I hope this thread links to a couple of concerns I have about AM broadcast reception. There was a terrific thread about it on this forum two years ago, but I still have questions.
Why don't expensive receivers pick up stations I get clearly on our car radios in our attached garage? Could I just rig a car radio and antenna to input into my home theater receiver? I'm now using a tuneable Terk AM antenna, and it helps, but I still can't get stations I get in our cars--or can't receive them clearly.
I strung a horizontal 90' 16-guage "long wire" (antenna) in the attic. Maybe a "Slinky" toy soldered to coax leads would be more compact and do a better job. Should an AM antenna be outdoors? Must it be? The attic is big.
The long wire does a wonderful job of picking up static, but the receiver sits just four feet from a TV monitor. and I haven't yet connected it to the antenna with coax. Only one end of the long wire feeds the receiver now, and the lead is just insulated wire. Should I run coax to both ends of the long wire (or the ends of a Slinky)? Should I run the leads (or lead) from the antenna through a surge suppressor? Is the ground on household electrical service a safe and effective ground for the receiver? Does the APC UPS that supplies current to our entertainment gear monitor and limit activity in the ground circuit?
