Many thanks to SWLing Post contributor, Giuseppe Morlè (IZ0GZW), who writes:
Dear Thomas and Friends of SWLing Post,
I am Giuseppe Morlè from Formia, Central Italy, on the Tyrrhenian Sea.
This time, I want to share a very simple antenna setup for listening to and attempting extreme DX on Medium Waves.
I first saw this antenna in several videos, and many DXers have used it during various expeditions.
For my setup, I used a 15-meter-long wire. At around 11 meters, I formed a small coil with 8 turns, then continued the wire for another 3 meters.
I began with some tests on my balcony by laying the wire flat along the ground for its entire length. I used my small Sony SRF-37V as a receiver. By placing the receiver within the coil of turns, I immediately noticed a significant difference compared to the built-in ferrite antenna.
In the early afternoon, I tuned into a Chinese language broadcast on 1377 kHz. You can watch a video of this experiment on my YouTube channel:
Encouraged by the excellent results, I decided to head to the tourist port of Caposele di Formia the next day in the early afternoon. I set up on the pier overlooking the sea. This time, I laid the wire in an eastward direction — towards the night, where the sun had already set, while it was still high for another two hours on my side.
Once again, I achieved amazing results.
I was able to hear the same Chinese station on 1377 kHz, but this time with much clearer audio than from my balcony, where electrical noise interfered. By the sea, the signal was clean and strong.
After a while, I tuned into VOA broadcasts from Thailand on 1575 and 1395 kHz, both with surprisingly good audio quality. You can see this second experiment here:
Sometimes, all it takes is a bit of wire and a small coil to create an excellent, ground-level antenna — in this case, oriented eastward.
I also tried using my loop cassette and a Tecsun PL-660 but couldn’t hear anything. Yet the little Sony SRF-37V proved itself to be a true “DX killer” on AM — truly impressive.
I even caught a segment of the VOA program “World Today,” discussing the Chinese economy and Southeast Asia.
As the sun set, the DX signals faded, making way for closer European and Asian broadcasters.
I will definitely return with a longer wire to see if this surprising setup can be improved even more.
A warm greeting to all the Friends who follow SWLing Post and to you, Dear Thomas.
73, Giuseppe IZ0GZW
