Shortwave radio antenna and ground demonstration

This video shows what can be achieved with a simple wire antenna for Shortwave Radio Listening. It also shows the practical impact of having a good "ground" or "counterpoise" when connecting a wire antenna to a radio.
This is one of many video guides from SDRplay - makers of the RSP family of SDR radios. See the full list of SDRplay videos and applications documents on: www.sdrplay.com/apps-catalogue/
The RSP family of SDRs from SDRplay cover 1kHz to 2 GHz with no gaps and give up to 10MHz spectrum visibility.
SDRplay is a UK company. The RSP SDR receivers are made in the UK and can be purchased for worldwide delivery directly from www.sdrplay.com/ (click on purchase and select your country to view shipping costs) or you can buy from any of our worldwide resellers listed here: www.sdrplay.com/distributors/ Many of the resellers offer local free shipping and/or local language technical support.
The SDRplay KZbin Channel is: / sdrplayrsp

[@railgap]

The one best, most consistent advice I see from the "elmers" (the presumably wise and experienced hams who have seen what works and what hasn't) is this: "first and foremost, before you spend money or effort on anything else, put up the best possible antenna you can, working against the best possible ground you can. Once you've done that, if there is any money left over, you can buy a radio."

[@panzerdivizzion]

I can't wait untill my neighbors ask why I'm watering my antenna. I'm starting an antenna farm. Lol.

[@parvezhusnoo8581]

One of the best demonstration on shortwave antenna I have seen so far. Thank you. You made my day.

[@dannyshortwave]

Very excellent demonstration of setting up a simple wire antenna and also your grounding technique. Thank you, Sir.

[@migalito1955]

Thanks for having engineered the SDRPlay and having manufactured the unit in a manner that is nearly universally affordable! Your demo was a very nice primer too. I found the water experiment to be interesting and wondered what rock salt added to the mix might have produced. In closing, being a watercolorist I could not but help notice the two apparently original watercolor paintings to the right of the mag-loop with respect to the interior location of the loop in the video footage.

[@SDRplayRSP]

I think the water conductivity is already pretty good. And yes my other half is a watercolourist - not me!

[@esuohdica]

One of the most useful antenna comparison videos i've ever seen! Thanks for posting

[@antonioliriololi]

Old radios used to have one plug for the aerial antenna and another plug for the ground antenna

[@TruthVSLies]

Best shortwave antenna video on KZbin! Thank you 👍

[@user-ss6zt2mo1l]

I have my RSP1a hooked up to my 34 foot Amateur Radio Vertical with 60 radials. I LOVE ❤️ this little receiver !! I also have the radio going through my Antenna transmatch so the signal is matched on every frequency. I do have to unhook it after every listening session. Amazing DX at night on all bands. I also built a small transmitting Loop that works portable :)

[@F4LDT-Alain]

Commenting on an old video, but I've just discovered it when I was wondering what I could use beyond the long wire antennas that come bundled with some hand-held receivers. This video is very interesting and instructive and it shows how good results can be obtained using nothing but garage stuff. Thanks a lot.

[@PierluigiChecchi]

These are the videos you would never want to end! Thank you John!

[@raymondl.3014]

Thank you for showing that a receive antenna need not be complicated nor expensive, and yet will produce good results.

[@Nash-jz4ym]

Thank you! I didn't know that grounding is so importandt for a receiving antenna.

[@robertl.fallin7062]

Nash102030 ... not sure the ground he has is good. I am on heavy soil with a clay substrata 36 inches down. I have a serious 72 inch cooper rod with only a couple of inches left above ground level and a heavy duty clamp. The difference was a s5 noise reduction .

[@stevenpucci1]

@@robertl.fallin7062 Well dude prolly got tired.. Give'm a break. ;)

[@AmitSingh-zn1kz]

I am impressed by your three demonstrations. I did not realize they will be so effective. Thank you.

[@JeffHochberg]

Wonderful video! Thanks for putting this together. Wherever you live is absolutely gorgeous! Such a wonderful backyard!

[@warrencaldwell8753]

Thank you so much! Your video enlightened me on ground plane and grounds. I’m new to this and your simple demonstration cleared up a lot of questions I have had. Sometimes the easy methods of explanation are so much better than detailed (or too much) information.

[@TexasTimelapse]

You answered all my questions in one video. Thanks!

[@RichardDHerring]

Wonderfully practical, informative, and clear. You pulled off the Trifecta .... as we say in the States. Thanks!

[@freeslave8824]

Excellent video. Best coverage on this subject I've ever seen. Blessings!

[@Zone1242]

Great video. I've got the Wellbroook hooked up to my RSP2pro and I'm very happy with the results.

