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LOOP
AERIALS
AndATUs
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DXing&ShortWave|MakeASignalMeter|RidingOnARadioWave
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LOOP&FRAMEAERIALS
andANTENNATUNINGUNITS
LOOPS
ALooporFrameaerial isawonderfultooltoassistlongwaveandmediumwavereception
and,indeed,absolutelyessentialforseriouslongdistancereception(DXing).Fortunatelya
loopaerialisextremelyeasyandverycheaptoconstruct,youmayevenhavemostofthe
parts required in your junk box. I offer a few pointers to the construction of loop aerials
below.
ATUs
ForgoodShortWavereceptionlong'randomwire'aerialreallyisrequiredtodigthosedistant
stationsoutoftheether.Toeffectivelycouplesuchanaerialtoaradioamatchingunitcalled
anATU(AntennaTuningUnit)canbeextremelyhelpful.AnATUis relativelystraightforward
toconstructandusessimplepartsthatarequiteeasytoobtain.
>GototheATUspageforafewpointers.

LOOPAERIALS
Aloopaerialisextremelyhelpfulwhentryingtoreceivelongdistancestations,notonlywillit
dramatically 'boost' the signal received compared to using a portable radio's internal ferrite
rodaerialbecausealoopaerialismuchbiggerthanaferriterod,butitalsohastwoother
very useful properties: Directivity and Selectivity. Directivity is very useful in that it can
often be used to 'null out' an interfering station and selectivity is useful to overcome
overloading of the radio's 'front end' as the loop will tune very sharply to the required
frequencywillrejectingallothers.
When using a communications receiver a frame aerial might be more convenient than
installinga'longwire'antenna.Althoughaframeaerialmightnotcollectaslargeasignalas
areallylongwire,thedirectionalpropertiesareveryusefulfornullingoutinterferencefrom
unwantedstations.
Construction
AloopcanbemadeforMediumWaveandLongWaveandcan be of almostany sizeyou
wish,althoughitmustbesmallenoughtofitinyourlisteningroom!Thebiggertheareaof
theloopthemoresignalitwillcollect,theportableloopdescribedbelowisaround40cmin
diameterandisprobablythesmallestsizeworthconsideringtobeeffectiveanduseful.
Traditionallyloopaerialshavebeenmadeonlargeframesabout1metersquareforusewith
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communicationsreceiversandisessentiallyjustonelongpieceofthin'hookup'wirewound
approximately8to10timesaroundawooden(orothernonmetallic)frame.Theframecanbe
somewherebetweenabout50cmsquareand1msquarethedimensionsarenotespecially
criticalbutsomeexperimentationwillberequiredtofindtheexactnumberofturnsrequired
foraparticularsizeofframesothatthedesiredtuningrangewillbeobtained.Asthesize
of the frame is increased the inductance of the windings will increase, therefore it may be
found that slightly fewer turns will be needed for correct coverage. For example for the
Medium Wave band a 1m square frame may only need say eight turns on the main
windingcomparedwithtenturnsonasmallerframe.

Thebiggertheareaoftheframe,thelargerthesignalpickupwillbe.
Thewireendsofthismainwindingaresimplyconnectedacross pretty much any standard
mediumwavetuningcapacitor with a value of something about 300pF or 500pF or similar.
Again this is not especially critical, though like the number of turns of wire it will affect the
tuningrange.Thereforeifaverylowvaluecapacitorisusedsay150pFor200pFthenan
additionalturnormoreonthemainwindingmayberequiredtoenablethelowerfrequencies
tobetuned.Evenwitha300pFtuningcapacitoritwillprobablybenecessarytoincludean
additional fixed capacitor connected in parallel with the tuning capacitor that can be
switched in and out of circuit. This will enable the tuned circuit to resonate at lower
frequenciesandisshowninthediagramsbelow.
470pFmaybeagoodvaluetotryforthefixedcapacitor,butexperimentationwithdifferent
values may be necessary to suit the particular value of tuning capacitor and size of frame
beingused.
This loop of wire and tuning capacitor form a simple 'Tuned Circuit" which can be tuned
acrosstheMediumWavebandusingthevariabletuningcapacitor.

MWandLWFrameAerial
The illustration opposite was taken from a
very old listening guide and shows the
basic method of constructing a traditional
style large frame aerial. It is 40 inches
(100cm)squareandmadeofwoodwiththe
loopwindingswoundoverthefourplywood
'paddles. I have tried this method and it
works very well. Certainly the increased
surfaceareareallyimprovessignalpickup
and is ideally suited to 'communications'
receivers.
I have also experimented with different
shapes,since40inches(100cm)canbea
bit too wide for some small rooms. My
favourite is taller than it is long and is
hexagonal in shape being 150cm tall and
70cmwide.
For Medium Wave reception 9 turns are
requiredfor the main winding. A switched
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Constructionaldetails

capacitor to extend the tuning range could

alsobeincludedifthetuningrangeisfound
nottocoverthewholeoftheband.
CouplingorConnectingToTheReceiver:
When using a portable radio with a built in
ferrite rod ("Loopstick") aerial, it could be
quiteeasytoplacetheradioinsidetheloop
and therefore use Inductive Coupling
between loop aerial and the radio's own
aerial.Rotatingtheloopandradiotogether
for best reception by making use of the
aerial'sdirectionalproperties.
However when using a communications
receiverthat has a dedicated aerial socket
or antenna terminals then the frame aerial
mustbeconnectedtotheradiobyacable.
Sinceacommunicationsreceiverwillnot,in
most cases, have a ferrite rod / loopstick
antenna, the frame aerial cannot be
inductivelycoupledtotheradiointhesame
wayasforanordinaryportableradio:

ALongWaveLoopAerial

Therefore a second loop of wire the

inductivecouplingloopiswoundoverthe
mainwinding:Thisisjustonesingleturnof
wire,theendsofwhichcanforma'flylead'
that can be connected to the antenna
terminalsonthereceiver.Thissingleturnof
wireisshowninblueinthediagramsalittle
furtherdownthispage.
LongWave
For use for Long Wave reception
approximately30turnswillbeneeded.The
exact number will be established by a little
experimentationandadjustment.Thephoto
ontheleftshowsaLongWaveloopaerial.
Thewindingsarewoundoverthe'paddles'
described above and consist of 31 turns
plustheonecouplingturn.
The frame is made from broom handles
which are joined together using halving
joints and a screw. The base is used for
thisaerial and a Medium Wave loop aerial
and is made from an offcut of kitchen
worktopwhichisdenseandheavy.Ablock
isscrewedtothebasewithaholeboredin
ittosuitthediameterofthe'broomhandle'
frames.

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The tuning capacitor, switch and sockets

are neatly housed in a plasic enclosure of
the same type as the one used for the
portableloopdescribedabove.
1metersquareisprobablythelargestsizethatwouldnormallybeconsideredpractical.fora
frameaerialthatisusedinthehome,buteventhismaybetoolargeinsomedomestic
circumstances.ThisLongWaveloopisonly55cmwideand150cmhighandismoreeasily
accommodatedinasmall'boxroom'.

SomeHelpfulWiringDiagrams:
Applicabletoallstyles,shapesandsizesofloopaerial:

BasicWiringofaMediumWaveLoopAerial

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Usingadualgangtuningcapacitortotunetolowerfrequencies

Increasingthelowfrequencytuningabilitybyadding
aswitchablefixed470pFcapacitor

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Increasingthelowfrequencytuningabilityby
addinganadditionalswitchabletuningcapacitor

