The AM Forum

My new whiz bang Bose 321 system has terriable reception with the included AM antenna.
I was delighted they even offered an external antenna, so not too upset there.
The included antenna is a simple loop which terminates into a 1/8" mini plug.

I don't want to go to the hassle of drilling holes in the wall/floors at the new house for an outside antenna.
So I am wondering if anyone has had any luck with the inside amplified units?

I'd like to be able to copy WBZ and WKBW in the evenings and the currect set up just does not cut it.

I see a number of amplifed antennas out there, but know that these things are like snake oil.
Anyone use/used anything they liked?

Some of us believe Amar's inovations are snake oil in themselves.
I personally have a few of his devices. Having been trained by the Bose Corporation in their custom audio solutions group a few years back.  I can honestly say that not  much thought was given to the am section of that and other Bose music/av centers. Now I'm not knocking the product, it has a sound of its own and a lot of people find it pleasurable.

 I have a friend, who is still in the custom a/v buissiness and he runs attic dipoles for those customers who want to get better am reception. It ain't snake oil and I'm sure you know the formula to figure out how to cut one.

The thing I like about the 321 is that you pop in a dvd hit the remote and enjoy the experience and you don't have to have the room hacked apart to get decent sound....

Cliff
K1kfi

...most of these antennas are junk..there are a few that are an actual loop,which rotate fer best reception,broadside.of course you can build a box loop,with pick-up coil,and tuned with 365 variable cap.best thing to do is do a google fer medium wave dxing,and i'm sure there will be links to loops,homebrew/manufactured...tim...sk..

  last winter i made up a very high Q loop on a 1/2"x6" ferrite rod from an old boom box, tuned by a 365pf variable, with an untuned link to couple to an old Ford AM car radio i use as a bedside AM BC DX receiver. i used the car radio's antenna trimmer to resonate the coupling link. it's so sharp i can only get about 20KC bandwidth before i have to retune. sits in a box on top of the rest of the junk, and is as quiet as can be. very sharp nulls allow me to get rid of any trash that may get through. on a good night i can null out a strong local one channel away and hear the "grand old opry"on WSM. this is important because country music is illegal here in the NYC area!

Only until Allen Sniffen retires.

My old Marantz 2275 has horrible reception.  I simply took a length of wire and wrapped it around the ferrite stick antenna to create a simple transformer.  Grounded one end to the chassis and at the other end had about 25 or so feet of wire that I hung out the window.

Up on Ebay, the Dymek AM-3, sometimes makes an appearance. It's a very good adjustable indoor AM antenna in a nice package.

It's the item on the top of the receiver below:

(http://tri.net/~rrogers/radio/50/mckay.jpg)

I've used indoor 1920s-style open loops with great results. Make a + or X shaped frame about 2-1/2 feet on a side, wind about 6 turns of bell wire around the periphery (do they still sell bell wire?) and resonate it with a parallel dual section 365 pf capacitor.  Build a second, single turn loop about 1" to the inside of the outer one. Connect a coax cable or amp to the single-turn loop, then on to your receiver.

Results? Tremendous. Even in a house with plaster on metal lath, and an office building with computers and flourescent lights. I was easlily able to copy stations like WLW in Cincinnatti 300 miles away in the Chicago area. During the day.  I'm able to null out the ground wave of 50 KW 850 KOA, the tower is about 50 miles from me, leaving only the fading in-and-out daytime skywave.

Simple, but extremely effective, even indoors.

(http://hawkins.pair.com/wsm/wsmtower.jpg)

That looks like WLWs tower...Don't they call that "double-cantiliever" tower construction or some such? Imagine the pressure on the base insulator, with the tower dead weight and the guys pulling down!

http://hawkins.pair.com/blaw-knox.html

Bruce,
   Lots of loop plans on the internet:
http://www.hard-core-dx.com/nordicdx/antenna/loop/hulaloop.html
Also see the various Radio Plus products:
http://www.dxtools.com/

73 Warren K2ORS/WD2XGJ

I don't know anything about antennas.  FWIW SWL group has some recent chatter about Kiwa and Quantum products. Quantum stuff seems to be pricy.

73
NEO

http://groups.google.com/group/rec.radio.shortwave/browse_frm/thread/55f5a6b816ef9ebb/908999c8b70b28ca?hl=en#908999c8b70b28ca

http://www.dxtools.com/PRODUCTS.htm

That's a great web page, Dave.

I often work at an FM site that has a 1,200' tower. It's triangular, about 5' on a face. When it's windy and I'm standing at the base, I can see the thing move like a snake, weaving from side to side, like a cobra. Even though I tell myself that it's necessary that the thing be able to flex and move around on the base, it doesn't inspire the visual confidence that those Blaw-Knox towers do.

Thanks for the tips guys, looks like there is no silver bullet for this one.
Looks like its time to drill a hole in the wall, or wind up that big bad loop to sit on top of the TV cabinet.

Before I do that, I am going to connect the AM part of the receiver to a proper antenna, just run a wire across the floor on a temp. basis, to see if its worth the effort.
My 1939 Zenith console has better AM reception just a 3 foot length of wire.
And the Magic Eye looks cool.

As for Bose products in general, I can state that the Waveradios do make some excellent sound for the size of the package, heck my Waveradio in the bedroom gets WKBW in the evenings off its built in antenna.

If you have some junker table top am radios, there is a silver bullet.  Look for one with a reasonably long ferrite rod or bar antenna, 5" is nice, but try a shorter one if it's available. Remove it from the radio, connect the variable capacitor to the loop, put it near your Bose loop with the coil in line with the Bose, not at right angles. Select a weak AM station, then slowly tune the variable cap connected to the ferrite rod antenna.  The signal should peak. It will be directional, with two sharp nulls.

AM Dxers call this setup a shotgun loop.  I made one using two 7 1/2' rods glued together end to end, and it made a huge difference with weak stations. 

73's Jim