[@KT-ut9zg]

Great! Simplest explanation without any extra stuff to complicate it, like baluns etc. Gives a chance to absorb the basics first.

[@maryrafuse3851]

Absolutely fascinating, especially the role water can play in making your ground rod more effective. I live in Nova Scotia Canada, a place where the soil is wetter than in many other locations, especially in Spring & Fall. By the Atlantic Ocean we are one of the best places in the world for AM and SW listening. I really appreciate your tutorial on the importance of a good ground or counterpoise. You are a great teacher, thankyou.

[@manixware]

Excellent video without using expensive options for the sdrplay. My dx is enroute. Look forward

[@ericvaneupen9986]

Top notch video, crystal clear explanation by a professional. Many thanks!

[@sreekumarUSA]

Sir, Greetings from California. Thank you for the demonstration.

[@tommycheshire5508]

A very kind offering that you have given us. I learn a valuable information, and I thank you from the bottom of my heart. N4KBM.

[@michaeladams372]

You sir are brilliant. I love your products!

[@mukeshvig174]

Simply amazing. Thank you for explaining it so passionately. 👍👍

[@johngooch6612]

This demonstration would be a very useful tool when teaching an amateur radio class for beginners through advanced operators. Very well done sir. John AA8YE

[@MAGNETAR-187]

I never knew Shortwave listening could be this fun!

[@AghaKhan9]

I love you man... Many things are clear about the radios to me now.

[@ibgeorgeb]

Excellent video. You answered a question I had about grounding a long wire antenna. 👍🏾

[@dalesworld1308]

Great demonstration. Much better than a plain long wire.

[@bigkamran]

Very good demonstration of the ground wire contribution to noise reduction. Not many KZbin discuss this fact and they just say just hang long wire on a tree and attach it to the radio ( no mention of either ground or poise wires)

[@michaellogue2254]

Excellent demonstration, Thank you!

[@GG-vx7gi]

Very informative video. While I understand the theory of ground or counterpoise, it really is helpful to see a real world demonstration.

[@LarryMassey]

Very good job, explanation are easy to understand & informative.

[@lawrencethompson465]

Excellent and should be very helpful for many.

[@tomclarke1848]

A brilliant demo, thank you very much!

[@toma60641]

Excellent video! Thank you!

[@andrewgardner7104]

Thanks for all your time and effort.

[@seasparrow7427]

Absolutely great video!

[@SDR-DXobserver]

High noise floor when using a wire, even if it is connected to a (real) earth or a counterpoise. The loop is the best all round antenna and as you call it "an option" it is far better compared to a simple wire. Also the loop in this version is a wideband antenna. It is the Signal to Noise ratio that gives good radio reception and the loop is always better compared to a wire antenna. As you can see in the video the noise floor of the loop is almost 30 dB lower compared to te wire so it will hear even the small signals on the air. Yes, there is the simplicity and low cost of a wire, but that is its only quality. The loop only uses ample space and is producing superiour signals, but it is more expensive. Nice video Jon but we can barely see the noise floor but lucky for us the S/N ratio indication of SDRuno shows us the quality of the received signals.

[@02vLxcZF]

How do discones compare to loops? For reception only, they seem to cover larger bandwidth and they also are cheaper

[@SDRplayRSP]

@@02vLxcZF Active mag loops are superb for HF and (depending on the design) below - see kzbin.info/www/bejne/l5zcaqaMiJWlirc Discones can work well above 10MHz (depending on the design) and are excellent wideband non-directional antennas for VHF and above. More about antennas here: www.sdrplay.com/antennasuggestions/

[@lamina666]

This video helped me out a lot. Thanks for making it.

[@4nradio782]

Excellent demo! Thank you for sharing the various approaches. I enjoy my Wellbrook antennas at home and on DXpeditions but for hiking with a portable setup, a quick and easy ground plane would be a good way to help reception with a random wire.

[@mxcollin95]

Great video! Thanks for posting. 👍

[@ronanmurphy4342]

Great video, very informative and helpful. Thanks Ronan

[@ralphwilmot6351]

Helpful demo as I have just bought a rsp1a and a good earth helped a lot. So many WiFi signals close by does not help but the software helped attenuate these levels after tweaking. Tnx 73

[@ZonaEA]

Thank you for sharing this experiment. Bravo!❤

[@1000left]

Very well done!!! Thank you!!!!

[@seamusjames9390]

Excellent, thank you for the demo !

[@MagicRoosterBluesBand]

Thank you for all this information! Cheers.

[@SCzxjk]

Very good practical advice👍

[@beachz101]

Thank you so much! This was very helpful!

