|
As an aside, I was thinking about building a magnetic loop antenna and hanging it from my ceiling on some sort of lockable swivel instead of taking up floor space with a clumsy tripod base. This bad picture hopefully makes a small bit of sense: Am I overlooking something painfully obvious (besides some dumb flaw with the diagram in regards to the antenna design that I pulled from my shoddy memory). It would be up higher, making the tuning knob maybe a little awkward to get to, but workarounds would be simple so I'm not concerned with that. Mainly just saving floor space.
|
#
?
Sep 17, 2010 08:04
|
|
|
|
| # ? Jun 4, 2024 07:47 |
|
|
Bulgakov posted:As an aside, I was thinking about building a magnetic loop antenna and hanging it from my ceiling on some sort of lockable swivel instead of taking up floor space with a clumsy tripod base. This bad picture hopefully makes a small bit of sense: I was going to do the same thing before I moved. I planned to mount it to my ceiling above the bed on a hinge of some sort since I did my DXing while in bed. I'd do it here, but I'm in the basement so I don't think anything but an outdoor antenna is going to be of much use to me. Maybe one of the folks who already built one can answer this, but is there any reason you couldn't mount it 'upside down' and have the capacitor at the bottom and coupling loop at the top? You'd need a little extra coax, but that's better than needing to get a stepladder every time you need to retune.
|
|
#
?
Sep 17, 2010 14:21
|
|
|
BigHustle posted:I was going to do the same thing before I moved. I planned to mount it to my ceiling above the bed on a hinge of some sort since I did my DXing while in bed. I'd do it here, but I'm in the basement so I don't think anything but an outdoor antenna is going to be of much use to me. I can't think of a reason, so long as you don't interfere with the loop itself by doing so. My suggestion would be to string it up with something non-conductive and run the coax down off to the side.
|
|
#
?
Sep 17, 2010 15:49
|
|
|
Not sure if you've come across this guy's site yet, but he's been fiddling with loops for a while. http://www.alexloop.com/ He's put the capacitor and smaller loop at either end. I don't think there's a real right or wrong way to do this. The loop Alex is selling right now has the capacitor at the bottom and the smaller loop up top. Granted these loops are for transmitting too, there's some great design elements on the site.
|
|
#
?
Sep 17, 2010 17:02
|
|
|
BigHustle posted:Maybe one of the folks who already built one can answer this, but is there any reason you couldn't mount it 'upside down' and have the capacitor at the bottom and coupling loop at the top? You'd need a little extra coax, but that's better than needing to get a stepladder every time you need to retune. After getting pissed off over not being able to reach the tuning capacitor on the antenna and the tuning knob of the radio at the same time when sitting down, I redid my loop exactly this way. No difference in performance at all. One thing that could be cool is wiring up some sort of servo motor to the tuning capacitor and base, so you can listen in your most comfortable room while your antenna is in the room with best reception/least interference (if the two are different) and just control the antenna from a little box by your radio. I don't yet have the mad technical skillz to do something like that, but if anyone wants to steal the idea I'd love to know how it works.
|
|
#
?
Sep 17, 2010 19:33
|
|
|
AstroZamboni posted:After getting pissed off over not being able to reach the tuning capacitor on the antenna and the tuning knob of the radio at the same time when sitting down, I redid my loop exactly this way. No difference in performance at all. Glad to hear, because I was wanting to do that but wasn't sure if I'd manage to mangle the design due to some bizarre restraint.
|
|
#
?
Sep 17, 2010 20:56
|
|
|
AstroZamboni posted:One thing that could be cool is wiring up some sort of servo motor to the tuning capacitor and base, so you can listen in your most comfortable room while your antenna is in the room with best reception/least interference (if the two are different) and just control the antenna from a little box by your radio. I don't yet have the mad technical skillz to do something like that, but if anyone wants to steal the idea I'd love to know how it works. This should work awesomely. My Dad had a servo on our antenna atop a 60' mast so he wouldn't have to go out and mess with it every time TV from Detroit was lame and he wanted to watch something from Toronto. It worked great until a winter wind storm ripped the antenna off the tower and took the motor with it.
|
|
#
?
