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Many thanks to SWLing Post contributor, Giuseppe Morlè, who shares the following antenna project:
Dear Thomas and Friends of the SWLing Post,
I’m Giuseppe Morlè from Formia, central Italy on the Tyrrhenian Sea.
After the DICA prototype I created another one called DICA 2 The Revenge!
This other minimal antenna works differently from the prototype. It is shorter, has 3, 12 cm ferrites inside and has the sensors soldered inside in reverse on the telephone cable strap. It works coupled to a metal surface because it uses magnetic induction unlike the prototype.
In the videos you can see the differences between the prototype and the DICA 2…
and the yield on the highest ranges.
This small minimal antenna can tune listening from 3.5 to 30 MHz.
Thanks to you and greetings to all the Friends of SWLing Post.
Many thanks to SWLing Post contributor, Giuseppe Morlè, who writes:
Dear Thomas and SWLingPost Friends,
I’m Giuseppe Morlè iz0gzw,
Many friends have asked for the DICA wiring diagram after my recent post and demonstration.
I’m not a technician but a simple passionate listener and qrp’er… I made this video with a drawing that I hope will be useful to understand the details and how it works…
[Please note that this video is in Italian, but you can use YouTube Closed Captioning; it can even translate the subtitles into English or any other language.]
Many thanks to SWLing Post contributor, Giuseppe Morlè, who shares the following antenna project:
Dear Thomas and SWLing Post Friends ,
I’m Giuseppe Morlè, iz0gzw, from Central Italy, Formia on the Tyrrhenian Sea…
Some time ago I had drawn this minimal HF antenna on paper…
I took advantage of the New Year’s Eve rain to be able to build it with the usual leftover scraps…
The system consists of a 35 cm tube with two separate windings of telephone cable on it, 2.5 m on each side, green and white…in the center I connected the 4 ends to X…
The green lead with the white and the white with the green to the variable capacitor and the other two leads to the RG58 cable that goes to the receiver.
I started the test and noticed that the agreement was possible from 7 to 21 MHz…
I then placed a long ferrite inside the tube…
I noticed a strengthening of the signal and consequently of the noise picked up and the chord dropped to 3.2 MHz.
Tests inside my shack showed decent reception on all ranges…in the evening on the balcony on 80 m. I could perfectly listen to a QSO between Italian stations.
Everything is still in the experimental phase and I think I will try this minimal system also in QRP transmission.
In this first video I explain how this minimal antenna is made:
The second video concerns a 20 meter test by car. The antenna is placed on the dashboard of the car inside:
In the third video, I explain how it works without the ferrite and with the ferrite inside the tube:
In this video you can see the test on 40 m. outdoors on the roof of the house:
The tests are carried out at home in order to understand what can be achieved in an environment that is difficult to receive.
I will do more outdoor tests and I think this small minimal antenna will receive better. I will keep you informed.
Thank you all for your attention and I wish you all a new year full of satisfaction.
’73 de Giuseppe iz0gzw.
Fascinating, Giuseppe! I love all of these brilliant little antennas you design out of your “junk” drawer! We look forward to hearing more about this antenna and any modifications you make to it!
I’m Giuseppe Morlè from central Italy, Formia on the Tyrrhenian Sea…
My Cassette Loop experiment this time shows how induction takes place on short waves after medium waves.
I used a smaller box as the primary antenna which, however, is pushed by the secondary one due to the induction effect generated between the two windings brought closer together.
This way, the larger loop “captures” more of the signal and sends it to the smaller cassette…
I really like working on induction… I hope you like it:
I’m Giuseppe Morlè from Formia on the Tyrrhenian Sea…
I wanted to share this experiment of mine with all of you by tuning the medium waves with two separate loop cassettes and each for itself by exploiting the principle of induction between two conductors placed next to each other.
I superimposed one cassette on the other by matching the windings of the medium waves–each variable works only for its own box.
I’m tuning the Algerian JIL FM station on 531 kHz with the Tecsun H-501X connected to the box below…then, passing to the top box, the one without any physical contact with the receiver, I tuned this station again centering it perfectly thanks to the induction that creates between the two close windings.
My video will clarify any doubts and I would like to receive your comments about it.
My constructions are the result of continuous recycling and spending very little to get a good yield.
This is Giuseppe Morlè. As always, I try recycling what I have and improving upon antennas I’ve built in the past. This is one way we radio lovers can experiment. Many years ago, I made an antenna only for medium waves; by adding a circuit, I can now listen to short waves.
I took advantage of a small frame that I recovered from an old commercial FM / AM stereo receiver by removing its coils for medium waves and I wound around it only two coils sufficient to have a frequency range from 3.5 to 18 MHz.
I remember that the antenna in question also receives medium waves as it was born.
I chose this small frame because I wanted everything to be small in order to carry this compact antenna everywhere.
Unlike my other projects for SW and MW, which have a cable that carries the SW signal to the receiver, this time I used the induction that is created around one end of the loop, which I spiraled to get inside the stylus of my Tecsun PL-660 and which then transfers the signal to the receiver.
I did some tests on my balcony the day after a strong storm and I noticed that the propagation was absent but I still wanted to make sure that everything was working.
I will keep you updated on other tests on more favorable days of propagation … I still invite you to follow me on my Youtube channel.
I wish everyone a good listening …
73. Giuseppe Morlè iz0gzw.
Many thanks, Giuseppe. I, for one, love all of your homebrewed and recycled antennas. This one is no exception! What a fun project. I love how you use what you have and aren’t afraid to experiment! Thank you for sharing.
I tuned the 7,390 kHz frequency of Radio New Zealand at 14:10 UTC on November 16 on the 4 receivers. I used the narrow and wide filter on each receiver.
I state that a storm was in progress in the area, the afternoon signal was very discontinuous with a difference on the 3 different antennas.
Surprising the result of the internal cross loops which I use a lot when there are thunderstorms in the area to listen to anyway; their behavior is definitely very good despite being inside my shack.
The Mini Whip is excellent on long and medium waves but gets worse above 7 MHz. In fact I only use this antenna for medium and long waves.
A good signal also from the external naval vertical of 8 meters with a “soft” listening on the Yaesu FRG-8800.
Judge dear friends your comments are welcome!
I wanted to compare these 4 “glories” that have accompanied most of my life and that I still consider excellent.
Attached the link tot he video on my Youtube channel:
I wish everyone a good listening …
73. Giuseppe Morlè iz0gzw.
Thank you so much for sharing this, Giuseppe! We love your videos and demonstrations especially since they so often involve antennas that you have home brewed. Your cross loop antenna is truly amazing!
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Many thanks to SWLing Post contributor, Giuseppe Morlè, who shares the following antenna project:
