How To Improve AM Radio Reception At Home

Sometimes we just want to enjoy our favorite AM radio stations at home, in order to hear the last news, listen to the morning talk shows, or find out the results of the last night game that we couldn’t watch, but for certain reasons, the reception that our radio receive is not the one that we’re looking for: it sounds bad, hissing, crackling, buzzing, echoic and with a lot of interference.

Fortunately, there are many techniques for improving AM reception at home, and right now, we’re going to take a look at each one of them:

Taking away your radio from other domestic appliances

We need to check out the location where our radio is at home since we could have near to it some common domestic appliances that produce radio signals and interfere with radio reception, such as microwaves, TV’s, cellphone chargers, vacuum cleaners, electric motors, monitors and computers, scanners, electric blankets, or Christmas lights when the holidays arrive; so, the best thing to do is taking away your radio from these objects and put it in a place where it won’t have interference with its reception.

By having a portable radio, you can easily confirm whether or not your domestic appliances affect radio reception at your home. For this, you can try taking your radio next to a microwave oven, for instance, and notice if the buzzing sound increases as you get closer to it. If it’s not the case, then you can try individually with other appliances at your home until you reach the appliance that produces the highest interference to the radio reception, and you can take your radio away from it.

However, this solution doesn’t work for other appliances that you might have at your home, and that produce interference that cannot be turned off, such as hard-wired smoke detectors, aquarium heaters, faulty electrical switches, or even automatic yard lights. For these cases, the best thing to do is maximizing your radio’s signal reception, and for this, you can try some of the following tips!

Tips to increase your am radio reception

The antenna in your radio that receives AM signals is located inside of it, usually biased toward the rear; while, the extendable telescopic antenna of your radio is only used for FM radio stations. So, as the internal antenna is in the back of the radio, it’s necessary to face the rear in the direction in which the transmitting tower is based, in order to improve the AM reception. This is due to the fact that the antenna is made to be directional; this means that it receives signals from some directions a lot better than from others.

Another tip that guarantees you to improve your reception is to set up your radio near a window, but for this, you need to be sure of not having power lines near the zone. Otherwise, you will have interference with the radio reception, and it will be better for you to move your radio as far as possible from the window.

Also, if your radio has the feature of readjusting the equalizer settings, you can adjust it and try with different combinations of settings until you find the perfect one for you. For example, turning up the bass and reducing the treble might be an option, but this will have a repercussion on the dynamic range of your appliance. Although, this helps you reduce the distortion of the signal, especially when you want to listen to a talk show, debate or discussion.

Improving your AM reception by purchasing

In case that the tips we’ve mentioned above don’t work as well as you expected and the AM radio reception doesn’t improve either, you can always go with the plane P, and with P we mean purchasing. There are many devices that you could purchase to cut down on AM radio static and receive a better radio reception. And some of them are:

Antenna: With a better antenna you can improve your reception to a great level, but you need to be sure to find one that fits your budget. There are antennas that are expensive and others that are more affordable, but it’s recommendable to look and compare antennas before purchasing the ideal one for you.
Terk Indoor AM Antenna Advantage
Purchasing a better radio: As a last resort, you can purchase a new radio with features that make it suitable for easily picking up AM signals. Two of the most common examples are shortwave radio and satellite radio. A shortwave radio receives signals over long distances, while a satellite radio, being better than the normal ones, receives signals from a particular satellite orbiting the earth, however, the AM radio service would have to be transmitted to a satellite to work well.
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The importance of improving AM radio reception

If you appreciate having a good AM radio reception at home, you need to know these techniques, because, like this, you will be prepared for when that noisy interference interrupts you from listening to your favorite AM radio stations.

Final words- How to improve AM radio reception at home

From putting your radio in an adequate location at your home away from other domestic appliances and in the direction of the transmitting tower to readjusting the equalizer settings or adding a brand new and more powerful antenna, now you will be able to acquire the perfect AM radio reception at your home, and like this, you’ll vibe with the sound of your radio.

FAQ’s about AM radio reception

Q-1: What electrical appliances interfere with radio reception?

The domestic appliances that produce radio signals and interfere with radio reception are microwaves, TV’s, cellphone chargers, vacuum cleaners, electric motors, monitors and computers, scanners, electric blankets, Christmas lights, hard-wired smoke detectors, aquarium heaters, faulty electrical switches, automatic yard lights, and others.

Q-2: How do I obtain a better AM reception?

You can obtain better AM reception by using an external antenna, putting your radio as close as possible to the window with its rear-facing outside, or just moving away from any electrical appliances such as microwaves, TV’s, vacuum cleaners, or others, that directly interfere with the AM radio reception at your home.

Q-3: How do I remove AM radio static?

Radio static can be eliminated by boosting your reception with antennas, putting the radio away from electrical appliances and as close as possible to a window, with its rear-facing outside.