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AM antenna help needed

post #1 of 5
11/30/10 at 10:45am
Thread Starter 

My girlfriend has a component receiver in a small built-in cabinet in her living room.  It's connected to speakers that are installed in the ceiling in several rooms.  This was all installed when the house was built, and it wasn't done very well.  The FM antenna was just a short piece of coax that was jammed into the jack on the receiver, which I have since remedied.  The AM antenna was a piece of cat5 with two of the wires stripped and inserted into the "AM Loop" jacks on the receiver.  AM reception is slim to none at the moment, and she is trying to pick up fairly local channels.

 

A google search shows WAY more info on AM antennae than I care to know about.  She wants to avoid any type of antenna that has to sit out in view (the cabinet in a fairly non-discrete location in the room) and there is not much room inside the cabinet itself.

 

Is there a "better than nothing" type of DIY antenna I can install that will hopefully at least pick up local stations? 

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post #2 of 5
11/30/10 at 1:55pm

The simplest AM antenna is a long piece of wire.  one end goes into one of the connections on the radio, the other end goes up as high as you can get it.  The other connection on the radio is usually grounded.  You cna use the thinnest, skinniest wire you can find and it will be almost invisible.

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post #3 of 5
11/30/10 at 2:47pm
Thread Starter 

Almost invisible probably won't be invisible enough for her.  :(

 

If I do go that route, to which jack would I connect the single wire?  There are 2 jacks both labeled "AM Loop" and neither say "ground" or "antenna".

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post #4 of 5
12/1/10 at 10:11am

Either connection should work, probably neither one is grounded.

 

You can make a loop antenna fairly easily, here are search results:

http://www.google.com/search?q=am+loop+antenna&rls=com.microsoft:en-us&ie=UTF-8&oe=UTF-8&startIndex=&startPage=1#q=how+to+make+an+am+loop+antenna&hl=en&rls=com.microsoft:en-us&prmd=iv&source=univ&tbs=vid:1&tbo=u&ei=gI_2TLueGIeglAeorqi8BQ&sa=X&oi=video_result_group&ct=title&resnum=1&sqi=2&ved=0CCMQqwQwAA&fp=d5e68b30c3a860a4

 

You can buy a loop antenna online, if you like. 

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post #5 of 5
12/1/10 at 10:18am

After looking at a few of those sites in the search, I think they are more than you need.   Make a square of anything about 8-12 inches on a side, and wrap 16 to 20 turns of wire around it.  Bare the ends, and connect them to your radio.  The loop is directional, so you may need to turn it to get best reception.

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