Is there anyone out there? CQ CQ loop users

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cmike...@gmail.com

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Dec 29, 2015, 3:41:08 PM12/29/15
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I use a non-resonant loop fed with coax and tuned by a remote antenna tuner mounted at the loop. It works for me 80M-10M.

Mike - WI5H

Marc

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Dec 29, 2015, 7:39:34 PM12/29/15
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Hi Mike
My loop is clearly the best wire antenna I've ever used in my 50+ years of amateur radio.  It's a 272 foot horizontal loop up about 40 feet in sort of a polygon configuration, dependent on tree locations.  I feed it with 450 ohm twinlead to a 4:1 balun located closed to my rig. A short length of coax finishes the run.  The internal tuner on my FTdx1200 loads every band 80 through 6, except for 60 meters, which I'm never on anyway.  It's been up for over 4 years and I've never had a TVI or any RFI complaint.  A great antenna.  With it, I earned a 1st place low power North Carolina finish in Sweeps.
73
Marc, W4MPS

Frank Allen

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Dec 30, 2015, 8:39:20 PM12/30/15
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I have my 160M loop up about 12-15 ft, strung through the trees., with Lexan bottles filles with water used to take up the wind, and snow. QRZ.com pictures show it well. Wonderful sound in the Winter, with the water in the bottles frozen banging gently against the trees, a wind chime of sorts.  I work 160 through 10. It is feed with ladder line and 4:1 balun, and a short length of coax into the shack.  The wire came from a artisian well that was having the pump replaced, 160 ft of three solid copper wires. It is put up with wire nuts and some crimps. Been up for four Winters and love it.
 

On Tuesday, December 29, 2015 at 3:41:08 PM UTC-5, Mike - WI5H wrote:

Jason Buchanan

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Jan 4, 2016, 10:52:29 AM1/4/16
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howdy howdy,

I've made a few loops for the higher bands that were impressive.........  

I have a 10 meter loop made out of rigid tubing...  I did the same to make a 20 meter loop.  I slid the metal tubing through the eyelets of ceramic insulators to support it.

vy 73 de N1SU

Ronald Johnson

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Jan 4, 2016, 12:42:45 PM1/4/16
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That is a new one, never heard of one being done this way how did it work how high was it, and how did u support it. 73 de KC4EQR

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Jason Buchanan

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Jan 6, 2016, 3:49:15 PM1/6/16
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hi -

what I used is similar to this insulator - 


INSULW1 Heavy-Duty, Large, two and a half inch Ceramic Insulators for antenna suspension and end insulators



the tubing was narrow enough to thread it through the holes in the insulator - I tied off the other end with dacron rope.  

4 insulators was enough to keep it in shape without a lot of bending

I tied the rope ends to the end of a portable fiberglass mast - the rope made it look like a big umbrella.

the feed point ladder line was brought back to the pole at the same height as the loop to keep the feed line from pulling that side down.  I think I put a half turn twist in it.


I heard/read about a guy using the flexible aluminum tent poles to make "foldable/packable" loops but never tried it.  


73 de N1SU


Ronald Johnson

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Jan 6, 2016, 4:19:00 PM1/6/16
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Sounds good. got an 80 meter 270 ft up now trying to figure out how to change it into a 160 meter loop using the same area. if I can figure it out.

Andy

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Jan 6, 2016, 11:25:22 PM1/6/16
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On Wed, Jan 6, 2016 at 4:18 PM, Ronald Johnson <ronald.j...@gmail.com> wrote:

Sounds good. got an 80 meter 270 ft up now trying to figure out how to change it into a 160 meter loop using the same area. if I can figure it out.

I am told that you can use a "full-wave" loop on half the design frequency by just opening the loop on the point half way around the loop from the feedpoint, turning it into an open loop.  You don't get the benefit of a closed loop's inherently low p-static noise, but at least it is resonant and can get out.

Of course there are plenty of articles that tell you to feed the 80 meter loop common-mode (feeding both feed wires in parallel) to use it on top-band.  But then the only part of all that wire that radiates on 160, is the feedline.  All that nice loop wire acts as just a top-hat capacitive load.  That seems like a let-down.

Regards,
Andy


Ronald Johnson

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Jan 7, 2016, 12:26:41 AM1/7/16
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I dont know where my mind was, I forgot its already 1/2 wave dipole for 160 meter. Tks  for waking me up. The loop is already cut at 135 ft with a jumper connecting both halfs together. I will just cut the jumper and insert an egg there. I will see how it works.
..

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