Hello all, I was wondering if there is such a thing as indoor wire shortwave radio antennas ? Something that would work with a Grundig Satellit 800, not sure if the PL259 or Ladder Line type connection would be better to use.
Indoor Wire Shortwave Antenna?
- Thread starter Rt169Radio
- Start date
ka3jjz
Wiki Admin Emeritus
Really if you are forced to use something indoors - so many are - wire antennas really won't cut it with noise pickup, not to mention any shielding effects from the surrounding building. An active loop is a much better choice since it can reject noise sources. There are many homebrew designs out there as well as some kit based loop amps you can build, if you don't want one of the commercial units (like the W6LVP, MFJ, etc.). Our loops wiki has a selection of these.
Mike
Mike
ka3jjz
Wiki Admin Emeritus
Just as an example, it might be worth building a YouLoop (a passive loop - no amplifier) and putting that into a LZ1AQ loop amp. It's quite possible that would work very well.
Another possibility if you have a small yard is to use a loop on the ground with an amp, or if you have a porch, string thin clear speaker wire around the perimeter.
The loops wiki has info on all of these
Mike
Another possibility if you have a small yard is to use a loop on the ground with an amp, or if you have a porch, string thin clear speaker wire around the perimeter.
The loops wiki has info on all of these
Mike
W8WCA
Member
I use a MLA-30 for my portables and it does a great job for it's low price.
It is listed in the Wiki section also Loops - The RadioReference Wiki
It is listed in the Wiki section also Loops - The RadioReference Wiki
ka3jjz
Wiki Admin Emeritus
And if you are a tinkerer this loop can be modified for better performance (substituting the loop material, etc.). There is a FB group devoted to just this model and the mods that folks have come up with
Mike
Mike
Thanks for the replies! I think stringing up bare speaker wire in my room is going to be my best bet hooked up to the wire connection.
W8WCA
Member
It does not need to be bare (just fyi)
Alain
Member
Rt169Radio,
When I received my very first shortwave radio, a Lafayette Radio HA-230 general coverage receiver, I had just graduated grammar school, circa 1963. It came with 50' of bare copper wire and two ceramic insulators. Living in a small, 900 sq. ft apartment with my mom and dad, I was given the small bedroom. It was maybe 8' X 10'. I took the copper wire and went around the ceiling twice, saving one end to connect to the rig. It worked very well for a very cheap antenna. I heard hams on AM [160 meters] from Pittsburgh and Chicago. Not bad for a ground level apartment, twelve miles from Manhattan!I do OK with a 25+ ft indoor wire. It's about 30 ft. from the nearest switching power supply (my router's supply) and maybe 35-40 ft from my computer's supply (which doesn't put out much RFI more than 5 ft away). If you can control the RFI in your apt. or house, an indoor wire should work. You may still get some RFI from neighbors, but it may only be on certain channels, and it would leave a lot of other channels RFI free.
It's worth a try, at least.
It's worth a try, at least.
Thanks for the replies all, going to be a fun little project to do.
devicelab
Whacker Extraordinaire
If you're in a rural environment then you might be able to get away with an indoor antenna; however, given a lot of the crappy filtering of today's tech devices, you'll more likely just pick up local RFI.
A long time ago, I experimented the original Slinky antenna. I picked one up for like $2 at a discount store and hooked it to a SW receiver. For the life of me, I cannot recall how it was hooked up to the radio. I think the external antenna was a 3.5mm jack. I may have soldered it simple wire to the Slinky. The Slinky has to be run across an open space -- but a ceiling works well. I vaguely remember having to turn off everything else in the house but it did work OK at the time.
As long as the investment is small it may be worth the time and trouble, but honestly, I cannot recommend it. It's so much easier/cheaper and worth the time investment to put up an amplified loop outside. At the very least, a simple random wire antenna using a 9:1 un-un is fairly cost effective. Either antenna need to be in a clear area -- at least 10m from any building or noise source.
The Satellit 800 is a good SW rig and worthy of a proper antenna. A Wellbrook loop would be ideal. There are other brands but their performance is hard to beat.
A long time ago, I experimented the original Slinky antenna. I picked one up for like $2 at a discount store and hooked it to a SW receiver. For the life of me, I cannot recall how it was hooked up to the radio. I think the external antenna was a 3.5mm jack. I may have soldered it simple wire to the Slinky. The Slinky has to be run across an open space -- but a ceiling works well. I vaguely remember having to turn off everything else in the house but it did work OK at the time.
As long as the investment is small it may be worth the time and trouble, but honestly, I cannot recommend it. It's so much easier/cheaper and worth the time investment to put up an amplified loop outside. At the very least, a simple random wire antenna using a 9:1 un-un is fairly cost effective. Either antenna need to be in a clear area -- at least 10m from any building or noise source.
The Satellit 800 is a good SW rig and worthy of a proper antenna. A Wellbrook loop would be ideal. There are other brands but their performance is hard to beat.
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Interference from home electronics is far worse today than 1963...I wish for those good old days.
