Antennas are always a fascinating and debatable subject. My 2 cents on the Mag loops is that they can be a useful addition in the right circumstance if you spend the time to learn how to use them properly. I do a lot of SOTA and portable work and I find the loop is often a good solution for a quick setup especially if you need a low profile or don’t have good support options for wires. I prefer a resonant dipole if possible,or an end fed with counterpoise,but the loop can be effective where that’s the best option. The trick is to get it at least 6-8 feet high and far enough away from any metal structure,and a reasonable distance from you the operator! They can be finicky to tune and you can’t move easily more than 10 kHz without retuning. Since I’m usually just on SOTA frequencies or QRP it’s not an issue. CW is really the best mode as you’re limited in power to usually 10-20 W by the loop. You must pay close attention to construction also-I personally found the W4OP loop to be of superior quality compared to others. Dale W4OP is an active ham who takes pride in his product (not unlike Wayne and Eric!). They are kinda spendy but you get a very well made unit plus excellent customer support. They’re a bit bulkier than others but will cover more bands effectively,including 40 and 60 (and 6) meters than other brands . I use a collapsible photo light tripod to mount mine-if you use a tripod you should order the tripod adapter as well. They now offer a remote tuning option which the late Joe Everhart N2CX reviewed recently in QST. Dale W4OP also is active on the Mag loop reflector and will offer excellent advice on home brewing loops should you want to try that. Before you buy one try to borrow one and do some research to see if it’s the right fit for you. Lots of options for antennas.
Dan Presley 503-701-3871 danpresley@me. com n7...@arrl.net > On Jun 5, 2019, at 08:29, W8JH <j...@hoffmaninv.com> wrote: > > Mark, > > I have always been a fan of resonant quarter wave vertical antennas. MFJ > makes a 17 foot collapsible whip antenna which sells for around $60 IIRC. > With this whip I can extend to a resonant quarter wave anywhere from 6m to > 20m. Although I experimented with properly cut radials for each band I > found it was not worth the trouble. Four 17 ft long radials work well > enough for me and are easy to coil up and transport. The whip itself > collapses down to about 31 inches long. > > Another ham did a nice writeup here: > http://www.kd5fx.com/FXportable/fx_portable_antenna.htm > > With this setup I was able to work VP8SGI on 20m CW with my KX3 while > travelling in Arizona. Anectdotal evidence but it was fun for me to get an > ATNO this way. > > 73, > > W8JH, Joe > > > > ----- > 73, > > Joe, W8JH > > K3s, KPA 500, KAT 500 and KX3 happy user. > -- > Sent from: http://elecraft.365791.n2.nabble.com/ > ______________________________________________________________ > Elecraft mailing list > Home: http://mailman.qth.net/mailman/listinfo/elecraft > Help: http://mailman.qth.net/mmfaq.htm > Post: mailto:Elecraft@mailman.qth.net > > This list hosted by: http://www.qsl.net > Please help support this email list: http://www.qsl.net/donate.html > Message delivered to n7...@arrl.net ______________________________________________________________ Elecraft mailing list Home: http://mailman.qth.net/mailman/listinfo/elecraft Help: http://mailman.qth.net/mmfaq.htm Post: mailto:Elecraft@mailman.qth.net This list hosted by: http://www.qsl.net Please help support this email list: http://www.qsl.net/donate.html Message delivered to arch...@mail-archive.com
