I have several radios in home. None will allow me to listen to any AM stations because of all the static.?

Question

Altho I have several (4) fluorescent lights in the house; none are on when I try to listen to AM radio. Is there a single filter I can get to eliminate static on all the radios? Even a local, strong station is affected

Answer 1

You could try running a ground wire from the metal case of the radio to a cold water pipe nearby.  That was the way to fix that problem in the "old days".  Many radios have plastic cases now.

Another way to help is to get a passive AM antenna:

http://www.ccrane.com/antennas/am-antenn...

Another option although expensive would be to get a better radio.  This is one of the best out there and is much better with static:

http://www.ccrane.com/radios/am-fm-radio...

It could be that something in your area is generating the static.  Electric motors, welding equip etc all will kill AM reception.  Some TV's interfere with AM too - you might try turning off the TV's in your house.

Answer 2

you have three strikes against you;

AM is a noisy mode, suspectable to pulse noise

530 to 1700 kHz band is a noisy band

you have noise generators in the house.

the fluoresents may be a source of noise, but so are motors, light controllers, small appliances, touch lamps (I HATE TOUCH LAMPS).

The best way to locate the noise is to take a portable receiver and walk the house and yard. Make notes of the results.

To learn more about how to kill the noise, I would suggest a book by the ARRL (www.arrl.org) and email my friend [e-mail]

I too must have my daily fix of Rush Limbaugh and I had to install filters everywhere to kill the RFI.

Answer 3

How far away is  the station you are trying to receive. During the day you are most likely to receive stations 100 miles away. At night you can pick them up. Get a piece of insulated wire 25 feet long and fasten to the antenna on the radio thus extending the antenna. See if that works. If you are on the 2nd floor put it out the window and let it drop to the ground.