The conventional AM transmitting antenna standard is vertical phase with the result that many receivers become directional and must aim the long-side of the loop-stick toward the AM transmitter.
If the AM radio is turned 90-degrees from the transmitting antenna reception is nulled and the local station is "phased out."
Time for innovation. We want to design an AM transmitting antenna that is received with full signal no matter which way the radio is facing.
How to do it?
The problem isn't the transmitting antenna. The problem is the receiving antenna.
For starters a loopstick antenna responds to the magnetic field. Being a coil wound on a bar, best reception is horizontal as is the magnetic field and the bar antenna has a figure eight pattern so it's directional null is off the ends.
I wonder if the antenna coil was wound on a toriod form would it be non-directional or since toroids are self shielding would it not work as an antenna.
Maybe two bar antennas at right angles would do the trick.
Thanks MRAM 1500 for continuing the discussion.
As I see it simple average common everyday people won't twirl their radio sets in different directions... they will put radios in a logical spot in the kirchen, office, bedroom, and that's where the radios will stay.
Your suggestion of fixing the problem at the radio is not possible because we can't go around adding parts to neighborhood radios.
Somehow we've got to come at those bar-antennas from all directions at the same time.
Why do I keep coming up with impossible engineering ideas?
Can we possibly have reached the limits of possibility with AM transmission? I refuse to think so, even if it means living in a dream universe.
Well, unfortunately, since a single transmitter radiates from a single point (whether directional or non-directional) it would seem you'd have to have multiple synchronized transmitters. But we've had that discussion before and that solution seems to be problematic at best.
I guess the old stand-by vertical whip antenna is the best solution for receiving from all directions equally.
Loop antennas can be inductively coupled to a radio (no direct connection.) Perhaps we could market a vertical whip antenna which is inductively coupled. Simply set it next to your radio with loop-stick antenna and Wha-Lah-reception from stations all around the compass.
If we handed out whipy-loops to everyone within a several mile radius, that might help.
Would they rig the whipy-loops up according to directions?
Only Tim in Bovey can solve this.
Oh, and MRAM 1500 is the inventor of Whipy-Loops.
Might there be more ideas?
God just sent me a message.
I was tuning the AM dial in desperation, finding nothing worthwhile as usual, when I happened to discover that WCCO 830 AM 50 kW from Minneapolis was coming in strong.
While listening and holding my Grundig FR-200, I turned in a complete circle and THE SIGNAL DID NOT NULL OUT.
What is that?
Does it mean there IS a way of having AM from ALL DIRECTIONS?
To keep God in existence tell me I'm right.