Terk AF-9330 AM/FM Indoor Amplified Tower Antenna Review

I was hoping to improve reception on a few stations , so I decided to replace the twin lead dipole (passive) antenna that came with my new tuner with the Terk Tower. I have the AM Advantage loop and that works fairly well, so I figured this powered antenna would be a lot better.

Well, bad reasoning. On FM, it doesn't work NEARLY as well as a 32" piece of plain old wire on any of my radio recievers.In some cases, stations that could be tuned reasonably well with *nothing at all* attached to the FM inputs, and no internal antenna, could no longer be received with the Terk Tower attached.

Those that could be tuned with the antenna attached had grotesque distortion. This despite turning the gain adjustment dial in either direction. It was functioning, as at low levels of gain, the station dropped off completely, and definitely changed as you moved it. So it wasn't just broken. I could get barely acceptable reception on a few stations with micro-fine adjustments of the dial. But even at best all stations had all sorts of fuzz and dropouts. You could turn it up enough to swamp the receiver ACG circuit, but the distortion never goes away as you turn it down the point of losing lock completely.

On AM, it doesn't make it worse, but it doesn't help, either. On all the weak stations I have tried, I simply can't tell the difference in the results. Once again, fiddling with the gain control changes it, but at maximum boost, it's pretty much what I was getting with the the teeny little loop antenna that bolts to the back of the tuner. At lower gain settings you just can't hear the station at all.

For all intents and purposes, it just doesn't seem to work,I tried it on 4 different tuners/radios in 4 different places in my house, and in every case it made the FM reception MUCH worse than the stock antennas, and AM reception no better than the stock or internal antennas. I'm probably going to break it open and try attaching different lengths of wire in place of the stock antenna, and see if that helps. But I get the impression that the booster amplifer just isn't up to the task of passing 107.7 MHz., and introduces too much distortion at FM freqencies. It almost has to be - because a plain old wire that length is MUCH better.

Even though it was pretty inexpensive, I was very disappointed with this antenna. You'll get FAR better reception with a bent coat hanger. And that's free with your dry cleaning.

(addendum - I finally broke my antenna open, and now it's clear why it doesn't work on AM any better than a stock antenna. It's because inside the tower, for AM, is a small, unamplified, loop antenna! It's not even connected to the circuitry. Which begs the question of why turning the dial affects the AM performance. I speculate that the AM loop and the FM amplifier are interfering with each other - and that the AM is getting into the FM amp, causing modulation at the FM subcarrier frequency, hence, really fuzzy FM reception - and also dragging energy out of the AM loop more or less depending on the FM amp setting. BTW, the FM antenna is a piece of bare copper wire running the length of the antenna. Short answer is still the same - it's junk, don't waste your money)

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Product Description:
One of the world's most popular and recognizable antennas, AM/FM Tower (AF-9330) features a built-in amplifier that can be adjusted to the optimum level to strengthen weaker or distant stations, without over-boosting stronger or closer stations. The high-performance, high value AM/FM Tower is actually two antennas in one - it can function either as an omnidirectional antenna for great reception from all directions, or as a directional antenna to zero in on distant or weak stations.Exclusive Air Coil technology isolates AM and FM antenna elements from each other for increased selectivity with greatly reduced static and noise. AM/FM Tower features a non-skid base, which keeps antenna in place during adjustment.

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Sirius 14130 20-Foot Car Antenna Extension Cable Review

After scouring the net for information, checking out many retail stores, and calling many distributors I was unable to verify the key piece of information I needed to know... how THICK or THIN is the wire on this extension?I was able to see the 50' in person and it's basically the same thickness as a standard cable tv coax wire, which certainly wasn't going to pass through my window like my skinny Dot Micro wire could.

I'm very happy to report I know the answer since I now have the product in hand.I went ahead and ordered this "vehicle" version after closely comparing the largest online pictures I could find.I noticed, based on comparing the wire to the standardized SMB connector that Sirius uses for its antennas, that the vehicle wire appeared to be smaller.Indeed it is!It's basically exactly the same thickness (or thinness in this case) as my Dot Micro, which is to say quite thin.I'm still able to pass it through my window with it closed!In case you need an exact number (which I certainly couldn't find in my research) the diameter appears to be 3/32in.

This actually came with TWO boots for the incoming antenna, one for a straight (which I've heard is the only kind that'll work with the 50' version) AND a right-angle boot as well.The sealing isn't exactly great so I taped the heck out of it once I had it all connected up.The "amplifier" end actually has two small holes in it that are rather obviously for (non-included) screws.That is nice for securing it down so it doesn't flap around in the breeze if used in an outdoor install, which it is also rated for.

