Funny you should mention WSM.
After reading these posts, I decided to wind a loop on a cardboard box. The box is about 15" x 20". I wound 100' of wire around it and put an air variable tuning cap on it. Then a one turn loop in the middle of the other turns for the pickup connected to the radio. It tunes from 530 kHz to 1200 kHz.
With that simple antenna, I could null out interference from a local station (WHLO 640) and now WSM comes in loud and clear.
Cool!
My first try at this antenna was out of a cardboard triangle that came in the box with some new speakers I ordered. I also put my antenna to the test yesturday. I hooked one side of the lead to my $5 hand held wal-mart radio and left the other one open. I only tested it in one spot 1.15 miles away but I was able to pick up my station nice and clear when I removed the antenna I got nothing. Not bad for such a crude design. I do think building one like MRAM did with the ability to tune would be a good Idea to limit any interference from other stations.
I threw one of these antennas together using a 14" square gift box and some wire I found in the garage, it took literally 5 minutes. Works great on my Onkyo receiver, I wish I had tried this before I went out and bought a Grundig.
I was looking for a cheap/easy AM Loop Antenna. Most of the ones on Ebay (like the Kaito/Tecsun AN-200) are $15 and an add'l $11-15 postage from HK/China. I was sure I had the mat'ls around to make one for free, but lacked the time to do it. Someone recommended winding 50 ft of wire around the perimeter of a shoe box lid. I was about to try this, but I thought my wife would deem it "tacky", even on the garage wall. So I wound 50' of #30 AWG insulated wire around an unused (framed) picture, and hung it high on the wall. This "stealth" antenna now pulls in KDKA(PGH) and WWL (New Orleans) @night time, into Minnesota ! Previously, the garage radio would only get 1 local AM channel w/o the antenna. What a difference, now it gets dozens. Oh, and the wife wouldn't have even noticed it if I hadn't pointed it out to her !
Yes, a wife can add value to antenna design by reviewing it for acceptable appearance. With that in mind, I am today beginning a new service company for unmarried radio hobbyists called WIFE INSPECTORS CORPORATION. Please submit your antenna plans and a qualified wife will give an honest report.
Does anyone use the call letters WIFE ?