[@AlexandreAlvesNeto]

Thanks for the excellent video

[@spib65]

superb demo, many thanks

[@glenngoodale1709]

As always, awesome video .... 😍

[@lendavidhart9710]

Thank you for posting, i really appreciate it, i am very interested in radio, this is very informative.

[@techtinkerin]

Great demo exactly what I needed to know! Subbed❤️👍😎

[@robertl.fallin7062]

Well worth watching ! I will say the sdrplay is a very fine swl receiver no matter what antenna and ground you can muster. I would pay BIG for a version with scanning function.

[@SDRplayRSP]

We hope to release scanning software in the next few weeks (next release of SDRuno)

[@DennyJMcFerr]

Great video, thanks for sharing.

[@Emanemoston]

Thanks for the video.

[@Ray-VK3CEO]

Good info for beginners, It doesn't take much effort to receive a good signal, also magnetic loops are bi-directional, the signal can be peaked by turning the loop.

[@sarahjrandomnumbers]

Thanks for this, I've been looking for a video that shows the difference in signal before and after using a ground rod. Too many videos just show them putting a rod in but don't compare before and after. Going to CEF later so I'll grab a rod while I'm there :).

[@timcollingwood6158]

Hi well done really enjoyed this Regards Tim

[@rushyashringa]

Simple but very efficient technique Sir

[@void_00000]

Fantastic video

[@haythamchannel3553]

Thanks for the amazing video sw frequency antenna

[@ashishnanta6575]

I did it, it's really doing amazing work 😊

[@TheOpenAirGarage]

Excellent information!!

[@gleep83]

A great, practical video explaining this at last! Why does the grounding improve the signal?

[@ut4646]

fantastic video.

[@AnirudhSharma1976]

Thank you sir for this fantastic suggestion,can you please help what to do for portable telescopic counterpoise ànd ground.

[@8151noname]

Great video, thanks very much.

[@christianredhat]

Excellent video thankyou

[@mhappy01]

Thanks for the demo. What about on a plastic/fibreglass/carbon boat? is the size of the magnetic loop a factor?

[@catalinalb1722]

Thank you for this informative video, still I have some questions: 1 with the longwire antenna by using a 9:1 balun will increase the reception or this js mainly used for transit purposes? 2 using the grounding connector from the outlet will induce any risks? 3 using a tuner unit like the Yaesu FRG 7700 will help or isn't needed for RSP1A? 4 I have a DIY magloop from a 2m copper (18mm in diameter) pipe and a 1000pF variable capacitor connected to the RSP1A. Is there the risk of burning the RSP1A (front-end)? Thank you Catalin

[@moggridge1]

Fascinating!

[@mikepeirson1150]

Thanks for the video very helpful as a newbie to SDR. I have just had my RSP 1A delivered yesterday. I am always mucking around with random wire antennas into my Tecsun S2000. I am looking forward to using this piece of apparatus, looks really interesting. Just wondering whether the use of a 9:1 Unun would be needed here, or my homemade ATU both which I use for my receiver, sorry for my ignorance on this. Thanks again.

[@MicheIIePucca]

Oh.. interesting. We bought some 10ft ground rods for our upcoming antenna system (not sure what we'll use), but will definitely have a good grounding system (and bond it to our home ground).

[@Dr_Thamminana_KR]

Excellent

[@bigkamran]

Is 100 feet an optimal length for majority of SW bands? And if so what should be the size of the counter poise? Btw a great video and thanks for sharing ( I have more space if needed to add to the length +100 +? )

[@DE-iv8if]

Interesting Video!

[@saxmusicmail]

The counterpoise is the missing half of a half wavelength dipole. Quarter wave in the air, the other side, counterpoise, quarter wave on the ground.

[@EastAngliaUK]

would you like a station playing music on short wave and would it go far?

[@TheGmr140]

that would of been a great test to compare the wire and ground , with a loop antenna. from my trials, the loop always wins, cause i can lower noise.

[@medo123345]

👍very good work.

[@Ei2iP]

Excellent, folk really don't understand the importance of ground the outer coax of an antenna, it makes a huge difference in signal to noise.

[@rjinnh3933]

Illuminating!

[@Kamakzie1976]

Hello thank you for the video first off. I'm setting this up tomorrow hopefully and I'm using a 9 to 1 balun from an eBay seller named lowbander. He uses a separate built-in ground connection and I am going to use 125 feet approximately of wire running down my neighbors 7 foot tall stockade fence. I got his permission of course LOL. I'm looking forward to this. I also bought a ground rod and some 8 gauge wire to ground it once the authorities mark the natural gas line. I'm starting out with a RTL-SDR v3 but I am either getting a RSP1A or and RSP2 soon.

