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Best AM Radio at home

winterheat

winterheat

I live in the San Francisco Bay Area and there are two local radio stations: AM 1400 and AM 1450. But most radios I used (RCA SuperRadio III, Sony ICF38) there was strong background noise, almost as if it is the 1960s... Can you recommend any good radio to get the best AM reception?

My car the Subaru Forester 1999 actually had the best reception, almost making it sound like having FM clarity, but it is a car radio so I cannot bring into my house. (all radios I had, I have to even turn the unit around 360 degree to get less of the background noise, and make the interference noise not directly facing me, or else it even makes me get a headache).
 
I think the real revelation in this post is that there are only two local radio stations on AM, KVTO and KEST.

I'm old enough to remember when we had stations like KNBR (The Sports Leader), KCBS (All News), KGO (Newstalk AM 810) on AM. I'm sure there were others, but it's been forever and a day since I've heard them.

My car the Subaru Forester 1999 actually had the best reception ... but it is a car radio so I cannot bring into my house.
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You're not trying hard enough. If you really wanted to, I am certain you could find a way to get that car radio into your house. How thick are the walls in your garage? Do you have a big picture window out front?
 
BossRadioDJ said:
I think the real revelation in this post is that there are only two local radio stations on AM, KVTO and KEST.
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Uh, when did he say "only"? He just wants to tune in two low-powered stations, that's all.

My suggestion to him is that it's not where the stations are but where he is that is causing the problems. He should get away from such things as car ignition noise, high voltage power lines, mercury vapor and sodium vapor lights (such as streetlamps and security lamps). What this usually means is getting into a clearing somewhere. Then just about any radio should be able to pick up those two stations without noise problems.
 
The big key here is the fact that reception in the home is bad. The radios you speak of are portable, so the first test should be to take them outside and away from your home wiring. See if the radios work in the same location as your car radio. If they do, try relocating the portable radio to a different spot in your home. Ideally by a window facing the transmitter (1450 is on the East side of San Francisco, 1400 is near the Berkeley Marina). Just a guess, but I suspect the problem is electrical noise in your home, which can be very difficult to get rid of. If the radios don't work outside where the Subaru works you'll probably have to start searching for a better portable radio.

There are also external antennas if you can try if you have access to your roof or another outside location. It would also help if we knew where you live in the Bay Area. Good luck & let us know how it goes.

Dave B.
 
DaveBayArea said:
See if the radios work in the same location as your car radio. If they do, try relocating the portable radio to a different spot in your home. Ideally by a window facing the transmitter (1450 is on the East side of San Francisco, 1400 is near the Berkeley Marina). Just a guess, but I suspect the problem is electrical noise in your home, which can be very difficult to get rid of.
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thank you DaveBayArea and other members for giving insightful details. I ordered 2 Sangean radios from Amazon:

http://www.amazon.com/Sangean-PR-D5-Portable-Digital-Tuning/dp/B000TEVQVO

http://www.amazon.com/Sangean-America-K-200-White-Multi-Function/dp/B003XU76NI

and waiting for them to arrive (so maybe one can be in the bedroom and one in the kitchen)

and also I was looking into this radio, but $149 seems quite expensive. But some reviews for this radio is that it has excellent AM... although, I wonder, if there are too much interference in my house, then maybe even a top notch AM radio won't do it (the electronics in house is altering or adding to the AM signal, so even the best AM radio can't help but to broadcast what it picks up)

http://www.amazon.com/Crane-CC2B-Radio-2-Weather-2-Meter/dp/B002NU5RZS
 
Before you go spending too much money on new radios, take the ones you have to a few locations and make sure it's not interference in your home. If there is lots of electrical noise you'll probably need to go with an external antenna or a shielded loop to receive these stations. You can liken it to a situation where you're trying to record someone speaking with a jet taking off in the background. If the jet is loud enough you won't hear the person clearly no matter how good of a microphone you have. Likewise, if the electrical noise is very high it's unlikely that any radio will work.

Dave B.
 
kc1ih said:
This could also be HD interference.
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Of course it's wise to never discount ANYTHING until you've proven what the problem is. But in this case I doubt it. HD interference would be widespread and should be there on the OP's car radio. Also, the stations in question are at 1400 and 1450 on the dial, and the Bay Area's HD stations are 740, 1050, 1310, and 960-when-it's-wroking.

Dave B.
 
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