Antenna and Radio Room for Shortwave Listening and Ham Radio

My G5RV as seen from my front lawn, and then the radio room / ham shack. My most recent hardware addition is the Stridsberg HF Multicoupler. This takes the i…
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25 replies
  1. Flash Bagwell
    Flash Bagwell says:

    Nice … Man i really gotta learn to build a shortwave antenna … Just got
    a grundig 750 for shits and giggles but am not picking up too much off the
    whip .. I clipped some speaker wire and ran it out my second story window
    and tied it to the top of a tree 50 ft away and ita not much better than
    the whip oh i di clip a wire in the ground slot and ran that out the window
    to a copper pole i hammered 5ft into the dirt … Any advice on a simple
    but more efficient rig ?

    Reply
  2. mkrubsack
    mkrubsack says:

    I use a MFJ-1045C with the CCrane. Works very well. I just ordered a
    MFJ-956 for use with my R75 where I don’t need any gain. The MFJ-1045C
    really does a good job peaking up a weak signal. The increase in noise also
    is not too bad. The think I like about the MFH-1045C is it has a really
    sharp peak in the preselector. Once peaked, signals really pop up.

    Reply
  8. SWLDXBulgaria
    SWLDXBulgaria says:

    So use a magnetic loop for receiving. It’s the best antenna for recuding
    noise to zero! 🙂 And of course use your HAM antennas for transmitting. 🙂

    Reply
  10. mkrubsack
    mkrubsack says:

    @48alfaone I’ve never used a long wire. I got into SWLing from being a ham,
    so I always had ham antenna. Where I live now, the G5RV is the best fit for
    my lot. I added a few more receivers, and will re-do a video of the shack
    soon. I live in the heart of the city, and am plagued by power line noise.
    It comes and goes, and is my greatest annoyance.

    Reply
  13. N0rthwestRadio
    N0rthwestRadio says:

    Great work on the vid. Added to channel. For best performance of the G5RV
    it is important that the vertical element of the antenna (The twin lead) be
    as vertical as possible. It is not critical and wont hurt anything to run
    it away at an angle, but your TX signal would be better if it hangs
    directly down all the way to the coax if possible. (32 feet +/- if I
    recall) Again, not critical, only an improvement. The antenna is awesome on
    20 meters where it should be resonant. Enjoy!

    Reply
  14. KYLake
    KYLake says:

    Thanks for the nice vid of your radio shack. What model preselector are you
    running with your ccradio sw? Do you find this does help and what type
    reception do you get with the g5rv on 160 meters? The lil Grundig G5 i have
    does good with the whip on 80meters & i do pick up on 160 but the signal
    falls off & usually is weak. I am going to put up a g5rv or Par Elect swl
    antenna soon. I am thinking of trying a portable like your crane also but i
    really like my small g5.

    Reply
  16. mkrubsack
    mkrubsack says:

    I live a mile or so from an AM broadcast antenna, so I get interference &
    overload from that, so I use a preselector to attenuate the BCB signals.
    The G5RV works great. I can even tune it manually and transmit on it on 160
    meters. My radio room has a lot of rf noise from computers, lights, etc.,
    so I need an outdoor antenna. The G5RV started as my ham antenna, and does
    double duty with SWLing.

    Reply
  18. mkrubsack
    mkrubsack says:

    @TMFOK7 At that time, yes. Now, I don’t use any preselector. I rearranged
    the shack as in the picture located at
    “files.qrz.com/k/k6mak/Ham_Shack_Apr_2011_sm.jpg”

    Reply
  19. john man
    john man says:

    How well does your antenna work for SW and MW listening over say a long
    wire? Does it work good for noise reduction? Thanks for the video, nice
    station, 73, Kev.

    Reply
  23. dorslv
    dorslv says:

    Wow!, um could you do a video on making a video 😉 your’s is the first I
    could actually see everything, crystal clear! Oh yeah excellent shack.

    Reply
  24. mkrubsack
    mkrubsack says:

    Mostly to make it easy to keep dust off. I just shake out the towel. Also
    to protect from scratches. There are no cooling vents, etc. on top, so it
    doesn’t affect cooling. The one item that does have cooling holes is the
    Drake L-4B, and I remove the towel when I run that.

    Reply
  25. N5XTC DX
    N5XTC DX says:

    awesome setup brother. i tuned to 11.175 USB and got something almost right
    away and then it was GONE. really cool. can u recommend any other F’s for
    USAF and things like that? Ham operator here getting into SWL recently.
    N5XTC

    Reply

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