Sep 17, 2010 21:32
|
|
|
Mine's done and looks like a first grader's science fair project, sloppy forgotten solder skills and all. I pulled out the multimeter to make sure nothing horrific was going on in any of my connections and it seems alright, so I'll just mess with things now. Simple afternoon project.
|
|
#
?
Sep 18, 2010 06:36
|
|
|
On 4870khz, midnight eastern (4:00 UTC (?)) Hearing just this beeping noise, my friend says sounds like a monotone toot from a panflute. Nothing else but a steady beeping. What is causing it?
|
|
|
#
?
Sep 19, 2010 05:24
|
|
|
JammyLammy posted:On 4870khz, midnight eastern (4:00 UTC (?)) Hearing just this beeping noise, my friend says sounds like a monotone toot from a panflute. Nothing else but a steady beeping. What is causing it? Are you near the coast? It could be CODAR interference. I used to pick that crap up all the time when I lived in Jersey. If you're far enough off, you may just be receiving signals from one of the transmitters instead of all of them.
|
|
#
?
Sep 19, 2010 06:04
|
|
|
Mountains, WV to be exact. That could be it, wish I could find a sound clip of it to make sure. I will have to tell my friend when she wakes up.
|
|
|
#
?
Sep 19, 2010 06:10
|
|
|
Try one of these. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MoeDKobVEMg http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mXkUx4rF8Nk http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ivl4hpJQfHk
|
|
#
?
Sep 19, 2010 18:38
|
|
BigHustle posted:Try one of these. Yep, lose the "raygun effect" and thats exactly what it sounded like. I was hoping it was something cool that we discovered 
|
|
|
#
?
Sep 19, 2010 19:32
|
|
|
JammyLammy posted:Yep, lose the "raygun effect" and thats exactly what it sounded like. I was hoping it was something cool that we discovered Honestly, it is pretty cool how they can measure the seas using radio waves. It's also nice to have a recording of to play alongside numbers stations outside your house at Halloween. Kids will be making GBS threads their pants in terror and have no real reason to be scared. LOL
|
|
#
?
Sep 19, 2010 20:44
|
|
|
BigHustle posted:Honestly, it is pretty cool how they can measure the seas using radio waves. It's also nice to have a recording of to play alongside numbers stations outside your house at Halloween. Kids will be making GBS threads their pants in terror and have no real reason to be scared. LOL I do this.
|
|
#
?
Sep 20, 2010 00:35
|
|
|
AstroZamboni posted:I do this. I knew there was a Goon that did, I just didn't feel like reading the thread from the beginning again to see who it was.
|
|
#
?
Sep 20, 2010 07:24
|
|
|
Just got back into shortwave radio listening. Don't know if anyone has mentioned this radio yet but I picked up a C. Crane "Pocket" Radio (CCRadio-SWP). For the price it's actually a very nice unit and steps in 5 kHz when "scanning" or when pressing the up/down button or fine tune by 1 kHz by turning the tune knob so that you can tune into any frequency you want. The only thing I don't think it has is SSB but for $50 I believe it's a GREAT entry radio to use or if you're strapped for cash. I have a clip on the telescopic antenna connected to about a 30-35FT long wire antenna strung between the house and a tree outside. Using this antenna clipped onto the telescopic antenna I can pick up stations half way around the world pretty clear already. I had bought a SW radio from Radio Shack a couple years ago and even hooked up to a long wire antenna the thing barely picked anything up, but I have to admit I am very pleased so far with just how well this radio is doing. Just got the setup done today and testing it out so haven't got a chance to hunt down some of the number stations but do enjoy looking for them as well as listening to everything else going on. Will be going back through this thread and bookmarking it to check on it daily.
|
|
#
?
Sep 22, 2010 04:46
|
|
|
BigHustle posted:I knew there was a Goon that did, I just didn't feel like reading the thread from the beginning again to see who it was. I think I'm going to give this a shot this Halloween as well.
|
|
#
?
