The Southern Ontario/WNY Radio-TV Forum » External AM Radio Antenna

mace · July 9, 2025 3:25 pm

I recently purchased a Qodosen DX-286 radio. I am generally quite pleased with its performance. When using headphones, the FM stereo sound is amazing. It also has a place to plug in an external AM antenna. several questions. 1. Does an external antenna actually improve reception? 2. If they do, can you recommend a reliable brand? 3. I would assume they can be purchased on Amazon. What price range do they usually run? I did contact Radio World. Unfortunately they do not sell this type of product.

Easily Amused · July 9, 2025 3:39 pm

https://ccrane.com/antennas/

I have been on their email list for years. That's their antenna page. They have been in business for years, so they must be doing something right. I remember them advertising on late night Larry King and Jim Bohannon's radio programs. I do not know about their shipments to Canada since Agent Orange has screwed things up with tariffs. At least the selection shown gives you a starting point.

RadioActive · July 9, 2025 3:54 pm

A question for you. OK, several, actually.

I see this does not operate on regular AA batteries. Are the ones required hard to find?

How much are they and how long do they last in the radio? Does it come with a charger or an electric cord so it can be plugged in?

Is there an option to turn off the "beeps" every time you change the station? That noise drives me nuts.

From the videos I've seen, it sounds pretty amazing for the size.

turkeytop · July 9, 2025 3:57 pm

Grundig AN 200 Directional Loop.

I have two of them. One here and one in Florida. An excellent antenna. You can connect it to the receiver but you don't have to. Just place it near the radio. It's highly directional and nulls out interfering stations. Passive. Doeesn't use batteries About $25.

Last edited by turkeytop (July 9, 2025 4:11 pm)

Chrisphen · July 9, 2025 4:58 pm

RadioActive wrote:
A question for you. OK, several, actually.

I see this does not operate on regular AA batteries. Are the ones required hard to find?

How much are they and how long do they last in the radio? Does it come with a charger or an electric cord so it can be plugged in?

Is there an option to turn off the "beeps" every time you change the station? That noise drives me nuts.

From the videos I've seen, it sounds pretty amazing for the size.

18650 batteries are typically used as components in battery packs for other devices (power tools, etc). They're not very common as retail items, but can be found at speciality stores, or online. I have a Tecsun PL-880 radio that I got about four years back. I bought a few 3400 MAh for it from a local industrial shop - about $17 each (though I'm sure they cost more now). They last about three days at 4 hours use per day. I bought a separate charger for another $15.

Last edited by Chrisphen (July 9, 2025 5:02 pm)

mace · July 9, 2025 5:08 pm

RadioActive wrote:
A question for you. OK, several, actually.

I see this does not operate on regular AA batteries. Are the ones required hard to find?

How much are they and how long do they last in the radio? Does it come with a charger or an electric cord so it can be plugged in?

Is there an option to turn off the "beeps" every time you change the station? That noise drives me nuts.
When I purchased the radio, I also bought two 18650 batteries [$25] and a Nitecore I-4 battery charger [$50] Each battery last roughly three days. Charging takes approximately two hours.
From the videos I've seen, it sounds pretty amazing for the size.

RadioActive · July 9, 2025 5:39 pm

It looks like a great little radio, although I wish it had HD. But I can't help but wonder why they chose such an odd battery to power it. And it only lasts about three days? That's not very much considering how often they'd need to be replaced. That's a big drawback to me.

My current Sangean 405 comes with its own built-in battery charger. You simply flip a switch on the bottom of the unit to tell it which kind you're using (regular double A's or AA rechargeables) and you're good to go. Turn the radio off on the latter and it automatically starts the charging process, which I usually do overnight.

Yes, the rechargeables were far more expensive than regular Duracells or Evereadys, but I haven't had to buy a new set of four batteries for it in over four years! And I use it a lot during the day. A great feature that's saved me a small fortune over the years.

Last edited by RadioActive (July 9, 2025 5:44 pm)

mace · July 9, 2025 5:51 pm

RA: The battery issue is not really a problem. As soon as the strength bar starts blinking, I install the fresh battery and immediately commence charging the dead battery, which takes about two hours. I always have a fresh replacement battery ready to go. It has a nice cloth carrying case plus a mini style suitcase for packing. For its tiny size [5" x 3"] it puts out a pretty good sound and it nulls frequencies extremely well. I have only played with AM and FM. Haven't tried SW yet.

mace · Yesterday 3:30 am

Thanks to Turkeytop for guiding me towards the Grundig AN-200 AM antenna. After doing some extensive research, I have discovered a few things. The AN-200 is marketed under the Grundig and Tecsun brand name, but it is the same product. If you have a good quality radio, this antenna will improve reception but the difference will be less noticeable. If your living quarters are hamperred with a great deal of electronic noise, like my apartment. results may be disappointing. I plan to do my experimenting outside. Other than those few caveats, all the reviews gave this product a solid two thumbs up. I found the Tecsun version on Amazon for about $50.

