I just ordered the 40 -15 meter loop (it will be here on the 20th). The reviews looked surprisingly good (of course, if it looks too good to be true, it probably is). I've tried various indoor antennas (such as the Buddipole), but I have +5 over 9 noise inside. I've tried whips out the window, but it didn't work well. I built a 9' in diameter loop out of #6 copper wire, that I used inside with an SGC-231 tuner. It tuned up well and lowered the noise to about S1 - 3, but I was unable to make any contacts. On SSB last weekend, I was able to copy DX stations on 20 meters, so I think it wasn't that the loop was so attenuated that the noise just sounded lower.
So after reading the reviews, I bought the MFJ loop, and it is pricey. I live on the second floor of a two-story apartment, and I plan on mounting it on the roof. In fact, because other tenants have dishes up there, I am just going to hire a dish installer to put it up to avoid any suspicion. But this is only possible because it looks similar to a dish, i.e., I'm not buying it because I have some notion that I can compete with a SteppIr up 100 feet. It is the only antenna that I have seen that could be mounted up on the roof in the clear. I'm going to try to use a rotator, but I don't think I'll push it. If I could put up a dipole or something better, I would do so. Michael, how do you have (or had) the loop installed? I saw one ham who had it sitting on a balcony, under a tarp and claimed that it worked great. However, the date of the statement is important. The good results might have been at the sunspot peak. I'll report back when I get it set up. Tom W6EIJ _______________________________________________ Elecraft mailing list Post to: [email protected] You must be a subscriber to post to the list. Subscriber Info (Addr. Change, sub, unsub etc.): http://mailman.qth.net/mailman/listinfo/elecraft Help: http://mailman.qth.net/subscribers.htm Elecraft web page: http://www.elecraft.com
