Many thanks to SWLing Post contributor, Jack Dully, who writes:
Happy Holidays to Y’all!!! Thomas, I have bought about 5 antennas from the eBay seller”Lowbander” over the last few years. […]They are well constructed, strong and really bring in signals on the fringe. He has a small operation, I believe, but dedicated to making the best antennas he can. His antennas will last through storms and such but grab signals like a fly on honey, no kidding. Perhps other SWLing Post members don’t know of these excellent antennas at what I think is a good deal and worth the cost for years in the air. Thanks.
Clic here to check out Lowbander’s antenna offerings on eBay.
Note: this is an eBay partnership link–purchases support the SWLing Post at no cost to you.
Thank you for the tip, Jack!
ive bought several antennas from lowbander way in the past and was very happy with the quick service and the quality
Performance is what matters to me,it always has.I have 3 of Lowbander’s antennas,most of the time in trees or in a inverted “V”on the ground with the high point in a tree ,all fed by quality coax with neatly soldered on Pl-259 plugs. Usually I run one dipole E&W and second N&S.Both are connected to a Diamond isolator ant.switch,so I can switch on to the better signal.I rent a cabin in Pa. Northeast USA., a few times a year I could hear Australia,Vietnam and many other countries when they were broadcasting almost like FM quality on Lowbander’s antennas.Furthermore some severe T-storms over the years did no damage to any of them.They roll-up very neatly for transport and quickly with no kinks.The bottom line for me is that they perform terrific for SSB,International Broadcasting,somewhat on M/W and even on weak FM making it listenable.So for me it’s a win-win, rugged,dependable and at a moderate price,they work very well !
I’m convinced the best SWL antenna for today’s noisy environments is the “Loop on Ground” antenna as described by Matt at: http://kk5jy.net/LoG/
Excellent low noise antenna for the shortwave bands.
I remember around 2000 someone was selling ‘yo yo’ antennas. You could get up to like 6 or 8 on one feed. It was simple and always looked like a mess if they became twisted. I think it was nothing more than thin copper wires…
There is a good LF/MF passive antenna article in this months issue of the LOWDOWN magazine, published by the LWCA. It is called the “Nova Antenna” and the article gives you all info you need for a great homebrew. 73s, Dave
Lowbander also provides mods for the Radio Shack DX-394 at a very reasonable price. https://lowbander.com/
I purchased a “series A” DX-394 from ebay earlier this year, and immediately sent it to Lowbander. His modifications turn the radio into what it was “intended” to be! Quick turnaround time also. Highly recommended.
Presently he offers 4 SWL antennas that are nothing more than a piece of wire, partly with two isolators, and a plug or alligator clip. All without any RFI protection. Very simple DIY items.
From lowbander.com about the “Super Zepp”: “The antenna is a full quarter wave in length on 49 Meters. Each antenna is cut, tuned and tested with the MFJ Antenna Anlyzer to be resonant on the design frequency. It works great on all frequencies, 49 meters and above, because it works as multiples of a quarter wavelengths on the higher frequencies.”
A “full quarter wavelength” antenna needs a counterpoise. “Tuned and tested” says nothing as his “antenna” is only part of the real antenna of his customers: The receiver and its power supply (and possibly the power grid) also get parts of the antenna because of the asymmetric currents flowing. This is not a feature, it is a design error.
The output voltage is completely pointless for a SWL antenna – on the contrary: Typical SWL receivers easily get overloaded with such antennas. The only important thing is the signal-to-noise ratio. With coupling all the noise from the power grid into the receiver input you must live in a very rural area to hear anything interesting at all.
A Zepp antenna is a completely different design. See for example https://funkamateure.jimdofree.com/2019/03/14/zeppelin-antenne/. It was designed in the 1920s when Zeppelins were often filled with hydrogen. A Zepp antenna had all the high-voltage points as far away from the hydrogen as possible.