Boosting Radio Reception? (1 Viewer)

[DeathStar1]

Just my luck that the one radio station I keep the dial on dosn't get great reception in my area.

When I tune it at night, it sounds great. Yet when I listen back to the tape of the morning show I listen to later inthe afternoon, it's all fuzzy. Yet I didn't change the dial, or position of the radio at all.

This gets very annoying after a while. Is there anyway I can boost reception signal for this thing? I'll tape some of their funnier radio bits for archiving now and then, and it makes it annoying to listen to with all that static.

Thanks!

 

[Ian Wilson]

You need a better antenna or a more sensitive radio, aka World receiver. The reason why you can hear it so well at night and so poorly during the day is the ionosphere. Shortwave or AM signals use Sky-wave to achieve long transmission distances (they bounce the signal off the ionosphere). The ionosphere changes between night and day - hence you get better reception at night than during the day.

Ian

 

[Ted Lee]

try www.terk.com

 

[Craig Robertson]

they bounce the signal off the ionosphere

actually it's refracted thru the ionosphere, as opposed to reflected. the index of refraction is different during the daytime.

 

[Philip_G]

Shortwave or AM signals use Sky-wave to achieve long transmission distances (they bounce the signal off the ionosphere).

I'm pretty sure AM stations don't do it on purpose, in the flying world we call it "skip" since NDB beacons are a AM radio transmitter basically, if you don't identify the station it's possible you could be picking up another one, on the same frequency bouncing off the atmosphere. Never seen it happen, so this is all "what they tell me" of course NDB navigation is kind of a dying art in the face of GPS anyway.
The station my roommate DJ's at is AM/FM, they turn down their AM transmitter power at night to compensate.
AM radio.. entertaining poor slob pilots like myself in cockpits all across the country
(I can listen to them on my ADF receiver)
at night you still get some awesome reception, one night from about 5,000 feet I was listening to chicago AM, in North Dakota, it's a 10 hour drive to chicago..

 

[Bill Buklis]

Which AM Chicago station? I've noticed that WGN 720 seems to get the greatest distance. I was able to pick it up at ground level (not clearly, but audible) as far away as Madison, WI. (3-4 hr drive). It may have been at night; I don't remember.

I think WGN may have the highest wattage of all Chicago radio stations - probably for all those Cub fans scattered around.

 

[Philip_G]

it probably was WGN, my flight instructor that was along for the ride was from chicago and tuned it so I don't recal, I'm pretty sure there was a cubs game on though
I was through madison and chicago a few weeks ago on my way to indianapolis to pick up a motorcycle. I got lost in chicago trying to find this guys house to drop off a motorcycle he bought from me, he said to take some highway (179?) then to 12 north and he lived up there, well I must have missed 179 because I never saw it and picked up 12 down by O'hare :frowning: