Customer Reviews

C. Crane Twin Coil Ferrite AM Antenna

5 star:		(5)
4 star:		(5)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

To be honest, I tried an "orphaned" TCF antenna and returned it, though not due to any fault in the unit itself. The extra tweaking needed was just not justified given the area I listen in, which already has pretty decent AM reception.

If your radio is in the free and clear, like the top of a wood-structure house, the TCF might not be for you. Bear in mind that there's no magic with radio antennas, and a powered device especially will amplify signal and noise equally, often yielding little or no audible improvement in listening quality.

Where a unit like this really shines is in an environment with compromised AM reception - like a basement or a steel-framed building - where you are able to put the antenna head out in the clear and run a cable to it. In such cases the TCF is an excellent solution to an old problem, and because it was designed by Chris Justice of C. Crane Co., it actually works as advertised, not like those photo-op pieces of plastic injection-molded junk from Terk and Radio Shack.

ONE CAVEAT - bear in mind that if you tune around a lot, you'll always be tweaking this thing, so decide ahead of time if that's for you. For extended program listening it's not really an issue.

And by all means go to CCrane's website and read up on AM reception. Those people are on the level.

I'd give you my opinion of Terk, but I just ate.

Hope that helps.

Postscript, May 26, 2008 : I just re-read my own review and think it was potentially misleading of me to suggest that the TCF is primarily useful when the antenna head is located remotely from a radio-frequency-shielded listening spot. The antenna is better than that and can work wonders with many radios, from small portables coupled "inductively", all the way up to expensive communications receivers with direct connections for external antennas. The TCF is highly directional, and having the antenna head close enough at hand to manually turn it is a great advantage. I probably should have been less stingy and given 5 stars.

I've owned a Terk AM Advantage passive antenna for several years, and always wondered if the hype generated by the TCF was worth the purchase. In most cases... I guess it is. But its performance will be HIGHLY dependant upon the users location. (no suprise there)

To compare it with the Terk(when used with the CC Radio); In my experiences, I've always used the Terk Advantage "passively" by NOT connecting the lead wires to the AM ant jack on the radio. I found it the least amount of nuisance that way, & it got better results! With the TCF, I say just the opposite. This DOES work better when connected to the AM ant terminals. First of all alot of adjusting is required, if you're like me and you like to flip channels seeking out the goodies. Again, location is the key. This is also true of the receiving antenna unit. A few inches or feet makes alot of difference. Second; I am unfortunate to live within about 2 miles of a 50,000 watt blowtorch!! THIS scenario can cause issues! Also within a few miles, is a 1000 kw signal on 1240. Other oddities include our local 1460 signal which also appears on 560! (this only occurs with the TCF)

Under certain circumstances the TCF can't tune past varying causes of electrical interference the way the Terk can. But, I CAN pick up some long distance stations during the day much better than I ever could with the Terk. So again it highly depends on alot of individual circumstances and conditions. Bottom line... it does reasonably well, but as another reviewer pointed out, it would be spectacular in the boonies where only the odd 1kw signal stood in the way.

Yes, it is expensive but this antenna woks and it works great. In my office there is almost no AM reception so I bought a new Sangean Sonido radio (also very nice) for its superior AM reception. It definitely helped, especially if placed by the window, but reception was still horrible so I purchased this antenna. Wow, crystal clear reception in a steel and concrete (secure) building. The Sonido has no antenna input so I stuck the ferrite stick to the back, set the tuner (with a battery installed) at the edge of my desk and ran the antenna unit to the window (a triple pane monster with steel bars on it). Set my station, dialed in the tuner and crystal clear. I even get ESPN, which has the weakest signal possible in my area, almost pefectly.

Has to be tuned in to every station. So first you adjust the radio dial then you adjust the antenna dial. but it does improve reception.

This amplified, 2 coil ferrite AM antenna really pulls in those faint stations. It Works! For example, as your local npr station faded recently and their new HD service was being hawked send your donation to get this antenna instead to npr. They told you how sundown and weather is interfering. Well, you'll be surprised how service is restored by you and your new antenna.

I have been looking for a good am antenna for some time & finally bit the bullet for the CC TCF AM Antenna. I bought an "orphan" from CCrane. This is my second disappointing purchase from them. I could not get it to work very well & I tried it on a number of AM radios (GE, Hammarlund, Sony HD) & in a number of locations. It just never worked nearly as well as a simple long wire extended outside. I expected the preselection would isolate & amplify the signal, but most of the time it would just take a weak station just make it louder without removing the noise. A louder but still unlistenable station wasn't what I was after. Perhaps if you are in a location where a long wire isn't permitted, then this my be very expensive alternative. I cost me $20 (all shipping) to learn this lesson.

I've got a power line running into the house that generates a huge amount of electromagnetic interference that blankets the main level and particularly becomes annoying at night when AM radio stations cut their transmitting power substantially.

Ironically, the best place to get AM reception was in my basement! But my office has a lot of computer gadgets, and some of those little piggy tail flourescent bulbs, so it's kind of an AM reception nightmare in and of itself.

So, out of desperation I gave this a try. I ran the antenna cable through the same hole that the Internet cable comes in through, and set the antenna out in my garage. Now I've got great AM reception, and can even pull in some of the lower power stations too in a way that they're at least listenable. Did I mention that I live in a low-land area close to a lake with hills around me?

Anyway, this is one antenna that actually works, and I'm glad I bought it.

We have a kitchen radio where several AM stations contain a lot of static. This despite us being in a good location (on a hill with the radio towers visible). I tried the Turk hoop-style passive antenna (no connector on the radio) and that did nothing. So next I tried the Crane. I got some results with the Crane but the improvement was minimal. I suspect there's some sort of interference or that some of our aluminum siding (on part of the house) is causing the problem. If I had run the Crane antenna to my attic or outside I suspect I could have improved reception but that was going to be a lot of work for the return I might get. So I returned this item since it didn't work for me. The return process with Amazon was painless.

I use this antenna every night when I'm listening to AM radio. It's especially useful for hearing the local stations that are required by their FCC license to lower their power or change their antenna direction after sunset. It improves the reception of my CC Radio and while I've used it through the antenna input on the back, found that it works even better when coupling it inductively on the top of the radio.

When there's a lot of interference or an extremely weak signal, I use it together with a Radio Shack loop antenna in series with the TCF body. I tune the TCF first, then tune the loop antenna. The effect is dramatic - I can use it that way to zero out an interfering signal or to amplify a weak signal.

With this extra antenna I' m tryinng for ~ 2oo miles. Since this action is @ nite, the reception is only fair since I'm not using any extra outside wire. I'd say I'm getting only fair value because it requires rather constant adjusting.