{"id":55946,"date":"2023-02-22T09:25:01","date_gmt":"2023-02-22T13:25:01","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/?p=55946"},"modified":"2023-02-22T09:25:01","modified_gmt":"2023-02-22T13:25:01","slug":"the-ccrane-skywave-ssb-2-and-long-wire-antennas","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/2023\/02\/the-ccrane-skywave-ssb-2-and-long-wire-antennas\/","title":{"rendered":"The CCrane Skywave SSB 2 and long wire antennas"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

By Jock Elliott, KB2GOM<\/strong><\/p>\n

Frequently when people write about attaching a long wire to a portable shortwave receiver, readers will comment that you need to worry about desensitizing or overloading the receiver or ever harming the front end of the receiver. Clearly that can be a concern.<\/p>\n

But recently I noticed something on the CCrane website<\/a> in the FAQ section that shows clearly that CCrane has thought about and dealt with this consideration:<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

Q: When\u00a0 using the 2-wire adapter and wire attached, why am I not noticing any improvement on shortwave?<\/em><\/p>\n

A: To see any difference using the 2-wire adapter you will need to have a wire that is more than 30 feet long (we recommend 60-100\u2019) with a good ground wire. Insulated wire will last longer and should be stranded so it is more flexible. If you do not have a good ground, you are actually inputting noise. If you look at the 2-wire adapter (included) you will see an antenna icon and a ground (G) marking. You need to connect them properly when using an external antenna. When a plug is inserted into the antenna jack of the radio the internal rod antenna is disconnected. (See\u00a0page 30 of the Instruction manual.)<\/em><\/p>\n

If you check out my review of the CCrane Skywave SSB 2<\/a> you will read that I heard a noticeable improvement when connecting the SSB 2 to a 45-foot end fed wire.<\/p>\n

Note, though, that if you plan to attach a wire to the SSB 2\u2019s whip antenna, use the 23-foot reel antenna that comes with the radio.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