ShownAbove:Acloseupphotoshowingthe'controlbox'andthejointofthebroomhandles
thatfortheframe.Theloopwindingswhicharefirsttakentoatagstripandsolderedin
placebeforethewiresaretakenintothecontrolbox,thishelpkeepthewindingstaught.The
circuitforthisloopisthesameasfortheportableloopaboveexceptfortheadditionofa
variable1kresistoracrossthecoupledoutputtoactasasimpleattenuator.
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DiagramofLongWaveLoop
Asshownabove:Forasizethatmightbemoreeasilyaccommodatedinasmallerlistening
room,aframeaerialcanbetallerthanitiswideforexamplebetween120cmand150cmtall
and50cmto80cmwide.
TuningandOperation
Findaveryweakstationthatisalmostinaudible.Coupletheradiototheantennaand
rotatingthetuningcapacitorontheframeaerial:Astheresonanceoftheloopaerial
approachesthefrequencyoftheradiostationtherecoveredaudiowillrapidlybecomelouder
andcleareruntilitreachesapeak.Thepeakofloudnesswillbeattheexactpointof
resonanceoftheaeriali.e.iftunedtoaweakradiostationon,say,1566Kilohertzwhenthe
audioisatitsloudesttheaerialwillalsobetuned(resonated)at1566kHz.
Theautomaticgaincontrol(a.g.c.)circuitsofmostradioscanmaskthesepeakingeffects
somewhat,butitshouldstillbequiteobviouswhenthepointofresonanceisachieved.
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BandCoverage
TwoseparateframeaerialswillbeneededtocoverbothLongWave(150to280kHz)and
MediumWave(510to1611kHz).
Withthemediumwaveaerialthebandwavemaypossiblyneedtobecoveredintwopartsby
eitherhaving2tuningcapacitorswiredinparallel(dependingontheirvalue),orbyhaving
onetuningcapacitor(ofabout500pF)andafixedcapacitorthatcanbeswitchedintocircuit
(wiredinparallel)tocoverthelowerpartoftheband.
Togetthecorrectcoveragethetrickistosettheloopsaerial'stuningcapacitortoits
minimumvalue(vanesopen)andtunethereceivertothetopofthemediumwaveband
(1611kHzinEuropeand1705kHzinNorthAmerica)thenadjustthenumberofturnsofwire
woundaroundtheframeuntilthetopofthebandcanbetunedinand'peakedup'bythe
aerial'stuningcontrol.Sincethemaynotbeabroadcaststationpresentitwillbenecessary
tolistenforapeakintheoverallnoiselevel.
Important:Useasmanyturnsofwireontheloopthatwillstillallowthetopofthebandtobe
tunedin.Don'tremoveaturnunlessreallynecessarysincethemoreturnsofwirethereare
ontheloopthebetterthepickupwillbe.
Oncethatisdonecheckhowfardownthemediumwavebandtheaerialwillresonate.Itmay
onlytunedownto700kHzor800kHzforexample.Ifthat'sthecasethenafixedvalue
capacitorwillneedtobeaddedthatcanbeswitchedintocircuitconnectedinparallelwith
thetuningcapacitor.Thevaluewillvarydependinguponwhatvaluetuningcapacitorisbeing
used,thesizeoftheframeandthenumberofturnsontheloop,butmaybesomewhere
between200pFand600pF(ish).Withcarefulexperimentationtheexactvaluecanbe
establishedthatwillallowaparticularlooptotunedownto510kHzthelowestendofthe
mediumwaveband.

APortableMWLoopAerial
Withsmallerloopsandasmallportableradiowithabuiltinferriterod("Loopstick")aerial,itis
veryeasytoplacetheradioinsidethelooptoobtainthebestInductiveCouplingbetween
loopaerialandtheradio'sownaerial.Rotatingtheloopandradiotogetherforbestreception
bymakinguseoftheaerial'sdirectionalproperties.
The Portable MW LoopAerial, shown to
the left, is much smaller than many
traditional frame aerials at 40cm (17")
diameter. It is designed for use with a
portable radio. The radio is simply
placedinthemiddleoftheloopand the
signals collected are transferred to the
radioviaitsinternalferriterodaerial.
Thecircuitforaloopaerialcouldnotbe
simpler: A continuous length of wire,
such as 7/0.2mm 'hookup' wire, is
woundaroundthe40cmformertoforma
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loop of approximately 10 turns*. The

tuningcapacitorisconnectedacrossthe
loop so that it can be adjusted to
resonateatdifferentfrequencies.
(*about40to50turnsforLongWave).
If it is required to connect the loop to a
radio via its aerial input terminal then a
second winding of just 1 turn of wire is
wound over the main 10 turn winding.
This secondary winding acts as an
inductive coupling coil this is then
connectedtoasuitablesocketsothata
cable('flylead')canberunfromtheloop
aerialtotheradioreceiver'santennajack
orterminals.

Theportableloopinuse,theportableradioissimplyplaced
into the centre of the loop and the signals collected are
inductively coupled to the internal ferrite rod antenna of the
radio

Thecircuitdiagramontheleftshowsthe
main loop winding of ten turns (100uH)
and the variable capacitor which tunes
theloopaerialtotherequiredfrequency.
Ideally the tuning capacitor should have
a value of 700pF to cover the whole of
the medium wave band. However
standard 500pF tuning capacitors seem
to be more widely available and will
generally tune the medium wave band
fromaround700kHzto1600kHzwitha
10turnwinding.
The circuit diagram of the loop showing the 10 turn main
winding (100uH) and the tuning capacitor, together with a
secondcapacitorthatcanbeswitchedintocircuittoprovide
tuning of the lower frequencies of the medium wave band.
Thesecond1turncouplingwindingallowsdirectconnection
totheaerialterminalsofareceiver.