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Product Description:
Improve your satellite radio reception while driving with this 20-footextension cable. The cable, which works with all Sirius antennas and receivers, is perfectfor drivers who aren't satisfied with their current reception, as its built-in amplifier helpsboost the signal to eliminate interference. As a result, all of Sirius's more than 130 digitalmusic, sports, news, talk, and entertainment streams come through loud and clear. Thecable is also appropriate for indoor and outdoor use, with a Teflon-coated surface thatresists inclement weather and prevents scratches. Finally, the extension cable is backedby a 90-day warranty.
What's in the Box
20-foot extension cable.

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Stereo ANTENNA Harness Ford Focus 00 01 02 03 04 (car radio wiring installation parts) Review

Purchased this item in combination with wiring harness and faceplate adapter kits (sold separately). Works as advertised -- a little snug when connecting to the existing antenna connector but did connect after applying a bit of pressure to snap together. Does not look like the photo shown -- it's actually a wire about 6-8 inches long with standard connector on one side and adapter female connector for antenna on the other end.

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Kaito KA007L 4-Way Powered Emergency Radio Review

I'm keeping a log on my word processor to give you a better review:

I received the radio from Amazon and immediately opened the package and gave the radio 60 turns with the dynamo crank handle (approx. 30 seconds).Then I turned on the radio.I've started checking all the features of the radio and so far everything works fine.All the radio channels worked great, but I had trouble with the band slide switches.It was very difficult to see what band the switch was set to because the color of the case is black and the switches are black.Also the switches have vertical grooves along the length of the slider switch.You couldn't tell if the grooves were suppose to point to the bands or what... but if you looked VERY close you can see that there is a small indented dot in the middle of the switch, which is also black.This small indented dot is your marker to show which band the radio is tuned to.I just so happened to have a Sharpie pen with metallic silver ink.Filling the indented dot with this metallic silver ink makes it so much easier to switch bands without having to start at one end and counting the click of the switch as you slide it across the bands.Also the silver ink dot on the slide switches make the front of the radio look much better.

The eight led lamps in the handle acts like a lantern and gives enough light to see what you are doing in a dark room.You have to get close the lamps to be able to read.

Lets go back to when I first turned on the radio.Remember, I gave the crank handle 60 turns and started my evaluation.This is the 3rd day I've had the radio and it's still playing!!!!It hasn't been on continually for all this time, but I've spent a several hours a day with the radio playing while I check out all the features.I can't believe the radio is still playing.... I keep checking the battery compartment to make sure there are no batteries loaded.It is empty.... The only battery it's using is the chargeable built-in battery.I figure it must have been charged when I got it, because I can't see turning the crank handle 60 times would charge the battery for this length of time.Maybe it could be the solar panel picking up light from inside the house and keeping it going.When it finally runs out of juice, I'll let you know and then how long it actually runs with 60 cranks of the dynamo handle.

There is a small user's pamphlet that comes with the radio. The pamphlet looks like something that came out of a box of cracker jacks.The 3" x 4" pamphlet has only 6 pages and has lots of errors in it.Main thing to remember is; to receive AM, both slide switches have to be on AM; to receive the short-wave (SW) channels, the left slide switch has to be on AM, then select the SW bands with the middle slide switch; to receive all the other bands such as FM, TV1, TV2, WX.VHF, the middle switch can be on any position.The TV bands will go dead in a few days if not already when the broadcast stations change from analog to digital for visual and audio transmission.But who knows, later on some other entity may pick up the unused TV frequencies and you will have access to them.

Day 4:Still playing, but most of the high frequency stations are very weak and hard to tune...probably because of the low voltage of the built-in chargeable battery.The only frequency still playing good is the AM stations.They still sound great.At the top left of the radio, there are 3 indicator lamps.Two are for the power of the charge (low and high) and the other is the tuning indicator.The high power lamp has always been lit since I turned on the radio.

Day 5:The radio is still playing, so I turned on the lantern and left it on while the radio was playing.The radio finally ran down after a few more hours of use and the low power light is now on.
Now for more tests;after cranking the radio for 1 minute (approx. 120 turns), the radio played for about 30 minutes.Only the low frequency channel AM came in clear.Apparently the higher frequencies require a more fully charged battery.I'll check that later.

One hour of direct sunlight allowed the radio to play for about 15 minutes.Apparently in the summertime, it should charge better and play longer.Still only the AM channels will play good.The other frequencies are very weak and hard to tune.
I don't know how long you should charge the radio with the AC charger, but I left it on charge about 24 hours and now all channels are playing good, even the higher frequency channels.

Because you can't play the higher frequencies, and can only play the AM channels when the radio is charged with the crank or sunlight, I'm only giving this product a 2 star rating.

