Lowe HF 150 aerial ?

[sarabande]

The set was taken off a previous boat 5 years ago; I never used it.. It would fun to learn and listen at home over winter, but what aerial do I need to set up please ?

Yours,

Signally ignorant

 

[wonkywinch]

A piece of wet string will get you started with one of these little sets. Seriously, you can string a length of wire out your window to a nearby tree and get decent results but for more distant stations, it would be worth investing in a whip aerial. For portability, get something the mobile hams use for HF.

A mate works at Martin Lynch, they will advise you on something suitable - www.hamradio.co.uk

More info and manuals on your receiver here - RadioPics Database - Lowe - HF-150

 

[William_H]

I would disagree about a whip antenna being worth investing in. The advantage of a whip antenna is that it is compact and suitable for a boat or vehicle giving better performance than the equivalent length of wire. As said a piece of wire to a tree will be almost as good as it gets, for a large range of frequencies of a short wave receiver.
On the one hand the longer the better but on the other hand a length equal to 1/4 wavelength will be tuned for that frequency. So 33 ft for 7mhz. However this tuned antenna will give a low source resistance to a receiver probably designed for high input impedance so the mismatch might negate any advantage.
You may find some advantage in providing an earth connection to the radio. For really good reception you need an antenna tuner (and earth) to tune artificially your wire and get correct input matching. That may also enable you to use a shielded cable to the outdoors to minimise interference.
I have a short wave receiver set up in my office/den at home. Unfortunately I have a security camera recorder running on the bench with wiring around the house. This system blots out any hope of SW reception as does this computer. a real pity except I find less and less of interest to receive on SW. ol'will