ToTune the lower portion of the band a

second capacitor can be switched into
the circuit to provide the increased
capacityrequired.Thesecondcapacitor
can be in the form of a variable trimmer
thatcanbepresettotherequiredvalue,
For Long Wave reception about 40 to 50 turns may be
usually around 200pF. The second
required.
capacitor could be another tuning
capacitor(asshowninthediagram),but
that could be rather expensive.
Alternatively a fixed capacitor could be
used, the best value determined after a
littleexperimentation.
The second coupling winding is of one
turn and allows the aerial to be directly
connected to any radio with antenna
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terminalsorandaerialsocket.
Scannedinbelowaremynotesfortheconstructionoftheportableloop.Theformerofthe
loopwasmadeoutof'Trent'plasticedgestripthatwasavailablefrommylocalDIYstore.
Thisedgingisabout20mmwidewitha6mmchannel,thoughanysimilaredgingorplastic
productsuchascurtaintrack,perhaps,couldbeused.Thestripisbentintoacircleof40
cmindiameterwiththechannelontheoutersideandfastenedtoawoodenblockwithsome
largeheadscrews.The10turnsof7/0.2mmhookupwirearecarefullywoundsidebyside
aroundtheformerandconnectedtothetuningcapacitor.Iusedredstripandbluewireto
becolourful.
Thesingleturncouplingwindingiswoundnexttothe main winding and connected to the
outputsocket.Isimplyuseda3.5mmjacksocketasthisisthesameasonaSonyportable
radio,thoughanycoaxialsocketcouldbeusedsuchasBellingLeeorPL259etc.
Theloopandwoodenblockarefixedintoasuitableplasticboxofabout150mmx100mmx
60mm, the wooden block and heavy tuning capacitor adding weight to aid stability. A
suitableboxwouldbeBOX034fromBowoodElectronics.

DrawingshowingtheexternalappearanceofthePortableLoopAerial

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Drawingshowinghowtheloopisfixedtoawoodenblockandsecuredinto
theenclosure

InternalphotoofloopaerialshowingairspacedTuningCapacitor(bottomleft),Range
Switch(topleft),OutputSocket(top),WoodenBlocktowhichtheloopformerisattached
(centre).
[Notethe3.5mmjacksocketonthebackpanel(topright),thisisforacrystalearphoneasthisloopisalsoa
portablecrystalsetseebelow]

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Asuitableboxwithcutoutstoaccommodatetheentryoftheloopintotheboxandholesfor
tuningcapacitor,switchandoutputsocket.

AsolidDielectricJacksontypetuningcapacitor
cansimplybemountedthroughthefrontofthe
boxandheldinplacewiththebrassnut.
Atraditionalairspacedtuningcapacitor
canbegluedtoawoodenblockusing
Araldite
whichisthenscrewedtothebottomof
thebox.

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ConnectingalooptoaradioreceiverorHiFituner

ACrystalSetLoop!

CrystalSetLoop!
Thecircuitdiagramaboveisaninterestingmodificationtotheloopaerial,andcanbemade
toanyloopaerial.Withtheadditionofagermaniumdiode(notsilicon)suchasanOA81,
OA91 or OA47, a 47k ohm resistor and a crystal earphone, the loop aerial becomes a
portablecrystalsetwhichisquiteeffectivegivensufficientsignalstrengthatyourlocality.
If signal strength is low then a long wire aerial could be connected to the crystal set and
usedinamorestandardcrystalsetconfiguration.Suchalongwireaerialcouldbecoupled
to the tuned circuit via a small trimmer capacitor of, say, 100pF. The capacitor would be
connectedtothetopofthetunedcircuit("hot"side)atthejunctionofthemainloop,tuning
capacitoranddiode.Alternativelytheaerial couldbeconnectedbyinductivecouplingand
wouldbeacheivedbyaddingasecondwindingaroundtheloopconsistingof,forexample,
one,two or three turns of wire: One end of this wire would be connected to the long wire
aerialandtheotherendofthelooptothe'earthy'sideofthetunedcircuit(junctionofmain
loop,tuningcapacitor,47kresistorandearphoneintheabovediagram.)

