How can I improve AM radio reception?

Question

I am a huge fan of the Cincinnati Reds, but I can't get 700 AM to come in at work. Or most any of the radio station to come in for that matter. I can get a few, but not many. Can anyone help me out? It would be awesome if I could listen to games at work. Thanks for the input.

Answer 1

First, if you are having trouble bringing in a talk radio program and your radio has controls for treble and bass then turn the treble all the way down and the bass all the way up. If you have a control for tone then turn it all the way down. Many inexpensive radios do not have these controls, but if your radio does have these controls this is a cheap, easy solution that can eliminate much of the static.

Second, reception works better near windows. Avoid areas covered by metal, brick, or concrete. There is an exception to this rule. If there is a source of interference you may improve your reception by moving away from it. I found that moving away from a window that was close to a power line improved reception. More on interference later.

Third, slowly turn the dial to look for the station. If it is difficult to find you can mark its location with a little invisible tape, which is really near invisible tape. You can also memorize exactly where one side of the needle lines up on the dial. It also helps to memorize the stronger stations that are near to the one you are searching for. This can help you explain where the station is to your friends.

Fourth, properly orient your AM antenna. The telescoping antenna that sticks out of your radio is for FM, not AM. The AM antenna on a portable radio is usually a ferrite rod with a thin wire wound around it. The AM antenna is inside the radio and normally runs across the back of the radio parallel to the ground. To get the most signal either the front or back of the radio should face the broadcast tower so the antenna is perpendicular to the signal, like a sail spread out to catch the wind.

But sometimes it is better to minimize interference rather than maximize the signal. You do this by pointing one end of the antenna rod at the source of interference. As the antenna rod normally runs along the back of the radio, parallel to the ground, you point either end of the radio at the source of interference. This can do wonders. The interference may almost disappear.

If your problem is another radio station that is right next to the one you want on the dial you might be able to find out through experimentation, or the Internet where its signal is and then point either end of the radio at the offending stations broadcast tower to largely eliminate its signal.

Often the interference is not another radio station, it is an annoying buzz. Note, that the interference is always a radio signal, whether it is a signal from another channel or a buzz from a florescent light. You minimize the signal by doing the opposite of what you would do to maximize a signal you want.

You can find buzz interference with a radio. If you have a portable radio you can move it around looking for the buzz. If you put the radio up close to a source of interference, for example, florescent lights, it should buzz loudly, the buzz will decrease as you move it away.

Also the buzzing will increase if the front, back, top or bottom of the radio faces the interference, and decrease if the left or right end of the radio faces the interference. This is because the interference decreases when either end of the ferrite rod antenna points at the interference, and increases when the length of the rod faces the interference.

This can allow you to determine almost exactly where the interference is coming from in your neighbor's appartment. For example, by playing with the radio in various places in my apartment and finding out at what angle the buzz disappeared I was able to determine that a television set in my downstairs neighbor's apartment was the source of interference. It was a matter of looking for the intersection of several straight lines.

You can also look for interference by turning individual appliances on or off. Or turn all the electricity in part of your home off with the switches at the fuse box. This will allow you to narrow down the search for your problem.

When you are looking for interference it helps to know what the likely sources of interference are. Unfortunately there are many sources of interference. The lucky thing is that the interference often disappears if the radio is not within a foot or two of the interference. Often, but not always. At any rate, here is a list of interference sources that you can simply turn off is the source is in your home.

1. florescent lights
2. incandescent lights that are about to burn out
3. blinking Christmas lights
4. television
5. computers and monitors
6. electric motors
7. vacuum cleaners
8. microwave ovens
9. electronic bug zappers
10. electric blankets

Unfortunately, there are many other interference sources that can not simply be turned off. Here are some of the more common ones with suggested solutions.

Touch lamps, the type you turn on by simply touching the base, have to be unplugged not just turned off.

Light dimmers can cause interference even if they are in your neighbor's apartment. If you have one in your home, you can have it replaced with a regular switch. I have not had to deal with a dimmer switch built into the wall but I have dealt with dimmer switches built into lamps. I have found that if I turned the light off completely the interference was eliminated, which is contrary to the normal story. Perhaps this is only true of dimmer switches built into lamps.

Hard wired smoke detectors cause interference, they can be replaced by battery powered models.

Aquarium heaters, particularly some cheaper models, cause interference. You can upgrade to a better model. The key point is the way the thermostat turns the heater on and off. In cheap heaters the electricity can arch when the heater is about to turn on. In the more expensive models little magnets pull together and complete the circuit in a quick way that prevents arching.

Automatic on/off night lights and outdoor yard lights which come on automatically also generate interference. This point was confirmed by a note from my guest book, "Have had interference from an radio shack adapter that screws onto a light bulb, for automatic turn off at dawn; at great distances"

Dirty or faulty insulators on utility poles can cause interference, you can phone the utility company and ask to have them repaired or replaced.

A faulty electric switch in your house can cause interference. You can have it replaced. This might be a good idea even if you are not concerned with AM reception.

The interference maybe coming through the electric socket that powers the radio. If the problem disappears when you use a battery-powered radio then you have found the source of the interference.

Some older radios have plugs that are not polarized. If you can flip the plug over then the plug is not polarized. Sometimes the interference can be cut by turning the plug over and putting the prongs in the opposite socket holes.

The chlorine in swimming pools can generate interference, the source I used gave no suggestions for reducing this. I have checked a couple of pools with a radio and I have not been able to hear this interference.

There maybe other sources of interference in your neighborhood that you will have to live with: medical equipment, radio equipment, and neon signs. You can deal with these in several ways.

First, minimize the interference by pointing the ends of the ferrite rod toward the source of interference as explained above.

Second, move the radio as far away from the source of interference as you can. Most interference problems disappear if the radio is a couple of feet away from the interference so this can work wonders.

Third, sometimes there is interference for only part of the day. You can record programs, even while you are not at home, and listen to them at your convenience.

There are a couple of radios that are widely recommended for AM talk radio. The cheaper one is the GE Superadio for about $50. A local super drug store or department store probably carries it. The other is the $150 CCRadio by C. Crane Company, which is bought through the mail or at their web site.

For a little over $200 you can get an excellent short wave radio, the Sangean ATS 818ACS, that has a built in tape recorder and does timed recording. This will allow you to tape any time you get good reception and listen to the programs when you do not.