Saul · Yesterday 6:11 am

With a portable, your best bet is something like the old radio shack loop mentioned above. Others offer similar devices. I had sangean portables and for a long time at my rural site rang a 500 foot length of plastic-coated copper wire into the antenna jack. Noisy from nearby power sources but got good enough results. Doubt this is possible in an urban area, especially from an apartment. In an apartment, use the above loop as close to a window as possible. One midtown urban DXer has success with a higher end SDR with insulated coax connected to an outdoor loop antenna. I'm considering looking into a similar set up right downtown just for the sake of trying it there, and if it's a no-go then taking it to my Kawarthas site for use from late spring to early fall when my outdoor antennas are taken down.

mace · Yesterday 9:58 am

Well I ordered the Tecsen version of the AN-200 antenna. Including duty, it was a bit over $51 Cdn. Scheduled to arrive between August 8-21.

RadioActive · Yesterday 10:27 am

Good luck with it and let us all know how well it works for you.

mace · Yesterday 11:47 am

A few stations I plan to check out reception wise. CFOS, WUFO, WECK, WJR, CKLW/CJBQ and the Weak Buffalo stations on 1120 and 1400. They seem to change call letters often so it is difficult to remember them.

turkeytop · Yesterday 12:08 pm

mace wrote:
A few stations I plan to check out reception wise. CFOS, WUFO, WECK, WJR, CKLW/CJBQ and the Weak Buffalo stations on 1120 and 1400. They seem to change call letters often so it is difficult to remember them.

What is your QTH?

fybush · Yesterday 3:40 pm

mace wrote:
A few stations I plan to check out reception wise. CFOS, WUFO, WECK, WJR, CKLW/CJBQ and the Weak Buffalo stations on 1120 and 1400. They seem to change call letters often so it is difficult to remember them.

1400 has been WWWS since 1993, actually. I believe that's now longer than it spent as WYSL.

And 1120 last changed calls 20 years ago, when it took the WBBF calls that used to be in Rochester.

RadioAaron · Yesterday 4:09 pm

fybush wrote:
mace wrote:
A few stations I plan to check out reception wise. CFOS, WUFO, WECK, WJR, CKLW/CJBQ and the Weak Buffalo stations on 1120 and 1400. They seem to change call letters often so it is difficult to remember them.
1400 has been WWWS since 1993, actually. I believe that's now longer than it spent as WYSL.

And 1120 last changed calls 20 years ago, when it took the WBBF calls that used to be in Rochester.

Boardhost is a bit glitchy like that. You need to manually adjust the year for the forum to 1986.

turkeytop · Yesterday 7:34 pm

mace wrote:
A few stations I plan to check out reception wise. CFOS, WUFO, WECK, WJR, CKLW/CJBQ and the Weak Buffalo stations on 1120 and 1400. They seem to change call letters often so it is difficult to remember them.

I don't know where you are, but using the Grundig antenna here in London I can pull in CFOS and CKNX. I'm planning a trip up to that area some time in the next couple of weeks. I want to take it with me. We used to live up there and I could get CKWW 580 from Windsor, but there was always interference from CFOS. I believe that with the antenna I'll be able to null out CFOS and boost CKWW.

Last edited by turkeytop (Yesterday 7:35 pm)

mace · Yesterday 8:45 pm

turkeytop wrote:
mace wrote:
A few stations I plan to check out reception wise. CFOS, WUFO, WECK, WJR, CKLW/CJBQ and the Weak Buffalo stations on 1120 and 1400. They seem to change call letters often so it is difficult to remember them.
What is your QTH?

I live a bit south of RA. He lives in Northern North York. I am in the Avenue Rd/401 area.

mace · Yesterday 8:46 pm

fybush wrote:
mace wrote:
A few stations I plan to check out reception wise. CFOS, WUFO, WECK, WJR, CKLW/CJBQ and the Weak Buffalo stations on 1120 and 1400. They seem to change call letters often so it is difficult to remember them.
1400 has been WWWS since 1993, actually. I believe that's now longer than it spent as WYSL.

And 1120 last changed calls 20 years ago, when it took the WBBF calls that used to be in Rochester.

Thanks. As soon as I saw the call letters, I recognized them.