How to replace an antenna?

Question

I have an old radio, its antenna broke, and I lost it.

It's weird when I put my finger on the thing that held the antenna, the radio works very well.

How to replace my finger, Thanks!

Answer 1

Most people shove or tape a piece of coat hanger to the terminals (I personally like 100 feet (33 meters) of wire hooked onto it.. but then I'm A dxer and wanna hear that station with all the white noise.

One option is, if the antenna is not a internal unit, Radio Shack sells replacements

Answer 2

I've seen antennas made from the wire of coat hangers.  If it is a hole for a s***w-in antenna, try to find a bolt with corresponding threads, sometimes those will work.

Answer 3

Just take a wire coat hanger straighten the hook end and shove it carefull down the hole where the antenna broke off. It also makes a nice DX antenna because you can turn the hanger to get in strong signals.

Answer 4

DON'T TRY THIS AT HOME:you should begin by having a laboratory,a white laboratory jacket,a much thought out potion plan.Cameras on the outskirts of your complex to prevent authorities from slipping up on you.While making your concoction.You will need essentials such as food,water,no phone and a much needed prayer.

Answer 5

If it's as I suspect, an old valve set then wind about 20-30ft of bell wire and tape it in the place that the old antenna took up. It should work fine. You could experiment with the lengths though til you get best reception.

ps don't believe a word DUH wrote, his handle should be DUff for Duff information.

Answer 6

Three ways to tune: antenna, tuning k**b or the set itself.

Also remember that you act as an antenna. As you describe, sometimes the signal will be perfect as you're tuning it, then, when you move away, it gets static-y again?

Sometimes repositioning or turning the radio in a different direction will help. Your signal is also affected by the strength of the radio station. Stations come in several different sizes according to their license. A 25KW, 50KW or 100KW obviously will be easier to receive and keep steady than a 3KW station.

There's no real cure, except to make sure you have a good antenna (sometimes just a piece of wire coming out of the back of the set - to which you can add more wire to make it longer). You might want to get an inexpensive antenna that's a loop - actually a circular piece of metal that will attach to the wire coming our of the back of your set. Radio Shack (if you have one nearby - if not any electronics store) and other stores have them. Bring the radio with you and the sales clerk can help.

Make sure that it's as close to a window as possible. Sometimes I'll run the wire outside the window and close the window on top of it. Anything to get it away from any metal or other deflectors.

Hope this helps

-a guy named duh