AM-1 Ultimate AM Broadcast Band Antenna Review

I live in an area with very poor AM reception. My home is located in the mountains west of Denver. And for years from time to time I have tried every external AM antenna available and several different types of AM radios with no good results. The antennas included all of the TERK'sand CC Crane'sferrite loops both active and passive, dipoles, "long wire" antennas used by HAMS and a variety of active antennas with built in amplifiers with nogood results . My problem seems to stem from local inference radiated by my household and neighbor's AC wiring (noise from florescent lamps, computers, LANs, plasma TV's, motors, and light dimmers, etc) and generally weak AM signals shielded by the local terrain. My home does not have any line- of- sight to the AM transmitters I'm trying to receive from Denver 50 miles away.

When I tried this antenna it was like magic. This puppy was the answer to all my problems.In the daytime it pulls in stations reliably from up to 90 miles with no static or noise and even farther if you don't mind a little static.I tried it in different locations outdoors and indoors, at ground level, in my garage, in my attic and on a pole above my roof. The performance was always excellent. At night I also received many of the 50,000 watt "clear channel" AM's from locations such as Los Angeles, Salt Lake City, Minneapolis, Chicago, Omaha and Dallas with surprising reliability.I couldn't be happier with its performance.

The Negatives:It's kind of large (38 inches in diameter) but I was easily able to hide it in my garage mounting it to a wall. It's somewhatdirectional and needs to be pointedgenerally in the direction of the stations you want to receive, but the instructions that came with it were very clear on how to do that so it was really no problem to set up ( it comes completely assembled).And of course the price is high, but given the amazing performance and all the money I had previously spent on inferior antennas that didn't work, it's well worth the investment. If you want the best, this is it.


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Product Description:
This design has long been recognized by professional broadcast engineers, the military and serious amateur radio operators as the ideal solution for Medium Wave radio reception with a relatively small antenna. It takes advantage of the fact that radio waves consist of two components, an electrostatic field (E-wave) and a weaker magnetic field (or H-wave). Unlike standard ferrite loops, dipoles and long-wire antennas, it's optimized to respond to the magnetic H-field component of the received signals and shielded from the electrostatic E-wave component of the received electromagnetic wave. Since most local interference (particularly AC power line radiated noise) has a large electrostatic E-wave component, it's exceptionally effective at reducing this kind of interference and making it possible to receive signals obscured by local man-made noise sources.-Wide Dynamic Range Low-Noise Preamplifier-The internal low-noise preamplifier is an extremely wide dynamic range differential type with exceptionally low inter-modulation distortion in the presence of high level signals. This is particularly important when trying to receive distant signals when the antenna is located near much higher power transmitters. The amplifier is powered via an included 12 VDC power supply and is optimized for maximum gain in the 500 kHz - 1700 kHz AM broadcast band. Unlike other loop antennas available, no special tuning is required for reception of the entire band.-"Figure Eight" Reception Pattern-This antenna is directional and has a "Figure Eight" reception pattern with deep nulls located at right angles to the open loop. This characteristic can also be used to help minimize interference that can be localized to a particular direction.-Location/ Mounting-It can be located at ground level outdoors or indoors in a garage or attic. Included is all required hardware for pole or wall mounting.

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Sangean ANT-60 Short Wave Antenna Review

This antenna is great for improving weak shortwave signals. It can make a faint signal listenable. As an example, listening to VOA on 17895 kHz from Botswana, with only my Grundig radio's whip antenna, I could not make much out. But with the ANT-60 the signal improved remarkably and I could copy enough to write a reception report, and received a QSL card from VOA verifying I'd heard their Botswana transmitter.
It will *not* do much to improve a fairly good signal, but definitely improves weaker ones. I recommend this antenna to anyone who wants to enhance their listening on portable shortwave radios.

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Product Description:
ANT-60 Portable ShortWave Antenna extends to full 23 feet. It is easily rewound into its case, and terminated in 1/8" (3.5mm) Mini-Plug. Adapter Plug allows clipping to Telescoping Antenna on radio.