InUse
Thephotoontheleftshowsthefinished
Portable Medium Wave Loop in use, in
thiscasemerelyplacingtheradioinside
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the loop will obtain much improved

reception!
Theloopistunedtothefrequencyofthe
required radio station with the tuning
knob which will really peak up the
reception.
Rotating the loop will maximise the
signalstrength&/orminimisecochannel
or adjacent channel interference for
clearerreception.
Using this loop I can hear distant local
stations that would otherwise be
completely impossible to receive and it
helps improve reception on all other
weak stations. It's a nice little project
that produces a really useful listening
aid.
Once you've built this little beauty you
maywanttotrysomethingalargerframe
aerial design shown near the top of this
page.

ThePortableLoopinuse!

LOOPSFORHIGHERFREQUENCIES
I have done a little experimentation with loops above 1.8 MHz, but not too much. My
observationsarethus:
It will take a little experimentation with the number of windings on the loop to get the
requiredfrequencycoverage.Theactualnumberdependsonthesizeoftheframethatyou
areusing.Tobeabletoresonatethese higher frequencies the loop aerial requires fewer
turns than the standard medium wave loop. Try removing 2 or 3 turns of winding from a
mediumwaveloopandseewherethatgetsyou:Thensubtractoneturnatatimeuntilthe
desiredfrequencyrangeisachieved.Ideallythestartingpointoftuningatthelowerendof
therangeshouldbearound1.8MHzwiththetuningrangegoinguptoabout3MHz.This
should cover some interesting transmissions including the "Top Band" of the Amateur
Radio('HAM')bands.
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Thecouplingloopremainsatonesingleturnwhateverfrequencyrangeyouarereceiving.
Itisimportanttonote,however,thatthefewerturnsthattheloophas(i.e.inordertotuneto
thesehigherfrequencies)thelesssignalwillactuallybepickedupinmyexperiencethis
reducedsignalpickuphasbeenquitenoticeable! I found that for acceptable pickupthe
frameneededtobeatleast1msquare.Smallerloopsjustdon'tpresentenoughsignal.It
is for this reason that loops designed for long wave reception will necessarily have many
moreturnsthanamediumwaveloopandwillthereforebemuchmoreeffectiveatcollecting
signals.
Aloopforthehigherfrequenciesabovethemediumwavebandcouldbeusefulfordirection
finding and particularly for reducing cochannel interference (assuming the interfering
stationisatabout90degreestotherequiredstation),butforchasingweaksignalsalong
random wire, possibly with an ATU, will be much better from my observations. An
interestingexperimentnonetheless.

Above:PhotoofaframeaerialsentinbyanMDS975reader
Averyfineexample!

ANINCONSPICUOUSLOOPAERIAL
AnInterestingLoopAerialIdeabyAlbertoSanJuanwhowrites:
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Ilikeverymuchyourwebpage(radiosection),beingveryhelpfultome.IalsohaveaLoweHF150andhave
installedmyloopantennaaroundthesmallchestofdrawersnexttomydesk,asyoucanseefromthe
photographbelow.
Thismethodofconstructionhasmanyadvantages:
Nobigframesonyourtable.
Strongsupport,soitneverfallsover.
Givesyouextraspace.
Easytomoveandrotate,italsohas4wheels!
Easytoclean.
Easyandquicktohideunderthedesk/table.
Youcanplaceyourradioontopoftheaerialwindings,orconnecttoreceiverviacable.

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AlbertoSanJuan'sLoopAerialdesign
SothereyouareLOOPandFRAMEAERIALScheapandveryeasytomake!The
portableloopcertainlylooksthepart,beingveryneatandtidy.Thelargerframe
aerialsarebytheirverynaturemoreobtrusive,butcanbeevenmoreeffectiveat
collectingradiowaveenergyduetotheirextrasize.Ifconstructioniskeptneatand
tidywiththeroughedgesroundedoffandthecontrolshousedinaneatboxabigloop
neednotbeamajoreyesore.
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GoodLuckwithYOURloopaerialandhappyLWandMWDXing!
NextI'lltakealookatAntennaTuningUnitswhichwillhelpmatchyourlongrandom
wireaerialtoyourradio.ATU's,astheyareknown,willhelpwithShortWave
receptionaswellasLongandMediumWavetoo.ATU'sAerialTuningUnits

