Hi All,?

This has proven to be a very informative group so far, appreciate the information and willingness to share.?

I am looking for a loop that to be used as an HF RX antenna (160-10m) in an urban environment. The main purpose is to use to null out local noise. I don't do much SWL or any receiving below 160m. I had an MLA30 and was impressed with the improvements it had, however did find that it was primarily useful on 40m for me, but was not much better than my dipole on 20, 15, 10. The MLA was damaged in a windstorm (due to my having replaced the wire with an aluminum flat bar loop, the impact destroyed the amplifier). But whatever loop I do get will be on a 10ft mast cemented a few feet into the ground, with a rotator.?I see lots of reviews and comments on the performance of various loops on bands lower than 160m. While I don't mind good performance there, that is not my primary need. Primarily I will be using on bands higher than 160m.?

So, given that criteria, I have been looking at a variety of loops on the market.

• DXE/Pixel option looks nice, but the nearly $600 USD once shipped is out of my price range for this project.
• MFJ 1886 or a W6LVP loop for less than $350.
• Wellbrook for less than $400 USD as well including shipping, if I am doing my math correctly.
• Chameleon RX Loop looks to be a very expensive ($500) copy of a M0AYF design?
• DIY with a LZ1AQ loop amp. I'm not opposed to building my own, I have aluminum bar, copper pipe, PVC and can solder just fine. if a $100 DIY loop will perform on HF bands nearly as well as $300 loops, I don't mind going with that option.

Any thoughts given my use case, which may be better suited for my needs? If Wellbrook is a great option for me, I would also need help determining if the 1530 or the 1530LN is the best bet for me as well. I would assume the LN option is better - but someone more knowledgeable can tell me if it will be better on 160-10m or if it may be more suited for reception below 160m? I did send a message via Wellbrook site a couple weeks ago on the options and what may better suite HF RX, but unfortunately did not receive a reply.?

Thanks all!

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On Thu, Jan 6, 2022 at 11:48 PM, Andrew Ikin wrote:

DIY with a LZ1AQ loop amp. I'm not opposed to building my own

That's the option I would go for.

The ready built amplifier is very good value of money, and as you can remotely select different antenna combinations, it's an ideal basis for further experimentation.



Chavdar's excellent webpages have loads of useful supporting information.



Otherwise from the list you have chosen, I'd go for the Wellbrook, and wouldn't consider any of the others.

Regards,

Martin

I am also looking to buy a loop for the exact same reasons as the original poster. Why would someone pick the Wellbrook LN over LNP models? What are the advantages / disadvantages of both?

I would go either DIY or if you do buy, go with the W6LVP.

For my own use, I built a nearly exact copy of the W6LVP and it works very, very well. Sits on a mast 6ft. high in my back yard with a small rotator, and has become my main receive antenna because it performs much better on receive than my other antennas which are an end-fed and a dipole. Dipole & end-fed are both very noisy here. With the loop, I can null noise to almost nothing, and signal-to-noise ratio is generally much higher than with the other antennas.

If you decide to buy rather than DIY, I recommend the W6LVP stuff because I've heard that Larry is second to none with customer service.

Another option for you is to buy only the amplifier from W6LVP and homebrew everything else. I'm pretty sure that he would sell you only the amplifier.......?

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Thanks for the info Andrew. Would 3 miles from a 1500 watt AM broadcast station be too close?

Ryan W6ZAR

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On Sun, Jan 9, 2022 at 06:11 PM, Zulu-Romeo wrote:

go with the W6LVP.

Personally I wouldn't.

If you look at the amplifier input impedance measurements in the files section

/g/loopantennas/files/Loop%20Amp%20Tests%20by%20AA7U

You will see that the W6LVP has less than ideal characteristics, especially when compared to some of the other designs mentioned on this list.

It may be OK on frequencies between 2 and 20MHz, but not so much outside of these limits, the reasons for this are outlined on my webpage



Take a listen to the many KiWi web sdr's in North America, some of which are using W6LVP loops, I don't think any of them could be classed as 'stellar' performers.



Regards,

Martin

Hi all, again.?

Turns out a local club member actually purchased a 1530LN a number of months ago, but was unable to deploy fully. He is willing to sell to me for a very reasonable price.?So, at least this time around, guess that answers my question. I greatly appreciate the replies, however.?

I am curious, I have quad-shield RG-6 75Ohm coax already running to the location of the antenna. What are my biggest downsides to using that and adapting to BNC vs running some new 50Ohm coax instead. And on that note, I'd be running about 40ft of coax. would I see any benefit of going with something like RG-8X or LMR-240 vs just some (good quality of course) RG-58?

?

Now to start digging a hole and cementing a post in the ground!

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