Radio antennas

[eDJ_]

This is my Radio Shack DX 392 Shortwave AM/FM Cassette Recorder/Player made by Sangean. (Sangean sold it as an "ats-818acs")

I used to tell people what I heard while SW listening. Some wouldn't believe it. So I bought this outfit and recorded the broadcast so they could hear it with their own ears and stop believing I was just making stuff up. There is so much interesting news reported on SW that doesn't make it thru the filters of the Mass Media here in the states.
So often these various countries are discussing what is going on in their own sphere and to learn of those events you would have to have access to the Wall Street Journal variants such as the European WSJ or Asian WSJ. (with Australian & New Zealand sections)

If Radio just seems like top 40 hits and political pundits ranting....try listening to SW for awhile.

 

[townline]

A GM Vice President said they kept the whip on some trucks for rural customers. Many rural folks drive trucks and want to receive AM/FM.

https://gmauthority.com/blog/2021/0...-gmc-sierra-pickups-still-use-a-whip-antenna/
Another explainer at Jalopnik:

https://jalopnik.com/why-cars-dont-have-those-long-antennas-anymore-1837879149
Wikipedia has a decent page on whip antennas: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Whip_antenna

My very rural relatives lost TV with the change to digital signal and some cell service with the change from 3G to 4G.

 

[Oldwolf]

While traveling I enjoy tuning into local AM stations to learn what is going on in the local area. At camp I run a 40' insulated copper wire with an alligator clip on my DX-396 (same as Sangean ATS-909) mast antenna and tie the other end to a nearby tree. With this antenna I get short wave and a big boost to the local FM stations. The built in ferrite antenna on most of the portable radios work great once you rotate the radio orientation around for the best signal. You can also use a loop antenna to boost AM signals. I use these...

Tuneable Loop Gain Radio Antenna
https://www.amazon.com/Tecsun-Rotatable-Tuneable-Antenna-Battery/dp/B00BLW627G
Radio
https://mwcircle.org/legacy-receiver-reviews/receiver-review-sangean-ats-909/

 

[RonDean]

On the subject of radios...
I bought a van without one. Radio - that is. So I have been using my cell phone and Sirius app. That works OK if I find and set whatever I want to listen to in advance and have a cell signal. I no longer want to crawl under my dash and install a standard radio and I am too cheap to pay someone to do it for me.

So, that got me thinking. Does anyone know of a good portable AM/FM radio I can just sit on the dash and plug into my van's DC accessory plug? If it had some presets or could be easily tuned to local stations as I am driving, that would be good. If it also had SW and digital recording of some kind that would be a big bonus. None of my searches so far have netted me much. I am probably just using bad search terms.

 

[RonDean]

I waited too long to edit or delete my post. Please ignore it. I have decided to go another way.

 

[eDJ_]

I haven't had a lot of luck using a portable receiver in a vehicle while underway. But some of the SW AM FM + receivers have aux antenna inputs so you could use vehicle mast antenna to get a better signal input. Just a receiver in the vehicle is inside a metal vehicle body and that may serve to shield the reception.

Half of your radio will be the antenna array.

Back in the late 60's early 70's many Vans used overhead consoles above the windshield built of plywood and upholstered to house a CB radio/AM FM Cassette Stereo and a number of other accessories.
Speakers, Radios, Fuse Blocks, everything were housed in it for easy servicing should a problem arise. I've seen these in pickup trucks too.

 

[tx2sturgis]

So, that got me thinking. Does anyone know of a good portable AM/FM radio I can just sit on the dash and plug into my van's DC accessory plug?

I am probably just using bad search terms.

I know you also posted that you will be looking at another solution but just in case you circle back to looking at a radio you can use in your van, if you search for 'tractor radios' you will find a variety of units that are designed to be used in a noisy environment (unlike a portable radio) and these usually have the speakers included.

You can find units that can sit on the top of your dashboard, maybe velcro to your center console, lay in the passenger seat or the floor, or could even be mounted or strapped overhead.

You will need 12V supply AND you will need an antenna mounted outside on the body of the van somewhere, either the existing antenna or maybe a magnetic AM/FM antenna you can just attach to the hood or roof of the van.

Here are some examples:

https://www.tractorpartsasap.com/tractor-accessories/radios-accessories/radios.html

 

[RonDean]

I know you also posted that you will be looking at another solution but just in case you circle back to looking at a radio you can use in your van, if you search for 'tractor radios' you will find a variety of units that are designed to be used in a noisy environment (unlike a portable radio) and these usually have the speakers included.

You can find units that can sit on the top of your dashboard, maybe velcro to your center console, lay in the passenger seat or the floor, or could even be mounted or strapped overhead.

You will need 12V supply AND you will need an antenna mounted outside on the body of the van somewhere, either the existing antenna or maybe a magnetic AM/FM antenna you can just attach to the hood or roof of the van.

Here are some examples:

https://www.tractorpartsasap.com/tractor-accessories/radios-accessories/radios.html

Thanks. I'll look at that option as well.