-> MR>Tom, *all* unbalanced antennas require a ground to work properly.
-> MR>Without a ground the receiver loses a lot of signal because the
-> MR>impedance is too high. The only ground that exists then is whatever
-> MR>impedance there is into the AC powerline and the antenna emf is lost.
-> MR>Worse yet the AC powerline is full of noise and now in series with the
-> MR>lower impedance of the antenna which recycles it back to the radio.

->  They why do Battery Radios work so well?

Because they have a balanced antenna, you know those ferrite type
things with the windings on them.
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