Hi Bob.
You actually asked and believe someone from Radio Shack! Hahahaha! But,
seriously, there is plenty that can be done. You can buy a radio that is
designed for long distance reseption such as the C. Crane radios, or the GE
Super Radio, that will give you sensitivity that is far above that of a
standard off the shelf radio. It will, of course, be much more expensive
than the run of the mill radio, but then, you get what you pay for. Also,
there are companies that make gain antennas for AM reception that usually
inductively couple to the ferrite rod antenna in your present AM radio, and
these can boost your reception considerably.
There is another approach that you can also take. You can buy a good
communications receiver. I would go for one of the table top
communications receivers--either used or new. This will not only get you
the ability to listen to the HF frequencies, but if you can hang 75 feet of
wire in the air, you'll find that the AM broadcast reception will be better
than any other radio in the house. I would tend to stay away from the
portable receivers--usually they are handy from a portability standpoint,
but not as sensitive as the table top receivers. The table top receivers
can be quite pricy for new gear, but there are lots of used receivers out
there that will do the job for much less money. It is best if you can try
a used receiver out before you buy it, just to be certain that there is
nothing wrong with the receiver. That being said, I have bought some fine
receivers just because the previous owner wanted to try a newer receiver or
had just lost interest in listening.
Regarding FM reception, external antennas improve reception greatly over
the antennas that typically come with the radio. Radios like the Super
Radio or the C. Crane radios will have provisions for external antennas and
they make a tremendous difference.
Lastly, let me say that the mountains aren't nearly as much of a problem
for HF as they are for AM radio or VHF. So, be of good cheer. I think
that it is worth pursuing your license.
While I live in the flat lands in New York state, I have spent much time in
the Allegheny mountains and the Nitney mountains in Pennsylvania as I have
relatives down there, and I often tote communications receivers with me, so
I know the conditions that you speak of, and I want to tell you that it is
not really as hopeless as the salesperson from Radio Shack told you. Take
it as this: "He had nothing with enough sensitivity or performance to help
you." That's all.
73, de Lou K2LKK
At 05:25 AM 9/25/2004 -0700, you wrote:
>This is a multi-part message in MIME format.
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>Where I live, radio reseption is extreemly poor on the standard =
>broadcast band. I am more or less surrounded by mountains. I need a =
>new little standard broadcast AM-FM radio to listen to the all night =
>talk shows and junk to help me sleep and so I spoke with one of the =
>rocket scientist from Radio Shack who told me that there were no radios =
>with better sensativity and selectivity now than there was lets say 30 =
>or 40 years ago and that there is nothing that can be done. Is that =
>true? Then I'm wondering if the same is going to be true for ham radio =
>and if I should bother to continue trying to get a licens. Of course, =
>the mountains around us must look like a porkypine with all of the 2 =
>meter repeters but in a real disaster llike an erth quake they will be =
>useless. A good one will take out their power and knock them down. Any =
>ideas? =20
>
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><!DOCTYPE HTML PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD HTML 4.0 Transitional//EN">
>
>Where I live, radio reseption is extreemly poor on = the=20 standard
>broadcast band. I am more or less surrounded by = mountains. =20 I need a
>new little standard broadcast AM-FM radio to listen to the all = night=20
>talk shows and junk to help me sleep and so I spoke with one of the =
>rocket=20 scientist from Radio Shack who told me that there were no radios
>with = better=20 sensativity and selectivity now than there was lets say
>30 or 40 years = ago and=20 that there is nothing that can be done. Is
>that true? Then = I'm=20 wondering if the same is going to be true for
>ham radio and if I should = bother=20 to continue trying to get a
>licens. Of course, the mountains = around us=20 must look like a
>porkypine with all of the 2 meter repeters but in a = real=20 disaster
>llike an erth quake they will be useless. A good one will take = out=20
>their power and knock them down. Any ideas?
>
>
>------=_NextPart_000_0030_01C4A2C0.03FC1850--
Louis Kim Kline
A.R.S. K2LKK
Home e-mail: [log in to unmask]
Work e-mail: [log in to unmask]
Work Telephone: (585) 697-5753
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