[@harrystevens3885]

You can get 20m washing line strong plastic coated steel core for £1.50p.from ASDA at the time of writing. It's whats going on my 4 band valve radio for SW listening.

[@LaeeqKhan01]

Great job. One question, can we use the ground wire of domestic electrical wiring instead of stake in the ground or long counterpoise? Is it advisable? Are there any dangers?

[@ralphwilmot6351]

Laeeq Khan Not a good idea as too close to mains likely to introduce hum

[@deenunya7735]

Just what ive been looking for as not licenced yet , My cave is Box room on 1st Floor , throwing the Wire up n over the Rooof be ok?, Also coukd it be Earthed to a Radiater or Water Pipe to the Rad?

[@anulearntech]

Thanks, is there anything i can do if my radio doesn't have an antenna socket? It has AC in, 12 volt dc in, headphone jack, audio in and battery compartment.

[@wpw4508]

This last week I've been playing with my new RSP2 within the constraints of my 10m X 10m (30'x30') backyard. At first, my antenna was a single 5m wire suspended about 2m above ground level (I had picture hanging wire), along with a ground wire. I'm new to SWL, but I could pick up a bit at 40m and 20m. I've now "upgraded" to speaker wire, 3m above ground level, but I split/pulled apart the two wires into a dipole, each about 5m in length, and a 6m center feed to the rsp2 high-z input. Reception seems better, but I can't quantify. I wonder if this dipole would outperform your expedient ground plane, since both of my receiving elements are elevated 3m above ground?

[@SDRplayRSP]

you are getting much better overall length with what you did so that would explain better pick-up, certainly on 40m (apologies for delay in responding!)

[@FrancoDX]

Really helpful. Maybe a silly question as I’m new to SW but on a portable radio receiver where would I connect a ground? I’m currently using a wire antenna with a crocodile clip on the radios telescopic antenna. Thanks.

[@SDRplayRSP]

Often, a portable shortwave radio's headphone socket is also coupled to the Radio's RF internal circuitry and is also RF Signal Ground. I found this article which tells you how to exploit this: groups.google.com/g/rec.radio.shortwave/c/sIpVAaOAHx4

[@FrancoDX]

Thank you for the help. I’ll have a look at the link.

[@cmg2577]

Hi Thanks for your explanation but I have other question, what is the program you are using on laptop? Thanks in advance Regards

[@SDRplayRSP]

It's SDRuno which comes free with SDRplay RSP receivers - this video introduces SDRuno running on an RSP1A kzbin.info/www/bejne/b5TbnKp8ZqmjbM0

[@keimahane]

Thank you. This a great info as I am beginning my SWL adventure and live in an apartment. Is it possible to ground to something inside the apartment?

[@SDRplayRSP]

Yes - metal pipes and radiators can be good if they are not close to noisy mains wiring AND continue as metal for a substantial distance (to act as a counterpoise). Even better, if you are close to the ground then a direct pipe connecting all the way to the real ground could be effective. For safety reasons you shouldn't connect directly to the mains wiring ground ( again, if this is a direct and short route to a purposeful ground stake it technically would work but would be prone to electrical noise generated along the way !) The ground (earth) pins on you mains wiring are there as a safety feature and a fault condition could cause the ground to become live! (e.g. no RDS and a grounded metal appliance has an internal short to live. A more expensive soultion is to consider an active magnetic loop - these are so much better at reducing electrical interference pickup. Check out other videos links on antennas here: www.sdrplay.com/apps-catalogue/

[@vampolascott36]

I use a counterpoise for both receiving and transmitting in my 3rd floor apartment.

[@Mark300win]

Very nice and informative demonstration on grounding but i have a question plz why did u use a speaker wire that you twisted at its end instead of a single solid or stranded wire like the one u used for counterpoise? Is there a particular advantage?

[@SDRplayRSP]

No - that was purely because I had that speaker wire to hand and I wanted something extra chunky so it would show up in the video. You can use much lighter-weight wire - if it's to last over a period of time, when properly suspended then it's all about withstanding the weather!

[@Mark300win]

SDRplay Software Defined Radio Receiver thank you! Do you think adding more counterpoise wires would enhance the grounding effect as compared to a single wire?

[@jeanphi0078]

Thank you very much for this very interesting video and the need of ground connection. It is simple and obvious. By the way, I am seen some people using balun 9/1 or 49/1. Why you do not propose such balun ?

[@SDRplayRSP]

Baluns do add additional benefits with matching but the improvements are secondary to what you get by having a good ground when using wire antennas.