WHICH ANTENNA WIRE FOR SHORTWAVE LISTENING? I often see questions asked in Facebook groups and other forums regarding whether different types of antenna wire make any difference to the reception of shortwave signals at the receiver. For example, is copper wire better than aluminium, better than steel, etc? Another question often raised concerns the diameter of the wire used, i.e. would a thicker wire pick up more signal? I have to say that, in many informal tests of hanging different types of antennas over the years, I have found no measurable difference in the kind of wire used or in the diameter of the wire. There doesn't seem to be any noticeable difference in signal strength or quality of reception. My admittedly unscientific tests show no conclusive findings, so it is something that I just don't worry about. Any wire type or size will work for shortwave listening purposes. This is good news because we don't need to spend heaps of money on expensive wire. There is no...
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Hi Rob,
ReplyDeleteThanks for your great blog. I actually used the FT8 mode last summer and was lucky enough to receive signals from deep South America on 6 meters. Uruguay was one of two countries as I recall - just with a discone and Icom 7300.
Just returned from our annual DXpedition, this time to Daintree in FNQ. Noise problems from the solar off the grid system, my Perseus went up in smoke and pasta at the Cow Bay pub was inedible! The Tecsun PL380 and active loop was quite a surprise as to performance as a substitute. Nevertheless a good time was had and the non-dx activities were enjoyed.
Regards, John VK2JLS
Hi John. Apologies for the long delay in replying. Comments made by readers of this blog get vetted so I can approve them. This filters out the spam. But I forgot to look at the "pending" tab in Blogger over the past few months! Great work on the SAm DX....alas no such luck here so far. Glad to hear your recent DXpedition went OK. Good stuff!
DeleteAll the best, Rob VK3BVW