Great night for Euro LW broadcasters

[radioman148]

Kilokat,

I do not have the space for a good longwire. Would a Wellbrook help my MW reception enough to give me a better shot at TA reception in the Chicago area? The only station I've ever heard from Europe is 1134 Croatia and that was last year.
Which Wellbrook would you recommend and does height matter?

I have a Wellbrook 1530+ and it is about 6 feet above the ground. I would suggest that you contact Andy Kim @wellbrook and describe your listening interstes (LW/MW only, MW+SW), your location and closeness to local transmitters, etc. He will steer you to the best model for your needs.

If it is LW/MW you are interested in, and you will not be moving your antenna around from place to place, then you will want the 1530. I strongly suggest that you consider buying a rotor so that you can take better advantage of the directional characteristics.

I am very happy with the 1530+. Although it does pick up signals off both ends rather than one end only, the nulls are excellent. If installed properly, the antenna's strength is its ability to reduce noise, thus providng a much quieter incoming signal.

It also provides adequte reception of shortwave frequenies to 30 Mhz & beyond.

I live in SW Ohio, and regulary hear the longwave frequencies during the (non lightening) winter months using my Drake R8B & the 1530+. Do bear in mind that there aren't that many Longwave broadcasters, and that their signals are often not above the threshold.

Does the 1530 help you alot on MW? Are you able to pull in the DX better than the regular ferrite antennas that are built into good receivers?
If so how much better of an improvement is it?

Thanks!

 

[Icangelp]

radioman148.
My observations only.

Regarding domestic medium wave, I would say that with no electrical interference present, my indoor Radio Plus QX 7.5" ferrite loop is equal to or better than the outdoor mounted 1530+. However, I have lots of indoor interference from light switches, TVs and computers located throughout the house. In my situation, the 1530+ is the clear winner. I have my wellbrook outside with a rotor, about 18 feet from the outside wall of my home. I will say that the nulls obtained with the ferrite bar do seem to be better than the 1530+, but not by much.

Generally, the received signal using the Wellbrook is rfi free and even though the signal strength is no better than using the Radio Plus ferrite, it delivers a more listenable signal.

I also have a Sangean PRD5 which also has a 7.5" ferrite antenna, but I keep it in the bedroom so I haven't compared it with my 1530+ setup.

My opinion is that the Wellbrook is superior to an unmodified ultra-light radio with their shorter ferrite bars/rods...as well it $$$hould be.

From my perspective, the 1530+ is a terrific antenna for long distance LW/MW DX, with the added benefit that it is also a decent SW antenna, and is comes in a very compact form.

Do not overlook the Wellbrook ALA 100M. You can tailor the ALA 100M's wire length to the space you have available and proximity to local broadcast antennas, plus it can be packed up and taken with you when you travel.

Hope this helped

 

[radioman148]

Thanks Icangelp

 

[kilokat7]

189 Nothing - Had hoped to hear Iceland, but I wonder if they are still broadcasting.

It's still there and is coming in fair right now during signal peaks. I can't understand the odd language, but it's clearly parallel to the RAS 2 webstream.