I had a pair of rabbit ears that I thought would be the best I could get without an external antenna, but for $4 at a garage sail I bought a amplified ‘rabbit ear’ antenna (it plugs in to 120v outlet) and it has greatly improved reception.
Funny, I just got back from Radio Shack this afternoon with some 300 ohm twin-lead antenna cable in an attempt to do this. No idea if it will work, but I’ll try to come back here with results.