Sep 22, 2010 07:23
|
|
|
TC the Giant posted:I think I'm going to give this a shot this Halloween as well. Downloading the CODAR sweep from your location should be a piece of cake. If I remember correctly, I used to get it between 4425 and 4875 mhz. For numbers stations, here's a free legal download of the CONET project from Irdial Records. All the number stations you could want.
|
|
#
?
Sep 22, 2010 16:11
|
|
|
Well the bug took a bite today and I went down to one of the 2 Radio Shacks in town and got the last G6 they had left, it was the display model and is the Buzz Aldrin Edition. Rather nice radio I have to say I expected it to be bigger considering the features but it's actually about the same size as my CCRadio-SWP but I'm loving the signal meter as well as the other features. I was able to get it for $70 (price on the site) even though they still had the old "On Sale" price of $80 up. Can't wait for the sun to go down a little bit more to see how well it really shines.
|
|
#
?
Sep 22, 2010 22:03
|
|
|
kicktd posted:Well the bug took a bite today and I went down to one of the 2 Radio Shacks in town and got the last G6 they had left, it was the display model and is the Buzz Aldrin Edition. Rather nice radio I have to say I expected it to be bigger considering the features but it's actually about the same size as my CCRadio-SWP but I'm loving the signal meter as well as the other features. I was able to get it for $70 (price on the site) even though they still had the old "On Sale" price of $80 up. Can't wait for the sun to go down a little bit more to see how well it really shines. Unless someone else on here has had better luck with their radio, that S-meter is pretty lovely for measuring signal level. The rest of the radio is top notch though. I love mine.
|
|
#
?
Sep 22, 2010 23:00
|
|
|
Yeah I noticed that after a bit of messing around the signal meter always shows 9 and doesn't seem to reflect the actual signal level on SW, works fine on FM though which is kind of useless for what I'm using it for but oh well. In other news I extended my wire antenna that I have outside another 50-70ft for around 100-115ft total, all outside strung between the house and 2 trees (one portion runs north/south the other east/west) and is bringing in a lot more stations now even during mid-day hours on the lower frequencies. Anyone have anything interesting to report lately that they've heard?
|
|
#
?
Sep 23, 2010 17:26
|
|
|
Not sure how active anyone is in doing this any more (thread seems to be dead/dying  ) but if anyone is still interested a little word of advice that will help bring things in: If you have Grundig and feel like you'd be able to solder the 1/8" plug do it! Just got done soldering a 1/8" MONO plug onto my long wire antenna outside and grounded it (sleeve of the 1/8" plug is ground and center is to antenna like mentioned in the thread) to a rod that's about a foot into the ground outside via the ground wire ran to an alligator clip clipped onto the ground rod and it makes a WORLD of a difference versus just clipping the wire to your antenna. If you can do it, go for it and you'll be able to tell the difference right away!
|
|
#
?
Sep 24, 2010 21:25
|
|
|
kicktd posted:Not sure how active anyone is in doing this any more (thread seems to be dead/dying This and the ham thread saw a major slowdown when they got moved to the DIY subforum. I'll have more to comment on once I get an antenna hung. I'm in the basement at my parents house (hurr, Goon) right now and can't pick up poo poo but noise from the breaker box. I do plan on putting up a nice dipole as soon as I get the parts. I have a so-239 to 1/8 adapter and plan to run some decent coax from the antenna into the house.
|
|
#
?
Sep 25, 2010 02:11
|
|
|
Went back to using my C.Crane Radio-SWP today. I'm finding it a lot more sensitive to picking up remote stations than my G6 is even with the 1/8" plug in. I'm just using an alligator clip on the same antenna on the SWP and it's picking up a lot of stuff that is either just static or barely there on the G6. I'm not sure if something is wrong with the G6 since it was the display model or not. Might end up having to take it back. One thing I like about the SWP is I can scan the stored memory channels which I can't do on the G6. EDIT 2: Ok the G6 really has a big problem. I tuned to 10000 and couldn't even pick up the time station it was almost all static using the antenna, hooked up the SWP (pressed the antenna plug to the whip) and tuned it to 10000 and it was coming in loud and clear. Taking the G6 back tomorrow to a different Radio Shack in town and seeing if they have one to replace it that isn't the display model. kicktd fucked around with this message at 02:15 on Sep 26, 2010 |
|
#
?
