preamp and preselection with the wire.

you can get real fancy and get the quantum loop, with a quantum phasor, and a ccrain twin coil loop and phase the the for some really impressive MW dxing. i have this configuration in my bedroom and it works well. i have also phased the quantum loop with the sony portable loop antenna with good success on the shortwave bands.

let me know if you have questions
 
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