Even QRP works quite well…
Ordered the Alpha Loop on the website after reading reviews and comparing to AlexLoop. My first loop antenna, want something to take on the road and use from hotel for QRP. I don’t have time to build, and for my money I want a good quality piece of kit.
My goal is mostly digital HF, maybe some CW. I am not new to QRP, but I am not a full-time QRP operator and instead am mostly a QRO DXer. But I want something more than just PC remote into my home shack when on the road. I figured it would be fun to see what 5 watts and a loop antenna could do from a hotel room.
I ordered it instead AlexLoop because it came with a tripod already (both seem to be excellent loop antennas, so it was a bit of a coin toss between Alpha Loop and Alexloop designs).
Package arrived US Postal Service 3 days after ordering it online. I unpacked it. First thing the XYL (not a ham) said was “wow, nice carry bag it comes with.” I said “yep.” Next thing she said was “wow, what a professional looking set of equipment including the tripod.” Again I said “yep.” When I put it together, she said “THAT is IT? Where are all the wires? The spreaders? The elements?” (I have multiple wire dipoles, a hex beam and yagis for 6 and 2). I started explaining about magnetic loop antennas. And then she said “Sorry I asked. Go have fun with it, I am off to see our horse at the barn.” (Her hobby).
When she returned, she asked me “Did you talk to anyone with it?” “Yes I did,” was my reply. Bahamas and Arkansas on 40 CW. Also heard some JT65 DX (SA, EU) on 40. Of course, tons of DX heard on higher bands.
Some observations:
1. The tripod arrived broken at the base. I called Steve, the owner, and left a message. It was 7:30 PM local. 5 minutes later he calls me back and says he will ship another one the next morning. BAM! A 5 on customer service.
2. I mentioned that the manual was a bit “brief” with no assembly pics, but I understood the construction from looking at the website and watching the YouTube videos. Steve said that another rev would be coming out soon.
3. Assembly was easy, 10 minutes from first unpack to on the air. All quality materials, with extra hardware in case I lose some. A 5 on construction and foresight.
4. Tuning is done by adjusting the knob for max background noise. Simple. A 5 on ease of use.
5. Performance – Indoors it is not an outside wire. Users need to be realistic with expectations (use digital modes, only call CW stations that are strong, don’t expect much on SSB). I found the loop to be about 5-10dB (1-3 S-Units) down from my off-center-fed 135 foot dipole at 64 feet. The surprising thing was that I could make contacts on 40 meters at all. Quite pleasant to discover that I could, since 40 is my favorite QRP band. A 5 on performance against expectations.
Interesting note on bandwidth – the high Q requires adjustment for resonance every few kHz (as it should be with this antenna). But I noticed that the bandwidth on 40 was about 30 kHz between 2:1 SWR points, and much sharper on 15 meters (7-10 kHz). It also took more time to find SWR null on 15 meters as it was very sensitive.
After the New Year, I expect to be doing a lot of traveling, and will provide a subsequent review on the Alpha Loop antenna then.
WD4ELG
https://www.qrz.com/lookup/WD4ELG
More reviews on the Portable MagLoop Antenna
See the 10-40M Loop or the 10-80M Loop Antenna
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