Working good so far but need more range test.
Somehow this post generated 4 topics (all identical). Removing the first three.
I am super curious about Heavy Metal's loop experiments. There are many details I am hoping to see. For a few... what kind of transmitter? How large a loop? How many turns? What is the gauge of the wire? How is it matched to the RF output of the transmitter? What is the Q? What kind of audio bandwidth? Is there a ground system? How high is it? Is it directional? What else should I ask?
I only used one turn,too many turns might load the antenna down for such low power... Difficult to tune. I placed a capacitance hat above .... It seems to be working very well so far . I can hear my station more than six miles with sensitive car radio. The transmitter was made by a guy who sells them out of his home...Kits.
SIX MILES!
Yes ...Six plus miles in straight line ,not road miles. I'm in the country side , mostly farms and woods . If I used the same setup in a city I doubt it would cover half of that . I have hundreds of feet of radials . I tested it again today , loop antenna is working better than expected, not the range as much as the quality of the signal over two miles , less drop outs than my vertical antenna. The loop is 2 by 2 , counting all four sides 8 feet . I placed a capacitor at the bottom of the loop to connect it to a full circle. Oddly enough, my signal is less directional with the loop vs the vertical antenna .
Amazing! Can you take a picture?
@1620am Was that the Sean Cuthbert one?
I can't get the pictures to load on here. It's a Sean Cuthbert transmitter. My Talking House transmitters reach just as far with the built in tuner but not as clean coverage.
@1620am, unfortunately if the picture is over a certain size and that size is quite small it won't load on here.
@mark It's also difficult to upload anything to the net in this location, very poor Internet signal ,especially when wet outside. I'll try posting it when I go to town today . The loop antenna may not work as well with all transmitters ,Sean s transmitter doesn't tune up as well with loading coils . It has a built in tuner and was designed for 3 meter antenna, or so much resistance, doesn't like longer than 3 meter antenna or too much load . A few days of testing and working very well , and when I get a chance I'll try it with the Talking House using built in tuner . The Talking House seems to work better with loading coil , may not work as well on it.
All these transmitters whether the Sean Cuthbert, Procaster, Rangemaster, has an ATU with a coil specifically designed for the 3 meter antenna or if you look 104 inches leaving a bit for a ground lead, which is a little less than 3 meters. If you try to make it longer it won't work better as the coil is tuned for the 104 inches.
Night picture
Dutch legal low power station...25 watts. It's in Dutch but still readable.