Indoor Apartment Suitable Receive Only Ant. Suggestions ?

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BOBRR

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Hello,

Thanks for previous help.

Antenna theory ad practice is probably my weakest knowledge.

a. Have a YouLoop, but not too great.
Might anyone suggest a "complete" pre-amp package that is not too expensive that might help.
Packaging and soldering, etc. I'm not up to anymore, sadly.
Just a plug it in item. Up to 30 MHz.

b. Other than the loops, are there any other indoor receive only antennas suitable for an apartment ?
Up to 30 MHz or so would be great.

Thanks,
Bob
 

ka3jjz

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Bob are you using a preamp with the YouLoop, or using the amp in your receivers? That will make a difference

Mike
 

trentbob

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Whether you use an amp or not what I used to do in the old days was just string a copper wire antenna across and around and back again with a lead wire to the radio LOL. Worked pretty good.
 

ka3jjz

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But very sensitive to darn near any electric appliance you can think of. Not really the best option, although with indoor antennas, they are always a compromise. Even using loops indoors is a compromise...Mike
 

trentbob

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I do remember attaching a rock to the copper wire and throwing it out the window over a tree LOL. Of course you would always have interference in that kind of a scenario but having it outside worked a little better ;)
 

BOBRR

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Hi,

Will certainly do so.
Confusing subject, at least for me. Just too many variables.

Stay well all, and thanks for suggestions,
Bob
 

trentbob

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I think MFJ still makes an indoor active antenna for SWL
I bought one of those about 5 years back maybe a little more Herb and it had a telescopic antenna on it and I think was a 9 volt power source. I was very dissatisfied. Tried everything I could to make it work. Could have been just my RF environment.
 

trentbob

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Yep that sounds good, I always used, as I had the room, a 200-foot copper wire with the insulators on each end and a feed line.

I've gotten away from shortwave listening for obvious reasons of course, in the day I was an avid listener. I've been thinking lately it might be time to start listening again to get uncensored foreign news. I've had my Icom r75 since it came out, might be time to dust It Off LOL.
 

ka3jjz

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I bought one of those about 5 years back maybe a little more Herb and it had a telescopic antenna on it and I think was a 9 volt power source. I was very dissatisfied. Tried everything I could to make it work. Could have been just my RF environment.

I think this might be what you are talking about...


I'm really not a fan of active antennas in an indoor environment as they can pick up as much noise as signal. The local RF environment will make a difference, sure, but the mistake that is commonly made with these is to run it out at full gain all the time. That should never really be necessary, and in fact, might introduce the very problem I mentioned - excessive noise. When using antennas like these, you really need to be listening to how the band is behaving at the time, and reduce the gain just to the point where the desired signal is readable, but no further. A knob twiddler's dream, surely.

Bob do you have a balcony you can work with? Putting an active loop here - if you can get away with it - is probably the best you can hope for. Sure, it would take some setup but the payoff would likely be worth it. Mike
 

BOBRR

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For Mike, et al:

Good info.; thanks.

Any suggestions for a relatively inexpensive linear pre-amp to put in series with the
YouLoop feed ?

Would be willing to try, perhaps. Thoughts ?

This would be in addition to the built in amplification in the RSPdx (and Console software)

Regards,
Bob
 

ka3jjz

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Use the cheap way out - the amp in Console should be more than enough. Remember not to overdrive the SDR. Adding additional amplification to something already amp'ed is simply asking for trouble, and not just an increase in noise....Mike
 

schlever

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Have you thought of adding filters? I have a small active loop outside, and added a cheap AM filter to help remove interference and it has helped immensely for shortwave on my SDR. I am still getting some FM interference at the higher frequencies, so may also add an FM filter as well.
 

Patch42

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I fought that same battle for a very long time. Almost any modern building is an absolute RF noise factory. An antenna inside is going to pick up all that noise. Any kind of amplifier is just going to amplify the noise along with the little bit of signal that gets through.

If you can get the antenna outside at all you'll get vastly better results. The noise generated in the building tends to drop off significantly as you move away from the building. At a couple meters you should notice a huge reduction in noise. Any distance at all, even just a couple feet, will be much better than inside.

People have gotten very clever with outside stealth antennas. I've even heard of someone in a high rise using a fishing rod out a window to lower a simple wire antenna and get it away from the building. When done listening he'd literally reel it back in. Something like a pa0rdt mini-whip is fairly stealthy and does a decent job if you can get it far enough from the building.
 

prcguy

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I've tried lots of indoor HF antennas over the years and living in a wooden house in the 60s and 70s before switching power supplies you could get decent reception indoors. Most everything I've tried lately sucks indoors with huge noise levels but I was impressed with a WA6LVP active loop indoors and next to my main computer area. I could null out lots of noise and clearly hear things on several HF amateur bands during the day plus lots of AM BCB. I've since put the loop on my roof but if I was confined to indoors only I think that loop would save my life.
 
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