antenna question

[radiomancanada]

i own a AOR LA 400 indoor loop antenna i was wondering when it is hot outside and no rain if i hang this from a tree about 10 feet off the ground would the reception be better.

 

[Turbo68]

When i had my aor la-400 loop couldnt even hear my local airport ndb which is 6 km from me it didnt matter indoor or outdoor sold it with no regret.

Regards Lino.

 

[devicelab]

I would agree with Lino in that wide-band loops purporting to work well on HF (and most of the RF spectrum) generally lack in performance. The AOR is extremely over-priced and its performance is questionable.

For HF you're better off buying a Wellbrook: North American Versions

For wideband monitoring you're better off with something like a discone: Diamond D3000N, D-3000N Discone Antenna

 

[ka3jjz]

Actually you can get a bit cheaper than the Wellbrook - W6LVP has a loop that's almost 1/2 the price of the Pixel and Wellbrook antennas. And would you believe MFJ has one now too, that's about the same price range as W6LVP's? (just keep in mind that hams call MFJ 'Mighty Fine Junk' for a reason - some of their stuff is terrible...)

Besides the LA400 is not made to be outdoors. Not for a permanent mounting by any means. The 2 I just mentioned are. Here are the relevant links

MFJ Enterprises Inc.

https://www.w6lvp.com/product/amplified-receive-only-mag-loop-antenna-with-power-inserter/

Mike

 

[ka3jjz]

The LA400 is way overpriced for what it purports to do - but don't let that sway you into thinking that wide band loops aren't any good. That's sheer and utter nonsense. There are many reviews out there of various Wellbrook (that have won several WRTH awards) and Pixel loops that say otherwise.

And here are over a dozen reviews (yes, user level, not really technical) of the W6LVP model (with the relay for transceivers which is meaningless for just receive performance)

W6LVP Receiving Amplified Loop with transmit/receive switchbox Product Reviews

Mike

 

[ka3jjz]

Here are a few more links with reviews, some of which from our Loops wiki .

Pixel Technologies Active Magnetic Loop Antenna PRO 1B Product Reviews

Review of the DoxyTronics 8020CA magnetic loop antenna | The SWLing Post

A preliminary review of the PK Loop C-LOOP-HDSW6-18 | The SWLing Post

Wellbrook ALA-1530 Active Magnetic Loop Antenna Product Reviews

Wellbrook ALA-330 active magnetic loop antenna Product Reviews

Now I'm not saying that a loop is a magic bullet for everyone, but it's quite clear that there are those that perform. Some of them are not nearly as expensive as a Pixel or Wellbrook.

Mike

 

[Boombox]

I have no interest in a loop for HF but I'm curious as to the answer for OP's question: if he put the loop outside, as opposed to inside, and elevated it 10 feet or so up, would it work better than it does inside?

My guess it the answer would depend on whether he is on a second floor or not, and how much RFI he may need to avoid. At least, that would be the answer for most other indoor antennas (like the indoor wire I use presently).

 

[ridgescan]

i own a AOR LA 400 indoor loop antenna i was wondering when it is hot outside and no rain if i hang this from a tree about 10 feet off the ground would the reception be better.

My stock answer to this is-you tell us! Go hang it up in that tree and see for yourself. Here at my QTH, experimentation is how I found what works best in my environment. This goes to what boombox said about your particular situation.

 

[majoco]

I'm thinking of making something along these lines....

Loop Antenna.

I won't need the relay to desensitize it when I'm transmitting - mainly because I don't - and I was thinking about making the loop out of RG8 - just the connecting to the braid of course - maybe enclosing it in a extra layer of black irrigation hose which is UV resistant. I made a BC band loops a while ago which I don't use so the frame of that could come in handy....

https://forums.radioreference.com/a...d1468106460-followed-me-home-dscf1098-sml.jpg