I recently moved from a ground-floor apartment near O'Hare International Airport to a highrise in the city. Listening with a Sony ICF-SW7600GR, I had been able to log pirate and clandestine transmissions. Most of the time, I used the radio's whip antenna; occasionally, I strung a wire inside along a window.
On the 54th Floor of this steel frame building, however, I've had a difficult time picking up distant stations on the Sony shortwave — and even reception on a CCRadio 2E can be problematic. I've tried running a wire antenna along my unit's windows, but that doesn't offer much of an improvement over the whip.
One obvious solution would be to dangle a long wire out the window. I had considered doing this, however I'd run afoul of the HOA in short order.
I'm thinking the issues could be unsurmountable, as I'm living in what's essentially a Faraday cage surrounded by several hundred other apartments with touch lamps, electronics, computers, and a host of other RFI-generating devices.
