So just for kicks I recently picked up a Tecsun PL-880 so I’d have a small receiver that I wouldn’t mind banging up / have in the car / etc. It comes with a 4’ whip antenna(plus ext jack, but it’s 1/8" so I haven’t tried it yet).
One thing that kinda surprised me is it was able pick out signals nearly as well as my KX3 + 40m EFHW. The KX3 certainly had the edge but anything I could find with the KX3 was also copyable on the PL-880.
I guess I was figuring a 63’ wire ~20’ above the ground + direct conversion receiver would do much better than a 4’ whip. Am I crazy or should I start inspecting my coax + connectors to the KX3?
Can highly recommend the PL-880 for listening though, was picking up parts of 40m/20m inside the house!
-Val