I've been encountering more and more customers who ask why their AM tuning is poor. Used to be that this did not matter at all, to anyone. Now, in the last year, the worm has turned.

We've been using the loop antenna supplied with our Marantz and B&K receivers. The performance is poor at best. I'm working on the untested assumption that the tuners are OK, and at least as good as the clock radios and car radios my customers use as examples of how the signal should be there. Given that my trading area is Chicago, many of these systems are located in basements below grade. Even on the first floor, tuning can still be a problem.

Is there a way to install an AM antenna in the attic or on the roof? Is there a correct way to prewire for it? We've usually got an extra RG-6 going to the top of the house that could be used, but what might I hang on the end of it?