I'm looking for a simple, inexpensive, yet effective design for an inside antenna. I would like to install it in my basement and use it for my radio collection to play several at a time. I also want to use it when I trouble shoot radios on the bench in the basement. Does anyone know a neat way to build one for AM and Short wave reception?

I used to wrap a piece of hookup wire around the telephone wire. It gave a good capacitive connection to the phone wire which made a pretty good antenna. However, this was before modems, digital telephones, DSL, etc. Now this method may just give you a load of noise. Worth a try, though.

73
Bob WA2UEH

: I'm looking for a simple, inexpensive, yet effective design for an inside antenna. I would like to install it in my basement and use it for my radio collection to play several at a time. I also want to use it when I trouble shoot radios on the bench in the basement. Does anyone know a neat way to build one for AM and Short wave reception?

Try the following link and after the section on the am
loop antenna, are several other links on a.m. and shortwave
antennas which may help.

http://www.geocities.com/rbrucecarter/amloop.htm

Hi,
There are a number of things that you could try, but trying to feed a number of radios from a single antenna may not give the best results.

If cost is an issue, wire type antenna designs are the way to go. Many can be directional, many can be broadband, but the best results are with the antenna outside where the antenuation effects of various building materials are not an issue.

ARRL publishes a book titled "Classic Wire Antennas", which is a good book.

If you are limited to indoor only antennas, you may want to look at some of the loop antennas that come up on Ebay, or some of the designs that appear every now and then on various websites.

If you are looking for something "quick and dirty", string two seperate bare wires from opposite corners of the room, so that they form an "X". set them up so they do not touch at the center.
At each of the radios that you want to connect to an antenna, attach a length of wire with an aligator clip at the end so you clip whichever radio that you want to use. The two seperate wires will give you a choice of two antenna connections: In the event one antenna is very noisy, or the station is weak, try the other antenna to see if the reception improves. If you have a long enough wire attached so that you can clip it at the point where the two wires cross, you have yet another alternative for weak stations, and that is to attach the clip to the center point where the wires cross.

Each radio will respond differently to the same basic antenna, some will be a better match to that style, so experimenting with different configurations is easy.

If you use the starter solenoidswitch from Ford vehicles (check a local repair center or junkyard for old ones) there is a spool of a little over 75 feet of 26 guage enamled wire (sand the varnish off if you are going to attach radios at different points) spooled in each one.

: I'm looking for a simple, inexpensive, yet effective design for an inside antenna. I would like to install it in my basement and use it for my radio collection to play several at a time. I also want to use it when I trouble shoot radios on the bench in the basement. Does anyone know a neat way to build one for AM and Short wave reception?

: Hi,
: There are a number of things that you could try, but trying to feed a number of radios from a single antenna may not give the best results.

: If cost is an issue, wire type antenna designs are the way to go. Many can be directional, many can be broadband, but the best results are with the antenna outside where the antenuation effects of various building materials are not an issue.

: ARRL publishes a book titled "Classic Wire Antennas", which is a good book.

: If you are limited to indoor only antennas, you may want to look at some of the loop antennas that come up on Ebay, or some of the designs that appear every now and then on various websites.

: If you are looking for something "quick and dirty", string two seperate bare wires from opposite corners of the room, so that they form an "X". set them up so they do not touch at the center.
: At each of the radios that you want to connect to an antenna, attach a length of wire with an aligator clip at the end so you clip whichever radio that you want to use. The two seperate wires will give you a choice of two antenna connections: In the event one antenna is very noisy, or the station is weak, try the other antenna to see if the reception improves. If you have a long enough wire attached so that you can clip it at the point where the two wires cross, you have yet another alternative for weak stations, and that is to attach the clip to the center point where the wires cross.

: Each radio will respond differently to the same basic antenna, some will be a better match to that style, so experimenting with different configurations is easy.

: If you use the starter solenoidswitch from Ford vehicles (check a local repair center or junkyard for old ones) there is a spool of a little over 75 feet of 26 guage enamled wire (sand the varnish off if you are going to attach radios at different points) spooled in each one.

: : I'm looking for a simple, inexpensive, yet effective design for an inside antenna. I would like to install it in my basement and use it for my radio collection to play several at a time. I also want to use it when I trouble shoot radios on the bench in the basement. Does anyone know a neat way to build one for AM and Short wave reception?