- 1). Determine the type of antenna installation that you'll need to perform. Some radios have terminals in the back for connecting an external antenna. Other models, including most small-scale consumer radios, have no terminals, and the antenna must be attached to the pre-existing antenna.
- 2). Connect the antenna wire to your radio's antenna terminal. Radios that use terminals to attach their antennas will have three separate ports---one labeled "FM," another for grounding and a third for AM antennas. Attaching an AM antenna involves only the port labeled "AM." (You do not need to ground an AM antenna; the terminal labeled "Ground" is for an FM antenna). Connecting antenna wires usually involves loosening the screw that is inserted in the AM terminal, wrapping the antenna wire's bare end around the screw and then tightly screwing it back into its port.
- 3). Attach your external antenna to the radio's pre-existing antenna. If your radio has no antenna terminals, then you'll need to attach any larger, external antennas to the antenna that came equipped with the radio. The easiest way to do this is to wrap the exposed end of the wire antenna tightly around the tip of the radio's metal antenna.
- 4). Calibrate your radio's antenna. Adjusting an AM radio antenna will usually be as simple as twisting and moving the wire around until you can actually hear a given station's signal more clearly. In extreme cases, this will not work, and the radio itself will need to be moved to a different part of the building.
- 5). Periodically adjust and recalibrate the antenna. The unpredictable nature of AM radio signals means that the ability to receive each station throughout the day will vary at different times. The only solution to this problem is to recalibrate your antenna periodically in order to attain the best signal.
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