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Wow, I met someone not in radio who had an HD radio!
- Thread starter nd2023
- Start date
D
Darth_vader
Guest
"Does anyone have any suggestions about how to improve reception with a Accurian desktop unit? I am using a UHF/ VHF antenna right now."
Simple:
(1) Gather the Accurian from its current location and place it in the nearest waste bin.
(2) Go on to Amazon Network and purchase an XDR-F1HD. You can probably snag a brand new one on there for about $50, maybe less if you get lucky.
(3) Whilst waiting for said equipment to arrive, go to almost any Goodwill store and acquire a $5 pair of amplified computer speakers, then go to Rat $hack and get a TRS-to-RCA adapter for them*. If the speakers already have RCA jacks on them, the latter step can be skipped altogether, although you'll still need a two-strand RCA cable.
(4) Once the receiver arrives, you'll then plug it in, connect the rat-tail aerials to its aerial terminals**, then connect the speakers to the RCA outputs with the adapter or cable you purchased.
There ya go.
[size=8pt]________________________________________________
* Personally I prefer a 1981 Panasonic boombox and my David Clark earphones for DX work, but for casual day-by-day listening, computer speakers should be adequate for most people.
** Or as K6 stated, use a rabbit ear aerial. I recently replaced the stock rat-tail on the XDRF1HD in my DXing setup with a $5 rabbit ear from Walgreen's, and immediately noticed a dramatic increase in my already teriffic reception. For mediumwave, you could also do like I did and make a rather spiffy, directional aerial from about 100' of 24AWG aluminum wire wrapped about an empty 100-count CD-R cakebox, attached to a small digital camera tripod with a steel nut! Yes, it's kind of a MacGyverism (in fact I assembled it whilst viewing an episode of "MacGyver") and quite "hacky" overall, but it works very nicely.
Simple:
(1) Gather the Accurian from its current location and place it in the nearest waste bin.
(2) Go on to Amazon Network and purchase an XDR-F1HD. You can probably snag a brand new one on there for about $50, maybe less if you get lucky.
(3) Whilst waiting for said equipment to arrive, go to almost any Goodwill store and acquire a $5 pair of amplified computer speakers, then go to Rat $hack and get a TRS-to-RCA adapter for them*. If the speakers already have RCA jacks on them, the latter step can be skipped altogether, although you'll still need a two-strand RCA cable.
(4) Once the receiver arrives, you'll then plug it in, connect the rat-tail aerials to its aerial terminals**, then connect the speakers to the RCA outputs with the adapter or cable you purchased.
There ya go.
[size=8pt]________________________________________________
* Personally I prefer a 1981 Panasonic boombox and my David Clark earphones for DX work, but for casual day-by-day listening, computer speakers should be adequate for most people.
** Or as K6 stated, use a rabbit ear aerial. I recently replaced the stock rat-tail on the XDRF1HD in my DXing setup with a $5 rabbit ear from Walgreen's, and immediately noticed a dramatic increase in my already teriffic reception. For mediumwave, you could also do like I did and make a rather spiffy, directional aerial from about 100' of 24AWG aluminum wire wrapped about an empty 100-count CD-R cakebox, attached to a small digital camera tripod with a steel nut! Yes, it's kind of a MacGyverism (in fact I assembled it whilst viewing an episode of "MacGyver") and quite "hacky" overall, but it works very nicely.
muiscmike said:I am sort if a tech geek, so I guess it is not surprising that I have two HD radios. One of them is an Insignia portable. I like it, but am disappointed about reception and about stations dropping their HD 2 and HD 3 stations. Does anyone have any suggestions about how to improve reception with a Accurian desktop unit? I am using a UHF/ VHF antenna right now.
Aquire the following:
1.) The latest C.Crane catalog,
2.) a phone,
3.) a credit card,
4.) and a sledgehammer!
Have fun!
Jeff in Sa-ra-so-ta!
D
Darth_vader
Guest
Yeah, you could do that. It's far more phun to beat anything Accurian-badged to tiny phragments than it is to simply dump it in the waste bin, anyways. ;o)
I hear C. Crane have some decent shortwave portables. Don't know if they have SSB or not, tho.
[size=8pt](Technically my Yacht Boy doesn't; it just has an adjustable narrowband BFO in lieu of a real single-sideband demodulator. [Must have been cheaper to implement.] That probably accounts for why everybody sounds like they're talking into a wrapping paper tube. Sure pulls in the teletype and Morse Code transmissions nice and clear, tho!)
I hear C. Crane have some decent shortwave portables. Don't know if they have SSB or not, tho.
[size=8pt](Technically my Yacht Boy doesn't; it just has an adjustable narrowband BFO in lieu of a real single-sideband demodulator. [Must have been cheaper to implement.] That probably accounts for why everybody sounds like they're talking into a wrapping paper tube. Sure pulls in the teletype and Morse Code transmissions nice and clear, tho!)
kc1ih said:In my opinion most stuff at C. Crane is grossly overpriced.
It is not overpriced if they are the ony ones offering the product.
Jeff in Sa-ra-so-ta!
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