QUESTIONSABOUTAERIALS
HiMike,IliketolistentotheGeorgeNooryprogrammeCoastToCoastAM(ImissArtBell)
onWFLA970KHzAM.Theproblemis,whenIdocopythestation,it'salwaysoscillatingin
andoutand/ormixingwithsometropicalstation(I'minSouthFloridaUS).
Itriedanexternalloopwithfewerturnsandnocapacitorandjustgotsimilarresultsasalong
wire(exceptwhenIturnedthelooptoattenuatebothstationssimultaneously).MyDX'ing
SWLlongwirejustpicksuptheQRMevenwithaselectiveHallicrafter'sSkyChampion.I
wasconsideringbuildingandaimingabeverageantennaofhundredsoffeetwitha
terminatingresistorjusttotrytoisolatethisstation.
Uponbuildingyour40cmloopwith10turnsanda400pFaircap,Inowmakethestation
resonatesowellthatitsuccessfullyoverpowerstheinterferenceandtakeschargewhen
aimedandtuned.Ionlyregretmakingthehousingoutofcardboard.Theloopisthatorange
plasticracetrackthatHotwheelsorMatchboxcarsusefromthe70's(it'sthatold,too).
Ican'tbelieveI'mlisteningtonearperfect"CoasttoCoast"exoscienceandUFO'setc.real
timeovertheair.HamArtBellwhostartedtheshowwouldbeproud.
AndIcanaddaswitched200orsomicacapforthelowerAM&takethiswithmetoplay
withontheroad(myradiotousewiththisisoneofthoseSangean,Tecsun,orCranelike
radiosbutsoldbyRadioShackintheirdeaththrowsanditjustlovestheloop).Can'twaitto
trytopband.IwonderifIwouldeverpickupanylongwaveherewithaLWloop?Iwasgoing
totrythelongwireandswitchtheground/capconfigurationonmyLMatchtoeffectively
lengthenit,butdarntheloopmightworkbetter.
Cheersandthanksagain!
JeffBurris
W4VEY
TampaFLUSA
(February2016)
HiJeff,
Greattohearfromyou!IhavelistenedtoCoastToCoastwithGeorgeNooryonpastvisits
toCanadaandenjoyedtheprogrammeverymuchtoo!
Iamgladthatyoubuilttheloopantennaandfinditsousefulandeffective!Iusemine
regularly.
ThereisanAMstationthatIliketolistentoManxRadioontheIsleOfMan.Unusuallyfora
UKstation,theirtransmitterhasa'figureofeight'radiationpattern.About20kWe.m.r.p.to
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thenortheastandsouthwest,butonlyabout200wattse.m.r.p.tothenorthwestandsouth
eastinmydirection.Theloopreallyhelpsbringitinatnight!
Notsureifyou'llreceiveEuropeanlongwaveinFL,butIthinkit'sbeendone.You'llneeda
bigaerial,soperhapsthelarger150cmloopcouldworkforyou!
IwanttomakethemostofthisAMreceptionwhileIcansinceitisquitelikelythatmany,if
notmost,AMtransmittersintheUKwillcloseby2018to2020.BBCRadioFouronlong
waveisquitelikelytoclosein2020andthelargestAM'network'intheUK(BBCRadio5)
maycloseby2023.AlltheseradiostationsarealreadysimulcastonDABDigitalRadioin
manypartsoftheUK,withmanylistenersalreadychoosingthatmethodoflistening.Some
AMtransmittersmaycarryonforawhileafter2023tocoverareasthataredifficulttoreach
withVHFradio(DABdigitalradioisonVHFintheUK).
Ilovethosebigpowerhouse(50kW)northAmericanAMradiostations!Theyoftenhave
complextransmittersystems,withmultiplemastphasedarrayssothattheradiationpattern
canbeextremelydirectional,withdifferentdayandnightpatternsandpowers.
Oftenthenighttimepowerisafractionofthedaytimepower,andoftenmoredirectionaltoo,
sothatinterferencetoother,moredistantstationsislimited.Thiscan,ofcourse,
considerablyweakenthereceptiontosomeofthestation'smorelocallistenerspossiblyas
youhavefound,particularlywithinterferencecominginfromforeignstations,causingco
channelinterferenceandfading.
WFLA970hasfivetowers.IcanonlyseethreeofthemintheGoogleMapsscreenshot
below.
Fourtowersareusedduringthedaytoproduceadirectionalpatternwithamaximumpower
of25kW.
Fivetowersareusedatnighttoproduceamorerestrictedcoveragearea,withamaximum
powerof11kW.Seemapsbelow.

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73fornow!!HappylisteningandDXing!
Mike.