By Jock Elliott, KB2GOM Frequently when people write about attaching a long wire to a portable shortwave receiver, readers will comment that you need to worry about desensitizing or overloading the receiver or ever harming the front end of the receiver. Clearly that can be a concern. But recently I noticed something on the CCrane […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":114,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[3607,627,3,3196,43],"tags":[9988,10042,9323],"class_list":["post-55946","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-antennas","category-how-to","category-news","category-portable-radio","category-shortwave-radio","tag-c-crane-cc-skywave-ssb-2","tag-cc-skywave-ssb-2","tag-jock-elliott-kb2gom"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/pn3uc-eym","jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":54841,"url":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/2022\/11\/checking-out-the-new-c-crane-cc-skywave-ssb-2\/","url_meta":{"origin":55946,"position":0},"title":"Checking out the new C.Crane CC Skywave SSB 2","author":"Jock Elliott","date":"November 28, 2022","format":false,"excerpt":"By Jock Elliott, KB2GOM Folks who are regular readers of my posts here have already figured out that I am a big fan of the CCrane Skywave SSB. It is easily the most versatile radio I own, receiving AM (medium wave), FM, shortwave, HF single sideband, NOAA weather stations with\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Ham Radio"","block_context":{"text":"Ham Radio","link":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/category\/ham-radio\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/11\/CCrane-Skywave-SSB-2-001-1-1024x683.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/11\/CCrane-Skywave-SSB-2-001-1-1024x683.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/11\/CCrane-Skywave-SSB-2-001-1-1024x683.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x"},"classes":[]},{"id":49872,"url":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/2021\/08\/jock-discovers-the-joys-of-ats-tuning-with-the-c-crane-cc-skywave-ssb\/","url_meta":{"origin":55946,"position":1},"title":"Jock discovers the joys of ATS tuning with the C.Crane CC Skywave SSB","author":"Thomas","date":"August 4, 2021","format":false,"excerpt":"Many thanks to SWLing Post contributor, Jock Elliott (KB2GOM), who shares the following guest post: Really cool trick the CCrane Skywave SSB will do -- the \"radio butler\"? To paraphrase Ratty from Wind in the Willows: \" \u201cBelieve me, my young friend, there is nothing\u2013absolutely nothing\u2013half so much worth doing\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "AM"","block_context":{"text":"AM","link":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/category\/am\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/10\/CC-Skywave-SSB-Field-e1540119640212.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/10\/CC-Skywave-SSB-Field-e1540119640212.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/10\/CC-Skywave-SSB-Field-e1540119640212.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/10\/CC-Skywave-SSB-Field-e1540119640212.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":60044,"url":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/2024\/06\/the-joys-of-traveling-light\/","url_meta":{"origin":55946,"position":2},"title":"The Joys of Traveling Light","author":"Jock Elliott","date":"June 25, 2024","format":false,"excerpt":"By Jock Elliott, KB2GOM I had intended to travel light; I really did . . . but I betrayed my best intentions. Instead of a \u201cminimal\u201d radio go-bag, I had stuffed a small cross-body bag with: a ham radio handi-talkie (a Yaesu VX-6R) with high-performance antenna, extra batteries for the\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "News"","block_context":{"text":"News","link":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/category\/news\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/06\/Traveling-Light-radio-gear-003-002-Medium.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":57812,"url":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/2023\/09\/ccranes-new-c-crane-cc-skywave-2-and-the-ooda-loop\/","url_meta":{"origin":55946,"position":3},"title":"CCrane\u2019s new C. Crane CC Skywave 2 . . . and the OODA loop","author":"Jock Elliott","date":"September 22, 2023","format":false,"excerpt":"By Jock Elliott, KB2GOM A software glitch at a power station, a tree branch rubbing against a transformer, a geophysical incident, a weather event, even a civil society misadventure . . . It doesn\u2019t take much for things to rapidly go to blazes. So what do you need when Really\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "AM"","block_context":{"text":"AM","link":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/category\/am\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/09\/01_-_Hero__76717-1024x1024.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/09\/01_-_Hero__76717-1024x1024.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/09\/01_-_Hero__76717-1024x1024.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x"},"classes":[]},{"id":64272,"url":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/2025\/10\/a-huge-difference\/","url_meta":{"origin":55946,"position":4},"title":"A HUGE difference . . .","author":"Jock Elliott","date":"October 14, 2025","format":false,"excerpt":"By Jock Elliott, KB2GOM It was a remark from Sebastian Schl\u00fcter in response to this post \u2013 https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/2025\/10\/some-really-inexpensive-ways-to-perhaps-improve-your-shortwave-listening -- that sparked today\u2019s post. He said: If your RFI is really high, your best weapon is a magnetic loop antenna aka small receive loop. At home, my RFI is so high\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Antennas"","block_context":{"text":"Antennas","link":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/category\/antennas\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/Loop-antenna-002-001-1024x669.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/Loop-antenna-002-001-1024x669.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/Loop-antenna-002-001-1024x669.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x"},"classes":[]},{"id":52415,"url":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/2022\/04\/guest-post-everyone-should-have-a-crisis-radio\/","url_meta":{"origin":55946,"position":5},"title":"Guest Post: Everyone should have a “Crisis Radio”","author":"Thomas","date":"April 10, 2022","format":false,"excerpt":"Many thanks to SWLing Post\u00a0contributor,\u00a0Jock Elliott, who shares the following guest post: The Crisis Radio By Jock Elliott, KB2GOM Sooner or later, it will happen to you. What\u2019s \u2018it\u2019? Short answer: a crisis. It could be as simple as you wake in the morning to find the power is out;\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "AM"","block_context":{"text":"AM","link":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/category\/am\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/06\/CC-Skywave-SSB-Midwinter-Antarctica-Broadcast.jpeg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/06\/CC-Skywave-SSB-Midwinter-Antarctica-Broadcast.jpeg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/06\/CC-Skywave-SSB-Midwinter-Antarctica-Broadcast.jpeg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/06\/CC-Skywave-SSB-Midwinter-Antarctica-Broadcast.jpeg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x"},"classes":[]}],"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/55946","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/114"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=55946"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/55946\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":55954,"href":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/55946\/revisions\/55954"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=55946"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=55946"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=55946"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}