Many thanks to SWLing Post contributor, Chris Rogers, who writes:
[Here’s] an interesting new amplifier that is suitable for SDR’s and antennas like Youloop etc with Bias-Tee provision. Unsure of the specifications.
The ad claims made in North America:
https://www.nooelec.com/store/lana-hf-barebones.html
Thanks for the tip, Chris! Yes, it’s a bit of a surprise it’s made in North America. I must admit that these Nooelec amps all look the same to me, so I’m guessing this model is simply the latest iteration?
Post readers: have you used this particular LNA? Please comment!
Nooelec lists the Lana HF as “barebones” and as such, it has no enclosure- unlike its 20MHz to 4GHz sibling. Has anyone found a suitable project box? Are there any plans for Nooelec to come out with a standard model?
Given the bad availability of Bias-T capable LNAs currently I just ordered one. 🙂 I recently bought a “0.1-4000 MHz” LNA (the version with a tiny 6-leg chip) off Amazon and that’s not bad at all for 15 bucks so maybe the Nooelec will do just as fine without causing me 9V-battery headaches.
Just received the “LaNA HF” (not to confuse with the regular LaNA, which works from 20 MHz to 4 GHz!). To my surprise it was shipped by “Amazon Fulfillments” from the UK and not from the US, which explains the accelerated delivery! It’s a few millimeters larger than the usual Chinese LNA boards sold on Amazon so I have to find a new type of box for weatherproof outdoor usage.
First impression is good, it works nicely off a powerbank via a bias-T box with my YouLoop. Gain isn’t specified but I measured something around 20dB at its nominal VCC of 4.0-5.5V, at 3.5V gain decreased to more like 10dB. Temporarily using 9V doesn’t seem to increase the gain more and the unit is apparently specified for up to 12V but the product page has a warning about long-term overvoltage.
Not sure I can appreciate the micro-USB on the input side, even a very thin and flimsy USB cable with a short connector may get in the way things connected to the input SMA jack but I bought it for its biast-T capability anyway and don’t intend to use the other options
For further tests re noise etc. I’ll have to take it to the dike of course, which is currently wet and not so inviting.
Interesting. I’m curious to know if anyone has tried using this amplifier with the MLA-30 Loop. It seems the knock on the MLA-30 is the amplifier, though I’ve been using one for over a year with good results. If this offered a notable improvement, I’d find it worth it at this price.
Hi Peat, the LNA may work with the MLA-30, but you’ll need a balun to connect it to the loop, in short, you’ll need the NooElec Balun v2 https://www.nooelec.com/store/balun-one-nine-v2-barebones.html and a male/male sma connector (or a short pigtail), the loop ends will go to the BalUn inputs, the BalUn output will go to the LNA input and the LNA output will go to the feeding coax which will also carry the DC through a bias tee; such a config will work with almost any loop, including the “loop on ground” which was covered in a previous post
Just build another loop. 😉 An enclosure and some wire. The amp likely will handle a wide impedance load, so YMMV on even needing a transformer between the amp and loop. Up to a few inches of coax should not create a significant concern if needed between the amp and loop.
Unless something has changed, the MLA-30 uses a basic video amp. Performance could be variable depending upon your local noise floor. For example, if your received noise floor is already higher than the amp’s noise floor, then you are unlikely to notice much of an issue.