Subj : Antenna To : BEN RITCHEY From : MIKE ROSS Date : Sun Jul 03 2005 11:28 am "BEN RITCHEY" bravely wrote to "ALL" (02 Jul 05 19:38:40) --- on the heady topic of "Antenna" BR> I have a weather radio that get's poor reception so I'd like to BR> extend and/or complement the telescopic indoor antenna with an external BR> antenna. I have a 17 foot piece of insulated #12 copper wire I'd like BR> to use. 1st question; does it need to be bare wire? The entire length? Wire insulation has the effect of shortening the effective electric wavelength. IOW the antenna will behave as if it was slightly shorter. This effect might have to be taken into account if a precise length of wire was required. For a long wire antenna this isn't critical except perhaps in considering the extra weight and wind resistance. BR> By the time I feed outside, that's about 2 feet horizontal. Another 4.5 BR> feet vertical to the eaves where I can turn and go horizontal for BR> another "x" feet, up to 20 feet. The best advice for any antenna mounting: "height" is key. There may be an interaction with the metal eaves depending on their orientation and proximity. It might be possible to control this by using insulating standoffs or other schemes. BR> Full wavelength for a frequency of BR> 162.5 MHz is exactly 6 feet (remainder less than an inch), so how long BR> should I make "x" above? I cannot extend the vertical portion longer BR> than 4.5 feet ... A long wire antenna is anything 6 or 8 wavelengths and more but the gain increases only very slowly after 8 wavelengths. Erecting an unknown antenna is typically a case of serendipity. The real trick with any antenna is to have a proper grounding system. I'll bet that if you simply connect your receiver to a good ground your reception will improve dramatically. Greets! M*i*k*e .... Press to Adopt Me! I need a better home. --- Blue Wave/DOS v2.30 * Origin: Juxtaposition BBS, Telnet:juxtaposition.dynip.com (1:167/133) .