I am always on the look out for ways to improve my listening without having to spend a lot of money or having to be too
technical. I recently purchased a LIM or Longwire Impedance Matcher from Durham Radio in Toronto ON Canada. They
have a web site for the LIM at:
Durham Radio LIM Click here to go to site
At the site Durham Radio claims:
"This simple device connects to the end of your longwire antenna and converts it's high impedance to a lower impedance
expected by the radio. This allows a higher percentage of the signal picked up by your antenna to be transferred to
the radio. Works on just about any shortwave radio with an antenna jack.
When mounted outside, the matcher will reduce the amount of household electrical noise entering your radio because
shieled cable is used to connect your radio to the impedance matcher."
This is small box that is well constructed and very easy to use. All you have to do is attach your longwire to the butterfly
or wing nut on one end. Then attach your coaxfeed line for your radio to the coax connector on the other end. There is
a ground wire bolt that you can use to a good ground. This all takes just a few minutes to assemble and you are done.
There is excellent insturctions included with the unit that explains the unit and how to install it properly.
Below is a picture of the unit:
The unit worked very well for me. I am finding that there is somewhat less noise on the lower bands. This is not a unit that
will eliminate all of your noise problems but it does help reduce it. Also I noticed less overload on both my Drake R8 and
my ICOM ICR-70 on the AM and Longwave bands from 100 kHz to 1710 kHz. Also very noticeable was the fact that my
trusty Grove MiniTuner worked better. The tuning ranges for frequencies below 2000 kHz were much wider than my longwire
without the LIM.The stations were much easier to peak to get some more signal strength with less background noise. I can
hear more or at least hear them better.
There is also a small but noticable drop in noise. It does help but is not a cure all. The ground from the unit seems to help
bleed some noises off the coax line that comes in the house.
If you follow the instructions which are easy and basic it takes only a few minutes (20 for me) to put it into service.
The LIM is not a cure all but is definitely a step in the right direction for longwire users. It takes no skill to install
and works well and that is the true test of any piece of equipment you buy.
E-MAIL AMANDX
