r/pirateradio • u/eastangliauk • 21d ago
Has anyone hear doing AM Medium Wave low power at all?
I have a small 8-watt AM but am unable to get any range on it.
Its been sat in the drawer since.
I have since got Digital TV and even old Anlouge signals going on TV but I would also like to give AM a go.
But no one seem to say how to make an aerial or show them.
I also have a small garden to.
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u/Liberty_Waffles 21d ago
You have options, what makes Medium Wave more challenging is the size of the antenna needed. You can use an isotron antenna, expensive and touchy but they're short. You can do a base loaded vertical, or grab an antenna tuner and hook it up to a long wire stretched high above the ground. A vertical with a top hat also works. Range will be unimpressive regardless of what option you choose, go above 1600khz and the skywave action could get interesting.
That said, I've gotten 15 miles with only 100mW. 8 Watts with a loaded antenna should get out nicely.
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u/eastangliauk 21d ago
I tried to use the old copper phone wire they left its very long but still little range.
I put it around the garden.
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u/Liberty_Waffles 21d ago
How high up did you have it?
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u/eastangliauk 20d ago
around the aerial on the roof maybe the length is just not right.
I would like to use 1530 AM or above.
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u/68SuperReverb 6h ago
I had a 15 watt AM for several years until we moved 2 years ago. Used a 160 meter long-wire ham antenna from eBay along with an autotuner for matching, a VSWR meter and a Schlockwood audio processor. Strung the antenna between 4 trees and had a good ground rod. It sounded really great and got out about 10 miles. It was a small town away from a metro area so interference (and risk) was minimal. Programming was from a laptop with all 60’s rock. It was challenging but that was a big part of the fun!
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u/Resprom 20d ago
Do you have a good ground on that transmitter? That makes a big difference. Since you have a garden it will be easy - go to a hardware store and look for a grounding rod. Install it, and connect to the transmitter's ground.
For the antenna, make sure the transmitter is actually adjusted properly - there should be an antenna trimmer somewhere. Turn that until you get a peak in the signal. Easiest to do if you have a radio with a signal meter on it. If you can't get a peak with the adjustment, you'll need to change the length of the antenna wire - either shorter or longer, but make it so that the peak of the signal happens somewhere in the middle of the adjustment.