HiMike,IaminoutbackQueenslandAustralia,quiteremote,soradioisveryimportanttous
outhere.MyuseformyantennawillbetopullindistantAMbroadcastsfromwithin
Queensland(200to500kilometresaway)andjustveryoccasionallyfrominterstatein
outbackareasofAustralia.Mostlythesignalmaynotbereflected,justveryweakdueto
distance.Hopeyouunderstandmydilemma.
Ihaveconstructedasquareloopframewith750mmsides(diameter)withtwo320pfairgap
tuninggangs.Ittunesstationsrelativelywell.Myquestionrelatestothewirelengthforthe
primarywinding.Itooksomesuggestionsregardinglengthcalculationsforaerialsandfound
mostwaytoolongforthegangstobeabletotune.Iremovedwrapsoneatatimeasyou
suggestuntilIcouldgetthehigherfrequenciestopeak.Thatisallgood,buttheresultis
thatInowhaveonlysix(6)turnsofwireintheprimary.Only18metres.Sinceafullwaveis
about300metres,Ifeelthereoughttobeatleastaquarterwaveofwireintheprimary,75
metres.Isthereanyuseinincreasingthelengthoftheprimarycoilto75metres?Ifsohow
canthatbedone?

Youradvicewillbeenormouslyappreciated.Yoursfaithfully,GeoffDouglas.(February2015)

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HiGeoff,
Thanksforyouremail.
Ifoundthemediumwaveloopantennatobeanextremelyrewardingproject.Iamsurethat
youwillfinditveryusefultoo.
Withregardtoyourquestionconcerningwirelength:Thelengthofthewiredoesnotreally
havequitethesamerelationshiptowavelengththatyoumightexpectifyouweredealing
withmorefamiliarreceiving(andtransmitting)aerials.
TheaerialsthatmanyradioenthusiastsmaywellbefamiliarwitharetheHalfWaveDipole,
theQuarterWaveVerticalMonopoleorFullWaveLoop,forexample.
TheHalfWaveDipoleisfedatthecentreandconsistsoftwoquarterwave'arms'eitherside
ofthatcentralfeedpoint.Suchanantennaisoftenseeninstalledhorizontally,soitsformwill
looklikeaTtheverticalfeedercablefeedingthetwo1/4wave'arms'.Thetotallengthof
theantennaisthereforehalfawavelengthlong.Soforamediumwavefrequencyof(for
example)720kHz(416metres)theaerialwouldbe(approx*)208metreslong.
TheQuarterWaveVerticalMonopoleissimplyonehalfofaDipole,fedagainstground.Soit
wouldbe(approx*)104metreshigh.Thegroundmaybeanetworkofradialwiresandearth
rods.Sometimestheverticalsectionmaybe'loaded'toshortenit,thusreducingits
efficiency.Alternatively,forreception,itmaybeinstalledasanInvertedLform:Madeoutof
wire,theverticalsectionwouldbesupportedonanonmetallicverticalpoleashighas
practicable,withtheremainderoftheaerialwirerunouthorizontallytobesupportedatitsfar
endbyanothersupportingpole,buildingorobject.
TheFullWaveLoopis,asitsnamesuggests,isaloopofwirethatisonefullwavelength
longatitsdesignfrequency,inthiscase(approx*)416meterslong.Itmightbesupportedas
highaspossibleabovethegroundonsuitablepolesortowers,asahorizontalcircleormore
oftenasquare.Thefeedpointwillbeasomepointonitscircumference.
Themediumwaveframeaerialisslightlydifferent.Certainly,foragivensizeofformer
(frame)alongerlengthofwirewillbeneededforlongerwavelengths.However,theloop
formsatunedcircuitwiththecapacitor.Thefrequency(wavelength)thattheloopwillbemost
sensitivetoisdeterminedbythecapacitanceofthevariablecapacitorandtheinductanceof
theloop'saerialwinding:Themoreturnsofwireontheinductor,thelowerthefrequencythat
willbeattained.Also,thelargertheinductor,thelowerthefrequencywillbecoveredsofor
agivenfrequency,thelargertheframethefewernumberofturnswillbeneeded.
Similarly,thelargerthecapacitance,thelowerthefrequency.
It'sworthnotingthatthelargertheframe,thelargerthearea,andhencethegreaterthe
signalpickupwhichisausefulconsiderationwhentryingtoreceiveweakanddistant
stations.1metresquareframesarequitepopular.
You'llsee,therefore,thatit'snotquiteassimpleasaquarterwavelengthofwireisneeded
foragivenwavelength!
Iwonderwhatspecificstationsyouaretryingtoreceive?
Ihopethathelps.
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Happylistening.
(*AerialssuchasaHalfWaveDipoleorQuarterWavewould,inpractice,beabout5%
shorterthantheactualcalculatedlength)
Geoffreplied:HiMike,Thankyouforgettingbacktomesosoon,andthankyoualsoforthe
detailedexplanation.Itisdifficulttofindsomeonewithsuchknowledgenowadays.Yoursisa
dyingartamongthegeneralcommunity.
ItseemsIhaveitworkingaswellascanbeexpected.Ihaveaddedasecondarysingleturn
loop.Ithashelpedthegainconsiderably.SomuchsothatIoftenreceivesignalsfromAsia
whichdrownouttheAustralianonesonsomestations.NottheantennasfaultIknow.
InowwanttoaddsomecoaxsothatIcanmounttheantennaonastickaboveground
outsidethebuildingatabout10metresheight.Sothereceiverwillbeabout15metresfrom
theloopantenna.Isthatgoingtoworkwithoutabooster.Ifaboosterisneeded,canyou
suggestagoodone.
Thankyousomuch.Appreciateyouradvice.Idonthavealotofneighbourscloseaboutwho
Icouldaskforsuchadvice.
Yoursfaithfully,GeoffDouglas
HiGeoff,Youcanusecoaxtoconnectthelooptoaradioreceiver.Theeffectivenesscan
dependonthereceiveritselfsometunersworkquitewellwithadirectconnection,while
othersmaybeoverloadedandwouldworkbetterwithaninductivecouplingcoilplacednear,
orontheirownferritebarantenna.
Aboostershouldnotberequired,butitmaybepossibletousesomethinglikeadifferential
amplifier,perhaps,ifonewasneeded.Idoubtitwillthough.
Withregardtoremotelocationbearinmindthatonceplacedawayfromtheradioreceiver,
theloopwillbetunedtojustonefrequencyonestation.Tochangethefrequency,you'd
havetogooutsideeverytimeandretunethe320pFcapacitor!Iwouldexperimentfirstthe
performanceshouldbebetteroutside,butthedifferencemaynotbeworththebother.
Remembertoothattheaerialscomponentswouldhavetobefullyandeffectivelyweather
sealed.
Bestwishes,Mike.