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C. Crane FM Reflect Antenna Review

Amazon's price for this antenna was the best I could find.I ordered it on a Sunday before a Monday holiday and it was delivered the following Wednesday via their Super Saver free shipping, which I considered to be excellent service.This antenna looks better than a twin-lead dipole antenna, appears to be well-made, comes in an attractive box with a balun coil (matching transformer) for connecting to screw terminals and also an alligator clip for hooking it to a built-in antenna.

Since this antenna has received mixed reviews from other users I decided to be as "scientific," as my skills and equipment would allow.I used my training as an FCC licensed broadcast engineer to compare it to the standard twin-lead dipole antenna that was included free with my tuner.I had already oriented my existing dipole antenna for optimum reception, using my tuner's signal-strength indicators.I then used my tuner's scan mode to see how many stations it could find and I carefully wrote down the frequency and signal strength for each of the many stations that I can receive.Since I live about halfway between New York City and Philadelphia, my FM dial is crowded with stations.

After establishing a base-line of performance with my ordinary dipole antenna, I replaced it with the C. Crane FM Reflect Antenna and experimented with dozens of antenna positions to obtain best reception.Remarkably, mounting the C. Crane FM Reflect Antenna in the exact same position and location, that my twin-lead dipole antenna had been installed, gave me the best performance. After this optimum positioning, I once again used my tuner's scan mode to see how many stations it could find.I then carefully compared the signal strength from each station that my tuner found using the new antenna, with the signal strength that I had received with my previously-installed antenna.Although I saw no indication of a stronger signal on any of the existing stations, I was able to pick up two more stations in my tuner's scan mode with the new antenna.

As a percentage of the large number of stations that I could already receive at my location, I considered two additional stations a very small improvement.The difference easily could have been due to minor changes in atmospheric conditions between the tests.It was certainly not as dramatic as the improvement that I expected when comparing a $3 antenna with a $30 antenna.If you're using a good twin-lead dipole antenna and have adjusted its position for best reception, I believe that you'll need to upgrade to an outdoor antenna, such as the Winegard HD-6000 FM Stereo Antenna, to get a noticeable improvement.I could not find that the C. Crane FM Reflect Antenna is significantly better.

To understand why the results turned out as they did, it might be helpful to understand how antennas work.The most effective antenna elements in the FM and TV band are the length of the radio wave that they're tuned to receive.Our FM band extends from 88Mhz to 108Mhz, which represents a wavelengths from slightly more than 109 inches to slightly more than 134 inches.The higher the frequency, the shorter the wave.

A typical folded dipole antenna is about 61 inches wide, which is half the length of the average FM radio wave.Since the dipole is folded onto itself, it has an effective antenna length of about 122 inches, which is the average between the 109 inch and 134 inch wavelength extremes of the FM band.

There are several ways to increase the gain of an antenna.One way is to increase the number of active antenna elements that are exposed to the radio waves and connect them together.Another is to use a reflector to concentrate the radio waves onto the antenna.Satellite antennas, for example, reflect and concentrate very short waves onto a rigid dipole antenna by using a dish.Outdoor Yagi FM (and TV) antennas use multiple elements connected in tandem with reflecting elements in the rear to focus the antenna's sensitivity in a single direction.Such antennas are very efficient because they use both multiple elements and reflectors to increase gain.

Ultimately the Crane antenna, no matter how attractively it may be designed and packaged, cannot defy the laws of physics.It has only a single active T-shaped folded antenna element which is exactly the same as an inexpensive twin-lead folded dipole antenna.It is, therefore, not surprising that several reviewers including me, who have compared it to the cheap variety, have found that it gives no better reception.

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Product Description:
Whether you listen to a portable radio or a top-of-the-line stereo receiver, the quality of sound coming from an FM station is dependent upon the station's signal strength in your area. Adding an FM antenna can help greatly, so be sure to select the best FM antenna for your needs. The FM Reflect Antenna will work with any portable or stereo receiver. This antenna incorporates a new dipole design for maximum gain across the entire FM broadcast band. Up to 213 percent more powerful than a standard dipole antenna, it covers the entire FM band with an almost flat response, where standard dipoles start to fall off near the end of the band. Many FM stations now broadcast their signal with circular polarization. The FM Reflect Antenna is the only FM antenna that can be adjusted to take advantage of this. It is not affected as much by surrounding objects and people as other FM antennas are.

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