Sr. Citizen with sw Antenna Question

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BOBRR

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Boston, MA
Hello,

Do sw listening below 30 MHz.

It is unfortunately not practical to run a long-wire antenna outside, or anything in an attic.

I can, of course, run a wire around three or four walls in my study where
my receiver is, but was wondering:

Many years since I've researched this:

Is there available these days any "compact" receive only antenna that one might
keep on their desk that is not too big, and works (very) well for frequencies below 30 MHz ?

Cost would have to be below around $ 50 perhaps.

Thanks, appreciate the help,
Bob
 

ecps92

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Joined
Jul 8, 2002
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14,360
Location
Taxachusetts
YMMV as to how effective it is, but looks avail in Tax Free NH
https://www.hamradio.com/detail.cfm?pid=H0-008248

Hello,

Do sw listening below 30 MHz.

It is unfortunately not practical to run a long-wire antenna outside, or anything in an attic.

I can, of course, run a wire around three or four walls in my study where
my receiver is, but was wondering:

Many years since I've researched this:

Is there available these days any "compact" receive only antenna that one might
keep on their desk that is not too big, and works (very) well for frequencies below 30 MHz ?

Cost would have to be below around $ 50 perhaps.

Thanks, appreciate the help,
Bob
 

ka3jjz

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Jul 22, 2002
Messages
25,361
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Bowie, Md.
If you have a good junk box and am not afraid to build something, I'd suggest this - I used this a few years back and it was pretty effective...

The Carpet Loop -- antenna special on hard-core-dx.com

And something else I built, altho using it with a good transmatch is a very good idea...

The McGyver(tm) special - The RadioReference Wiki

Keep in mind that indoor antennas are seriously compromised by all the nearby noise sources as well as attenuation from the building itself (in some cases). Any decent outdoor antenna will perform better than an indoor one, but these 2 worked pretty well for me. The beauty of both of these is that you can make them as large or small as you need. Mike
 

ka3jjz

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A small caution here - you will notice that the schematic for the Carpet Loop tuner has 2 diodes across one of its ports. This is for static protection, but in some cases, like the project shown elsewhere, under certain high RF conditions, these could conduct and start causing noise all over the place. You can substitute other things in its place, such as a small gas discharge tube, a small light bulb from a flashlight, or just remove the diodes entirely

Mike
 

majoco

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New Zealand
The Degen 31MS loop has got some good write-ups - I have one on order - available from Aliexpress.com or anon-co.com - less than US$20
 

ka3jjz

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Jul 22, 2002
Messages
25,361
Location
Bowie, Md.
I think - I could be wrong here - that Bob is using a WinRadio. Not that these little antennas like the Degen or the wind up wouldn't work - they likely would - but skimping on the antenna when you are using a world class radio just shoots you in the foot. The results aren't likely to be all that good.

If it were me, I'd be looking at the LVP loops, but his budget is real tight...Mike
 
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