Loop Antennas

[SCPD]

Now that's what I call hidden! Many people wouldn't see it even if you pointed it out to them. Is that the Wellbrook 1530?

Yep it's the 1530+ Wellbrook (original model.)

Here's the complete blog post from the owner:

https://g0isw.wordpress.com/2013/02...-painting-wellbrook-1530-loop-in-mtp-pattern/

 

[ILSAPP]

Speaking about wellbrook antennas...

For SW receiving (portable radio) namely between 3 to 17MHz, which wellbrook model will be best suited?
Does the new ALA1530LNP will be the ticket? Really worth the extra money?

thank you

 

[SCPD]

Speaking about wellbrook antennas...for SW receiving (portable radio) namely between 3 to 17MHz, which wellbrook model will be best suited? Does the new ALA1530LNP will be the ticket? Really worth the extra money?

You'll likely fry your portable with a Wellbrook. You need a real receiver my friend. Portables are for just that... portable operation only.

For a portable you can get buy with just a simple random wire. It also depends on what you're trying to receive. If you're just after BCB stations then that will be fine.

If you want to go after weaker SWL stations then you need a receiver + wellbrook (outdoors!)

 

[ka3jjz]

'Fry' it? Not likely, unless it's one of those el-cheapo Chinese models (and with that kind of Hf coverage, it might well be), and even then, it's more likely overloading will be an issue (especially if the person is living on the East Coast, where BC stations tend to be stronger). If there's a gain control on the amp (there should be...) then that's really not a big deal

However, you're right about the radio - and the big push is in the field of Software Defined Radios or SDRs. This isn't the forum for it, so I will point you to our HF equipment and Software Defined Radios forums for more on this topic.

Back to antennas - loops are still your best friend, just not the expensive Wellbrooks. For example you can build a nice loop and switchbox for a heckuva lot less - if you have some soldering and small tool experience. It should work quite well on these portables - it did a fine job when I was using my RX320. I wouldn't say that it was the equal of any outdoor antenna - that would be foolish - but it did a darn good job for what it was. It's called the Carpet Loop, and the link is below. Highly recommended.

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

and there are any number of loop plans on the Net. Mike

 

[SCPD]

'Fry' it? Not likely, unless it's one of those el-cheapo Chinese models (and with that kind of Hf coverage, it might well be), and even then, it's more likely overloading will be an issue (especially if the person is living on the East Coast, where BC stations tend to be stronger). If there's a gain control on the amp (there should be...) then that's really not a big deal.

Wait what?? Mike, you were the one pushing everyone to make RF protection on SW portables many threads ago. :twisted: :roll:

There's no gain control on the Wellbrook. Shortwave receivers can deal with the signal levels -- shortwave portables... that's a crap-shoot.

My PL880 worked fine with my Wellbrook but I'm willing to bet that it has *some* kind of protection circuitry.

 

[ka3jjz]

Hmph - Don't mix apples and oranges - the amount of current and voltage associated with a received HFBC signal is much weaker than any static discharge - by several orders of magnitude. Not even a close comparison

But that little circuit with the diodes and gain control could easily be adapted for this purpose too - thanks for reminding me of that. Here's the original thread on that very topic

http://forums.radioreference.com/receive-antennas-below-30mhz/295299-great-first-timer-project.html

Mike

 

[ka3jjz]

Just a point here. Not everyone can afford a Wellbrook (or Pixel, for that matter) - and putting one of these on these el-cheapo portables is akin to shooting an elephant with a water pistol. As was mentioned earlier, it's quite likely that one of these expensive loops would seriously overload such a cheap radio. They're better used on SDRs and desktops, although it's certainly possible to use it on a better quality portable like the 880 or even the E1

We have a few home built loop plans linked in our wiki (along with the Carpet Loop article. You can undoubtedly find more schematics with a well structured Google search. And they're likely to be a whole lot cheaper than a Wellbrook or Pixel...Mike

 

[MisterLongwire]

I have no.issues running my Sangean 909X occasionally on my Pixel RF2. Emphasis on OCCASIONALLY. Otherwise its my R75 or Alinco. Never any overlaoding on the front ends, as I heard Wellbrook is famous for.that

 

[ILSAPP]

Well sorry but that is not always true.
One one hand it is true that most portable overload easily and have weak filtering but there are ones better than others, not all of them exhibit the same drawbacks.
For instance, I have a 909x which is a very solid radio and don't overload easily. I have used "more than a simple random wire" with much more success. I'm currently using a homebrew loop with excellent results.
So my question remains... there are any tested wellbrook antenna more tailored to my needs?

You'll likely fry your portable with a Wellbrook. You need a real receiver my friend. Portables are for just that... portable operation only.

For a portable you can get buy with just a simple random wire. It also depends on what you're trying to receive. If you're just after BCB stations then that will be fine.

If you want to go after weaker SWL stations then you need a receiver + wellbrook (outdoors!)

 

[ILSAPP]

Thank you for the tips. In reality I went to that route some time ago because of the cost of the wellbrook antennas. However everybody seems to love their antennas thus the motivation of my question if they worth the cost or not.
I'll look into the Carpet loop.

'Fry' it? Not likely, unless it's one of those el-cheapo Chinese models (and with that kind of Hf coverage, it might well be), and even then, it's more likely overloading will be an issue (especially if the person is living on the East Coast, where BC stations tend to be stronger). If there's a gain control on the amp (there should be...) then that's really not a big deal

However, you're right about the radio - and the big push is in the field of Software Defined Radios or SDRs. This isn't the forum for it, so I will point you to our HF equipment and Software Defined Radios forums for more on this topic.

Back to antennas - loops are still your best friend, just not the expensive Wellbrooks. For example you can build a nice loop and switchbox for a heckuva lot less - if you have some soldering and small tool experience. It should work quite well on these portables - it did a fine job when I was using my RX320. I wouldn't say that it was the equal of any outdoor antenna - that would be foolish - but it did a darn good job for what it was. It's called the Carpet Loop, and the link is below. Highly recommended.

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

and there are any number of loop plans on the Net. Mike

 

[majoco]

From the original post...

I enjoy listening to all of the bands, but really enjoy 500 kHz and below.

Your best bet for the LF bands in a compact antenna is to make your own tuned loop otherwise it's as high and long as you can get a piece of wire!

Here's one...

http://randombio.com/loopantenna.html

 

[ka3jjz]

And for information on such loops, there's probably no better place to start than the well-known Longwave Club of America. They specialize in everything below 500 khz, and have (last I looked anyway) lots of folks that can tell you about these and much more.

Longwave Home Page

Mike