Hey folks! First post. I'm so glad to find an active forum because I'm going to get into amateur shortwave listening.
Let me preface my question with the following; I know pretty much nothing about radio technology, pretty much nothing about equipment, and pretty much nothing about shortwave or antennas. As such, I'm an open book with many blank pages ahead that you guys are more than welcome to help me fill in.
For the time being, I have decided upon the Grundig 750 for my radio. I've done some reading in regard to what to look for in a radio, and for the price, options, and the fact that I'm just starting out, I believe I could have made a worse choice.
But anything I've decided to do I like to jump right into, so I know that external antennas are the way to go (remember I know next to nothing, but not nothing). I'm prepared to go the extra mile and install an antenna on the roof and do all of that work. But, for the time being, I want to know if this is a possibility;
The first picture is that of an old (I'm assuming, don't know for sure) TV antenna that was already on the house when I bought it.
This next image is that of the jumble of wires coming down from the roof. All coax stuff on splitters. Mostly Greek to me but I do know that it's connected to that pole antenna.
Just for good measure, I'm throwing in an image of the DirecTV dishes I have on the roof. The one in the foreground is not being used, the one at top is for HD that we upgraded to and is live.
My question is whether or not that pole antenna can be used as an antenna for shortwave. Is that possible? Does it need a mod? Will it work as is if I get it connected properly to the Grundig 750? Or, do I need to forget about all of that garbage and buy some kind of dipole antenna and install it on the roof?
I'm not necessarily looking for the best possible solution right at the moment, just something that will work. The radio will be in a confined area so an external antenna is a must, I'm just wondering if I can possibly use any of the equipment already on the roof until I get around to learning more and installing a proper antenna.
Thanks in advance!
Let me preface my question with the following; I know pretty much nothing about radio technology, pretty much nothing about equipment, and pretty much nothing about shortwave or antennas. As such, I'm an open book with many blank pages ahead that you guys are more than welcome to help me fill in.
For the time being, I have decided upon the Grundig 750 for my radio. I've done some reading in regard to what to look for in a radio, and for the price, options, and the fact that I'm just starting out, I believe I could have made a worse choice.
But anything I've decided to do I like to jump right into, so I know that external antennas are the way to go (remember I know next to nothing, but not nothing). I'm prepared to go the extra mile and install an antenna on the roof and do all of that work. But, for the time being, I want to know if this is a possibility;
The first picture is that of an old (I'm assuming, don't know for sure) TV antenna that was already on the house when I bought it.
This next image is that of the jumble of wires coming down from the roof. All coax stuff on splitters. Mostly Greek to me but I do know that it's connected to that pole antenna.
Just for good measure, I'm throwing in an image of the DirecTV dishes I have on the roof. The one in the foreground is not being used, the one at top is for HD that we upgraded to and is live.
My question is whether or not that pole antenna can be used as an antenna for shortwave. Is that possible? Does it need a mod? Will it work as is if I get it connected properly to the Grundig 750? Or, do I need to forget about all of that garbage and buy some kind of dipole antenna and install it on the roof?
I'm not necessarily looking for the best possible solution right at the moment, just something that will work. The radio will be in a confined area so an external antenna is a must, I'm just wondering if I can possibly use any of the equipment already on the roof until I get around to learning more and installing a proper antenna.
Thanks in advance!