I'm now using the MLA-30+ Active Loop Antenna as my primary receive antenna. I have it installed with a Rotator. Thank you for watching! #mla30 #swl #loopantenna Donation Tip Jar: www.paypal.com/donate/?hosted...
Also have an MLA-30+ for my ApacheLabs Anan 200D and have had it for a few years. Have tested with different sized loops for it and with different meterials such as aluminum wire and copper pipes etc. I think it does a very good job for what it costs. After that I bought some preamps from Cross Country Wireless in the UK and continued to experiment with different loops and got a much better result. Also have large passive loops at different heights and beavers for RX as I think it's fun to experiment with such things and make them so you can hear better.
Darren, if you like a loop as many of us do, consider to buy a higher quality grade loop. Be careful to place your loop away from transmitting antennas. As you mounted it now so close to the skyloop it will give you problems in due time, and it will be damaged. I and others have experienced this. Also, the skyloop will have a capacitive influence in reception of the MLA-30. Do try to connect a reception loop to a reception antenna port on your radio. Sooner or later, you will make a mistake and transmit on it. Good luck with the setup and the hobby.
Sophie is adorable! Magnetic loop antennas are so compact and work so well to avoid qrm, qrn noises and with a good preamplifier they are great antennas for receiving weak signals. 73
From this video, it certainly seems like signal strength (and signal to noise ratio?) has increased with increased height of your MLA-30+. What has been your experience regarding directionality of the MLA-30+ loop as a function of antenna height and frequency? Here is what I have read about small loop antenna performance as a function of: (*) Height: An online essay titled "Tips for using a Magnetic Loop antenna" for the Alpha MagLoop antenna says: "Minimum mounting height is 1 loop diameter high (about 3 feet or higher) off an earth ground. Optimum height is 2 loop diameters high. Higher makes the antenna omnidirectional, defeating the goal of directivity. Placing the Alpha Loop higher also enables it see above and past obstacles." An online essay by LZ1AQ titled "Impact of the Height Above the Ground to the Receiving Performance of a Small Wideband Magnetic Loop" concludes by saying, "Practically, we can mount a small vertical wideband loop at any height which is convenient for our local requirements without deteriorating its performance." He tried one loop at ground level and another at about 3 meters (10 ft) with very similar results, but your loop is much higher than 3 m (10 ft). (*) Frequency: I have read that the MLA-30+ is directional in the MW rtange but not very directional at frequencies above a certain point in the HF range. (*) Horizontal vs Vertical Orientation: Another online essay titled simply "Loop Antenna" says: "Loop antennas can be oriented either horizontally or vertically. Horizontal loop antennas, also known as skywave antennas, are commonly used for long-range communication due to their ability to capture signals reflected from the ionosphere. Vertical loop antennas, on the other hand, are more effective at capturing groundwave signals [hence LW and MW frequencies] and are often used for short-range communication and direction finding." I have not seen many hams or SWLs write about horizontally-mounted small loops.
It looks like you have 6 DB less noise on the Active loop. Did you notice a significant difference between when it was at ground level vs on the roof ? On my MLA-30+, I've done the popular modification of installing a BNC connector and I run LMR-195 instead of the cheap coax. I Also installed 2 Schottky diodes to bridge the loop, this protect the internal circuit from being damaged from RF overload.
Nice work!! Take a look at AF6SA's PWRC (Portable Wi-Fi Rotor Controller) .. I use it with the same rotator and a LiPO battery for portable work. Nice web interface.. makes it remote with no control box.
Génial , je suis impressionné par la station ! Dites moi quel est le logiciel utilisé pour la réception sdr et ou peut on le télécharger ? 14 Echo Lima 14 Normandie France .
My MLA-30 just got dragged back out of the box recently, I paused this video to go to the local hardware store, unfortunately they did not have some of the PVC fittings I wanted. I plan on ditching the wire the loop was supplied with and replacing it with a loop on a + shaped PVC frame. FWIW the MLA-30 does have some strange frequency response anomalies which don't suit some users. Subjectively mine works well on the lower HF amateur bands. 73
@@DarrenN4VFR I think the original spring steel would suit loft mounting but it is doomed outside. Hopefully today I will get this project completed, 32mm PVC pipe, solvent adhesive and a few junctions. My revised loop will be a diamond shape with diagonals of 2m. Edit: I have had to order some fittings, so project will continue tomorrow, something you might look at is copper brake pipe for the loop, you may need to add short tails or eyelets to the ends. 73
Darren the receive loop appears to be better than your other ant. I do have quit question on the clock bar graph. I am going to get it but my question is can you disable the graph by not connecting the audio cable and turn the adjustment all the way down on the audio speaker on the back. How are you doing it in all the videos your clock is always on the clock. Thanks buddy Bruce W4HAM
I have an MLA30 and I could NEVER get that wire to form a loop. The memory in that wire that comes for the loop has memory that is horrible. BTW, did you try rotating the loop to on some weaker stations? Thanks Darren.
The loop is flimsy and when the wind blows, I can see it flop around. The RCA rotator has a little play, not a precise rotator but it works. The weaker signals are just a tad better and I think its because it's being amplified.
