Hi Guys,
I have always wanted a wide band magnetic loop antenna for my Palstar R30A radio for SWL as I’m retired and live in a HOA community. Checking out such possible mag loop antennas like the W6LVP, ICOM, etc. I have found that they are too expensive for my budget. So….searching around the internet I came across an interesting DIY mag loop antenna that looked promising. I pretty much followed the construction except that I added a pvc ½” piece of conduit to support the loop better. I could not find the suggested flat aluminum bar for the loop but a ½” wide x 1/8” thick x 6’ long flat aluminum that can be bought at a local Lowe’s or Home Deport makes a slightly small loop diameter and works. Instead of constructing the loop pre-amp circuit, I purchased a really good loop amp board and DC power injector board from a website for about as much money if I were to buy all the parts from the authors circuit. The company will include the DC power injector board for free with the purchase of the loop pre-amp. Once I assembled the mag loop antenna, I connected it to my radio to determine if it will even work. I was surprised that I was getting many stations and I haven’t even mounted it on a pole yet! Below are snap shots of the mag antenna and the DC power box. The original mag loop article and company that makes the pre-amp and DC power injector links are below.
https://www.pa1m.nl/simple-active-receive-loop/
https://casarain.com/
Very Nice Project.