jras20
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« on: May 25, 2011, 10:20:22 AM » |
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I am thinking of getting a 100' of speaker wire and run it all around my attic for my AM antenna. Something happened to my other antenna and it is not working very well. any more.
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Bongwater
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« Reply #1 on: May 25, 2011, 12:02:04 PM » |
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I am thinking of getting a 100' of speaker wire and run it all around my attic for my AM antenna. Something happened to my other antenna and it is not working very well. any more.
You could. But it depends on the speaker wire. The cheaper wires have copper wire for the positive polarization and aluminum wire for the negative, in which case you'll have to strip the aluminum wire off and use the copper. But it still does a fantastic job at a fraction of the cost...... |
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stacker
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« Reply #2 on: May 25, 2011, 02:20:58 PM » |
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You can make an AM antenna out of damn near anything conductive. Copper, aluminum, steel wire... Remember, the transmitting towers are not made of copper.
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WDAE-FM101
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« Reply #3 on: May 25, 2011, 03:02:16 PM » |
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That reminds me of a funny story. My buddy was a ham radio operator and was living in an apartment while he was waiting for his new house to be ready. He ran a wire out of his balcony and "loaded" the chain link fence so that he could broadcast. It worked well until one of the neighbors walked his dog who relieved himself on the fence! Talk about a hot dog.
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ddsparxx
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« Reply #4 on: May 25, 2011, 03:10:25 PM » |
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Oh, that poor dog. He must have yelped from the RF burn.
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Schroedingers Cat
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« Reply #5 on: May 25, 2011, 03:32:26 PM » |
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If you're concerned about the conductivity of copper vs. aluminum, consider that TV antennas are made of aluminum (lighter weight), and that silver wire of a given gauge is even more conductive than copper. I don't think there would be much difference in propagation velocity. I can't say what the galvanic effect would be of twisting the wires together. I really can't imagine why aluminum wouldn't work just about as well, though.
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Bongwater
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« Reply #6 on: May 25, 2011, 06:51:19 PM » |
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I'm no expert on this....just my basic (if crude) knowledge........
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spunker88
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« Reply #7 on: May 25, 2011, 07:14:53 PM » |
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The AM antenna that comes with many Sony radios, including the XDR-F1HD uses aluminum wire, although it seems most higher end AM antennas use copper magnet wire. While I know the conductivity of copper is better than aluminum it seems most antennas have always used aluminum, probably because its lighter and it doesn't oxidize as bad as copper does. Plus copper is so darn expensive these days. But you shouldn't have a problem using speaker wire for an AM antenna. I use speaker wire to add an extension onto my AM antenna, including the RCA plugs so I can swap antennas easily.
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cd637299
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« Reply #8 on: May 25, 2011, 08:11:17 PM » |
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Y'know, for years, I have wanted to build a nice AM loop, but---
(1) My knack of building is near zilch,
(2) I know nothing about capacitors, where to put them, or even where to get them,
(3) I'm not even sure if it would work better than the Select-a-Tenna I have.
Seemingly, every design is too complicated for me. Not only that, I don't even DX AM much anymore, outside of daytime in remote areas.
Also, my Superadios have never seemed to "respond" to any AM antennas that connect to terminals. I have the Sony as well, but it's only in 10 kHz steps.
I like the Select-a-tenna because it can work on any AM radio, just by placing it nearby. No wires needed (altho' mine has a 1/8" jack to connect, just in case).
I just wish there was a simple way to do it.
cd
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shepaug
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« Reply #9 on: May 26, 2011, 12:16:55 AM » |
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Speaker Wire ? Use the aluminum side or the copper side if such be.
I don't have a list of metals here now and 'conductivity'. Aluminum is better than steel.(Iron)
Copper has gotten soooooooooooooooo expensive.
I'm trying to adapt myself from using copper with everything and simply soldering things together.
I'd guess there is a plug for everything whatever that might be. Like RG6 Coax. Aluminum shield. Crimp connectors to it.
Steel Fence Wire. (or Aluminum) I guess popular in farm areas. How to connect together ? I think there is a tool that connects sections together. --but protect from oxidation ?
ya know...like 3000 feet of an antenna horizontal for just a receive antenna ? Galvanized Steel? Every time something segments it ? I'd guess 'steel' and welding knowledge would come in handy.
It's hard to find electrical solder anymore.
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