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Re: [TowerTalk] Amplified Receiving Loop Size

To: towertalk@contesting.com
Subject: Re: [TowerTalk] Amplified Receiving Loop Size
From: "Lux, Jim" <jim@luxfamily.com>
Date: Tue, 31 Jan 2023 18:12:38 -0800
List-post: <mailto:towertalk@contesting.com>
On 1/31/23 5:28 PM, Tony wrote:
All:

I've been experimenting with an amplified receiving loop for 160/80 and trying to come up with a loop size that gives the best s/n ratio. I found that smaller loops in the 1.5 to 2 foot diameter range seem to have a more pronounced nulls compared to larger loops, but they lack signal strength. It appears the best compromise is somewhere between 2.5 and 3 feet.


have you changed the number of turns?

And

Have you tried a ferrite core (loopstick)?


A larger loop is more likely to be affected by surroundings (it's physically closer to them) - I would think that the "free space" pattern would be essentially the same.

So then it's down to how many volts do you get out of the loop vs what's the input impedance of your preamp, and what are its noise properties.

Don't forget that amplifiers have both current noise and voltage noise, so the Z of the antenna can turn one into the other.  And ultimately, what you have is a voltage divider (or a current shunt), so Vin = Vant * Zin/(Zin+Zant) + en + in*Zant, where en is the voltage noise, and in is the current noise, and you're doing a Thevenin.  You can do it as Norton sources with currents, too.

Non-resonant small Low frequency antennas tend to be very empirical in terms of design process.  You try different things and see what works.  Measuring noise and Zs is a pain.

If null depth is what you're looking for, then some sort of dual antenna with an adjustable combiner is probably a useful strategy. For N antennas being combined, you can get N-1 nulls.

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