Sep 25, 2010 23:13
|
|
|
Took the old G6 back to the other Radio Shack today and got one that was actually kept in the back in storage and was not the display unit and wow A LOT better! The one I had must have been dropped and damaged on the inside.
|
|
#
?
Sep 26, 2010 19:56
|
|
|
BigHustle posted:This and the ham thread saw a major slowdown when they got moved to the DIY subforum. Actually, upon the initial move to DIY/Hobbies, this thread saw a pretty big increase in activity. Since then, however it has pretty much slowed to earlier GBS levels.
|
|
#
?
Sep 26, 2010 22:06
|
|
|
AstroZamboni posted:Actually, upon the initial move to DIY/Hobbies, this thread saw a pretty big increase in activity. Since then, however it has pretty much slowed to earlier GBS levels. To be honest, I was in the process of moving when the thread was originally moved and it fell out of my bookmarks. I found it again later when wondering where the hell it went.
|
|
#
?
Sep 26, 2010 23:06
|
|
|
I wasn't sure whether to put this here or in the Ham thread, but since I know AstroZamboni plays recordings of numbers stations to scare kiddies at Halloween, this might add to the ambience... Instructables has instructions to make a Tesla Spirit Radio  "Instructables posted:"My first observations positively terrified me as there was present in them something mysterious, not to say supernatural, and I was alone in my laboratory at night" It costs just under $30 to make and all the parts are listed along with a source to get them all. Just play some Conet Project files over an AM transmitter to throw these out to the radio, feed them into the computer to adjust pitch, reverb and such to add another layer of creepy to the mix. When Halloween is over, you can use it to pick up Rush Limbaugh broadcasts and scare yourself year round!
|
|
#
?
Sep 27, 2010 06:33
|
|
|
My former boss at the Arizona Museum of Natural History (the paleontology curator) had one of these and gave me the blueprints. They're pretty awesome, and great for loving with people. A couple of years ago, some higher-up muckity-mucks in museum management decided to bring in a group of "paranormal investigators" for halloween, which royally pissed off the museum's entire science staff. The Curator was considering planting these all over the museum to gently caress with them. Don't know whether he wound up doing it or not...
|
|
#
?
Sep 27, 2010 17:17
|
|
|
Well hello there!
|
|
#
?
Sep 28, 2010 05:48
|
|
|
Now that's one nice looking radio you've got there! How well does it receive and you using just the telescopic antenna or an "external" one? Last night was horrible as far as reception goes (it was raining all day and night) but still managed to get our favorite long winded lady of Cuba going on for about an hour in rather decent for the conditions reception. I live in the piedmont region of NC near the SC border so a little bit inland.
|
|
#
?
Sep 28, 2010 17:15
|
|
|
Yes its real nice. I haven't spent too much time fiddling with it, but from what I was able to get so far was a Chinese and Japanese language stations. Right now, I'm only using the whip antenna, but I wanna get a smaller external antenna. I'm also using the radio in my garage right now so my signal strength is pretty poo poo right now, but I am planning on #1 setting up my new radio to my home theater system so that I can use my speakers or #2 run a antenna wire outside to try and get better reception without the interference in my shop. I'm thinking of buying an antenna instead of making one. I might reconsider this when I see the prices of the external antennas.
|
|
#
?
Sep 28, 2010 18:34
|
|
|
ASSTASTIC posted:Yes its real nice. I haven't spent too much time fiddling with it, but from what I was able to get so far was a Chinese and Japanese language stations. Right now, I'm only using the whip antenna, but I wanna get a smaller external antenna. Yeah... Check out the prices over at Universal Radio and you'll be heading for Home Depot for some spools of wire in no time.
|
|
#
?
Sep 29, 2010 05:28
|
|
|
Looks like Alex Jones has hit GBS. I put a link to this thread in there in case anyone else wants to join the frivolity.
|
|
#
?
