[Antennas] AM on 930KC

[Bill Roberts]

Jim,

A lot of the suggestions you have received sound good to me.  Let me
summarize:

If you are using a 'stereo receiver' for AM broadcast reception, generally,
their AM tuners are not very good.  One fairly economical alternative is
what is called the 'GE SuperRadio.'  I think they are currently on
generation III.  They cost about $75 and I believe AES even carries them.
Before buying one however, I'd make sure they have an external antenna
connection.  Of course, you can spend more and move to a communications
receiver ($400 - $2000+).  That's what I do but then again, I enjoy radio
equipment!

Loops and better yet, amplified loops are what you ought to get for a
directional antenna.  Unlike a table or portable radio, you can rotate the
antenna without rotating the receiver.  They combine an antenna preamplifier
(up to 20 dB gain) and a steerable (directional) loop antenna.  Palomar
Engineers used to make a good one that costs about $200 for the amplifier
and the loop antenna for medium wave.  I believe that if you call a place
like AES or in particular Universal Radio (they cater to listeners more than
most places) they can sell you a Palomar or recommend another good amplified
loop.

One thing...  if you do invest in an amplified loop, make sure its tunable,
as the Palomar is.

The other people are correct in that a lot depends on the power used by your
station of interest.  Are they omni-directional or directional?  Do they
change power, go directional or whatever at night?  Also, a lot depends on
their antenna installation.  If you can receive them 165 miles away in your
car, they are probably a 50 KW station.

One last thing you might try, both MFJ and NRI make what they typically call
a 'QRN Eliminator.'  This device mixes the noise (hum, buzzing, static that
often is a problem on medium wave) from your receiving antenna with noise
picked up from a second or 'sense' antenna.  The sense antenna can be a
simple whip or a long wire.  The result is that the noise from one antenna
cancels out the noise from the other, greatly reducing the overall noise
level and improving your reception.  I have used one of these on HF
frequencies and the results can be very positive.

Does any of the above help?

73 and good luck.

Bill Roberts / K8DXX