Anybody ever use one of these?

[KB2GOM]

HF Loop Antenna For Amateur Radio Or Shortwave Receiver APARTMENT & HOA FRIENDLY | eBay

If you can erect an outside antenna, this is always the best solution for reception as no inside antenna can compete with a good outside antenna for the very best signal reception. But erecting an outside antenna is not always possible for many people desiring to listen to amateur radio or...

www.ebay.com

 

[littona]

I haven't but a lot of people do. The one thing that's problematic for loop antennas is that they have a very narrow tuning range. I wouldn't think that it would be practical for the average SWL.

 

[ka3jjz]

Au contraire mon capitane - these antennas are probably better for folks that can't put up anything outdoors because they're in a high rise or something else that makes it near impossible to put anything anywhere else. Passive loops - which have no amplifier - like the above may also be very useful in terms of getting rid of unwanted spurs from other services - something that you can easily have issues with if you live near a major city. Yes they require retuning but the payoff in a lower noise level and a bit of additional selectivity is a bonus.

Antennas like these would likely work well with some portables and almost certainly some of the HF capable SDRs. They'll work OK for desktops (like a Drake, Kenwood or JRC radio) but the signal levels may leave a lot to be desired.

Active loops (Wellbrook, Pixel, W6LVP. et.al) need no tuning at all and use a broadbanded amp to bring the signal levels up

Mike