HiMike,Thankyouindeedforsharingyourknowledge.Itisnicetocommunicatewith
someonewhoiscluedonthesesubjects.

Ishouldhavementionedearlier,thereceiverisaSangeanATS909.Ithasaexternal
antennajack,aswellastheferriterodandtelescopic.Italsohasadjustablegaincontrol.The
frequenciesIammostwantingarebetween540khzand700khz.Thereistheodd
commercialstationaround11001400khz,buttheyarenotcritical.

Thankyoufortheheadsupontheexternalantennasetup.Iwasplanningtomakeit
demountablesothatitcanbeinsideininclementweatherandinsituationswhereitisnot
neededexternally.Wehaveprettydryconditionsmostlyanyway,andnofrostsatall.

Otherfolkaroundhereareveryinterestedinyourthread.Soyouarehelpingseveralother
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thanjustme.

Thankyouagain,Cheers,Geoff.
HiGeoff,It'sworthtryingadirectconnectiontotheATS909ifithasavariablegaincontrol.
Theusefulnessofthegaincontroldependsonwhereitisplacedinthefrontendcircuit.Ifis
isplacedafterthefirststageofanyRFamplification,itmaynotbeentirelyeffectivewith
strongsignalsasthefirststagemayalreadybeoverloadedbeforereachingthesubsequent
gaincontrol.
Overloadingwillbenoticeablebyanincreaseinbackgroundnoiseandintermodulation
problems,forexample.Inwhichcaseyoucouldaddavariableattenuatorintothefeedline,
orsimplyuseinductivecouplingtotheradio'sinternalferritebarantenna.
WithregardtosomestationsbeingswampedbyotherstationsfromAsia,thenyoucantry
rotatingtheframeaerialtonullouttheinterferingsignal.Thethenullsarefairlysharpand
canhelpreducetheunwantedstationenoughtomakethewantedstationaudible.Thelong
distanceinterferencewillnodoubtbereceivedatduskandafterdarkwhenthelowerD
Layer(about50milesabovetheearth)oftheionospheredissipatesandallowssignals
throughtobereflectedfromthehigherFLayers(about100to300milesabovetheearth)in
theionosphere,causinglongerdistance(DX)receptionofthosestations.
Iamgladthatothersareinterestedinthisideatoo!
Thanksforgettingincontact.
Bestwishes,Mike.

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