Using an Eton Elite Executive, as everyone says, I have gotten surprisingly good results with the random but long bit of zip cord wire I had lying around, which already had a 3.5mm plug terminating one end. Splitting the two wires apart, laying one on the ground and putting the other on the blinds in my bedroom gets great results.

I’m a ham and not troubled by the idea of getting the EEE connected to an external antenna. But I also want maximum convenience and value. Which leads me to consider my existing rain gutters. I had written them off for amateur radio use, but for shortwave listening…maybe?? I know I could get up there with some alligator clips and sweep it with my nanoVNA, but I want to hear if it was ultimately worth it for anyone!

Any luck with this method? Any tips? Thanks in advance!

  • 667English
    3·
    5 months ago

    Fellow ham here. While I haven’t used rain gutters as an antenna of any sort, I have read it’s possible. Many HOA hams use them. The nice thing for using them for SWL is you have no concerns for SWR because you are not trying to optimize for transmission. A sufficiently long run of conductive material will be resonant on many frequencies. The nice thing about being ham is we are equipped to simply try it, just do it and see the results!

    • K3LOEOPMEnglish
      3·
      4 months ago

      Yeah, shortwave seems refreshingly free from the tribulations of transmitting lol. it felt liberating to imagine playing with receive only wackiness. I’ll report back if I have any success.

  • K3LOEOPMEnglish
    1·
    4 months ago

    Well, I did it. With the V1 GutterTenna, I picked up MORE stations, including hearing KBS World Radio from a transmitter in Gimje for the first time. But I wouldn’t say the ones I could already hear clearly were any clearer. Good first experiment though, and worth trying again.

    #SWL #Shortwave #Antennas