Oct 8, 2010 04:37
|
|
|
I just finished my homebrew antenna and holy poop its so much better than my whip antenna! I was able to get a news feed from Australia that I was unable to get from my whip. So awesome that this antenna works. I'm also glad I kept the tuning knob on the capacitor on the antenna. I would be hosed without one.
|
|
#
?
Oct 8, 2010 09:40
|
|
|
BigHustle posted:Looks like Alex Jones has hit GBS. I put a link to this thread in there in case anyone else wants to join the frivolity. I remember in the mid-to-late 90's how crazy the conspiracy crap was on U.S. shortwave. There was a whole station, WWFV "World Wide Voice of Freedom!"(today WWRB) dedicated to the "Patriot Movement" and was only broadcast in USB since that's the future of shortwave broadcasting damnit! All fine and dandy except anyone without SSB heard donald duck on their frequency and these patriot broadcasters never paid their bills. Abruptly the station poo poo-dropped the programming and went all-religious and today is pretty much the home of Brother Stair 24/7 (because he pays). Honestly outside of Alex Jones I don't find many dedicated conspiracy broadcasts, just Christian nonsense. I hear the ocasional show on WBCQ and maybe an amateur radio conversation of Obama hate on 80 meters. The pirates aren't often political (unless WBNY "Bunny Radio" is running for President) usually just doing music and humor. Still those reasons enough for us to run wires everywhere to improve that signal and buy better radios. Long live shortwave wierdness!
|
|
#
?
Oct 14, 2010 18:41
|
|
|
Radio Nowhere posted:Honestly outside of Alex Jones I don't find many dedicated conspiracy broadcasts, just Christian nonsense. This is actually some of the most hilarious poo poo I've ever heard. My first night with the G6, I sat and listened to some preacher (Peter J. Peters, I think) telling a story about how he cast homosexual demons from a friend of his. The demons entered his body because he was listening to Elton John's music, and since EJ is a homosexual the demons attach themselves to the music and turn people gay. He then encuraged anyone with music from gay artists like George Michael and Elton John to burn their CDs. He asked everyone to put their hands on their radio and pray with him so he could exorcise the demons. After the prayer he said 'If you feel as if you must burp or break wind over the next three days, DO NOT HOLD IT IN! Those are the demons escaping your body! Let them out and tell everyone that you're trying to be free from evil'. I almost passed out from lack of oxygen I was laughing so hard.
|
|
#
?
Oct 14, 2010 20:01
|
|
|
Today I picked up a Sears Com/Trek IX at an estate sale, for the whopping price of $41. Underneath 40 years of dust and nicotine is a mint vintage all-band radio, and when I say "mint", I mean 9.95/10 - no scratches, tears, or flaws anywhere on the exterior. Even the built-in antenna is intact and straight. This manly beast weighs at least 25 to 30 pounds. Hard to determine FM performance, since I live about 1000' from the tower for the local NPR station (WBUF), and on older, less-selective radios it's overpowering. AM and SW seem okay, with the usual Buffalo, Toronto and Rochester stations coming in on AM. The local NOAA weather radio station at 162.55 MHz booms in. Not what Herculodge would call an "apex performer", but it still has potential. It even has BFO. The knobs turn with the smoothness and heft of a mid-end stereo receiver of the day. The volume control is a bit scratchy, which is to be expected.  EDIT: I can't find out much about these radios anywhere online, except that they were made by Arvin in Hong Kong in the late 1960s. With the condition and possible rarity of this radio, this could be a real find, from a collector standpoint. I'm not a collector, though; I use my antiques (tools, Western Electric phones, and so on). elmwood fucked around with this message at 18:14 on Oct 16, 2010 |
|
#
?
Oct 16, 2010 18:06
|
|
|
|
| # ? Jun 4, 2024 07:47 |
|
|
That is one HELL of a find! My old boss at the museum had one of these on his kitchen counter. Nice radio!
|
|
#
?
Oct 16, 2010 22:02
|
|