There is no light for the dial, but in a dark room, you can turn on the lantern and shield the LEDs in the handle with your hand to reflect light to the dial to see it.

There is a wire antenna included to help tune in some of the higher Short Wave stations, but there is no place on the radio to plug it into or connect it.I have searched every mm of the radio and can't find a receptacle for it.The lower Short Wave channels work fine with the telescoping antenna when the charge power is strong.


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Product Description:
Stay prepared and informed with the KA007L from KAITO. If the power goes out and batteries aren't available, the KA007L can function for up to an hour with only two minutes of hand cranking or an hour's exposure under direct sunlight Its built-in generator means that even in the most desperate situations, you'll still have access to local news and information - as well as to news from around the world. Plus it comes with a 8-LED camping lantern. The unit's 10-band tuning receives AM, FM, SW 1-4, weather and aviation stations.

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Antenna/hdtv/fm Hd Radio Indoor Review

This beats some pricier amplified Radio-Shack antennas. They both seemed to have
damaged amplifiers.This is tough and effective, if fussy.
You must understand: a tuned antenna cannot make the 'scan all' feature work well.
You have to know the station number, set it, tweek the tuner knob and ant. position.
If you write the station positions with a small magic marker, you can make it work well.
I mainly listen to two stations, and one has 4 PBS channels on it, so this antenna
works great for 'pet' stations.For hassle-free all-channel reception, you need
one of the "two bowties/cat's whiskers on a grille' type antennas in the attic
or on the roof.If you are close in with plenty of signal, Rad-Shacks $4
wire bowtie antenna is remarkable.But I like this one to tweek Channel
44-1-2-3-4 and 7-1-2 in the den.I tried it on HD FM....it works well.

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Universal Satellite Radio Antenna Review

I have a sirius boombox with the little black flip up antenna that came with the radio. It got sporatic or no reception coming out of my man cave in the bacement that has a window surounded by an outside window well that you can climb down into. I got the Pro600 which is designed to mount outside on the side of the house or roof with the included 25 ft cable, and tried it inside. I put it on the window sill where the black flip antenna sat, no reception, then I backed the Pro 600 two feet away from the window and WHAM, super strong signal! It's sitting on the floor pointed toward the window with the window blinds closed. I have it propped up verticaly with a 10 pack of dvd-rw's. This antenna blows the flip antenna away, and I dont have to deal with the hassle of mounting it outside and running the cable through the window. Highly recommended.

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Product Description:
This antenna has been designed to receive XM and Sirius signals simultaneously. Its wide beam-width permits fast alignment and installation. It is backwards compatible with all existing satellite radio receivers and is ideal for use with next generation interoperable receivers.

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Kaito Amplified Active Loop Shortwave Antenna, KA31 Review

I'm actually using the Degen DE31, which is the same exact product as the KA31 marketed outside the United States. I purchased the antenna with my Kaito KA1102 (Degen DE1102) radio because radio waves tend to find certain parts of my apartment to be rather opaque. It is an excellent (and inexpensive) competitor to Sony's window antenna, and it is very easy to use. The long (~5m) cable connecting the tuner to the loop allows me to use the antenna while keeping the radio at my desk. While I haven't used it much with the higher frequencies, the loop seems to work well across the indicated spectral range (3.9 -- 22 MHz). The suction cup holds well, and the option drapery clip was a nice touch. While the standard connector is a 1/8" plug, you can still use this loop even if your radio doesn't have an external antenna jack. The antenna set includes an optional adaptor that allows you to clip the antenna to your radio's built-in whip.

If you decide to purchase this antenna, you'll also need two AAA batteries. My only other caution about this antenna is that the tuning knob is a bit sensitive for my preferences. This, however, is a very mild inconvenience, and I would easily purchase this antenna again.

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Product Description:
The newly released KA31 portable active loop antenna is just right for the traveller who wants maximum performance from his/her worldband radio. The flexible folding loop antenna is 15 inches when fully extended, but folds down with a twist to a mere 6 inches (18 cm) and neatly fits in the supplied plastic blister. A mounting clip and suction cup on the end of the loop allows easy placement in a variety of situations. The suction cup is especially useful for mounting the antenna to a window where reception will often be the best.The loop antenna is then connected to the amplified tuning RF control box powered by 2 AAA alkaline batteries (not included) via the 15 foot cable. An 18" cable comes out of the control box and this is either plugged into the radio's 1/8" antenna jack where possible or an adapter (included) is used to clip to its lowered telescopic whip antenna. For desktop radio the adapter is used to clip the leads to the radio's antenna and ground connectors.

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