We seek to understand and document all radio transmissions, legal and otherwise, as part of the radio listening hobby. We do not encourage any radio operations contrary to regulations. Always consult with the appropriate authorities if you have questions concerning what is permissible in your locale.

Show Posts

This section allows you to view all posts made by this member. Note that you can only see posts made in areas you currently have access to.


Messages - bob550

Pages: [1]
1
Equipment / Re: homebrew antenna options for a Sony ICF-SW7600GR
« on: March 24, 2015, 0043 UTC »
I wouldn't think the foil would attenuate the signal all that much. That said, you'll still enjoy better reception by placing an antenna outside the house. The size of the wire you choose is not that critical. Anything in the range of 18 to 22 gauge should be OK. What I've done for many years is to take at least a 30 foot length of copper wire with egg insulators on either end, mount it outside my house, and connect to the receiver using a shielded coax cable (rg-6 for TV is OK). What you do really just depends on how fancy you want to get. Having an adjustable attenuator on the radio should help to avoid overload. Just keep in mind that everything, including your target signal, is being attenuated at the same time.

2
Equipment / Re: homebrew antenna options for a Sony ICF-SW7600GR
« on: March 23, 2015, 1717 UTC »
The effectiveness of the built-in whip really depends on the construction of your house. Metal siding or brick will reduce the signal, for example. I would think your best bet is to clip a length of wire to the whip antenna using an alligator clip. Place no more than 30 feet of the wire outside your dwelling if you can. Generally with portables, any more than that would only increase the chances of signal overload and cause the receipt of spurious signals. I'm not familiar enough with the 7600 to know if it has an attenuator switch (like my Sony 2010). But if yours did, that would be helpful to reduce the overload. Another possible solution is the use of a band preselector. A model such as the MFJ-1046 would be one choice. I used to use a preselctor with my 2010 at one time, and that typically removed all phantom signals, and allowed me to use a random wire antenna mounted outside. I now use an Icom R-71A, so overload with an outdoor antenna is not an issue. Hope this helps.

Pages: [1]