Tag Archives: Homebrew Antennas

Simple Wire Antenna: Giuseppe’s Mediumwave DXing Adventures from the Tyrrhenian Sea

Many thanks to SWLing Post contributor, Giuseppe Morlè (IZ0GZW), who writes:

Dear Thomas and Friends of SWLing Post,

I am Giuseppe Morlè from Formia, Central Italy, on the Tyrrhenian Sea.

This time, I want to share a very simple antenna setup for listening to and attempting extreme DX on Medium Waves.

I first saw this antenna in several videos, and many DXers have used it during various expeditions.

For my setup, I used a 15-meter-long wire. At around 11 meters, I formed a small coil with 8 turns, then continued the wire for another 3 meters.

I began with some tests on my balcony by laying the wire flat along the ground for its entire length. I used my small Sony SRF-37V as a receiver. By placing the receiver within the coil of turns, I immediately noticed a significant difference compared to the built-in ferrite antenna.

In the early afternoon, I tuned into a Chinese language broadcast on 1377 kHz. You can watch a video of this experiment on my YouTube channel:

Encouraged by the excellent results, I decided to head to the tourist port of Caposele di Formia the next day in the early afternoon. I set up on the pier overlooking the sea. This time, I laid the wire in an eastward direction — towards the night, where the sun had already set, while it was still high for another two hours on my side.

Once again, I achieved amazing results.

I was able to hear the same Chinese station on 1377 kHz, but this time with much clearer audio than from my balcony, where electrical noise interfered. By the sea, the signal was clean and strong.

After a while, I tuned into VOA broadcasts from Thailand on 1575 and 1395 kHz, both with surprisingly good audio quality. You can see this second experiment here:

Sometimes, all it takes is a bit of wire and a small coil to create an excellent, ground-level antenna — in this case, oriented eastward.

I also tried using my loop cassette and a Tecsun PL-660 but couldn’t hear anything. Yet the little Sony SRF-37V proved itself to be a true “DX killer” on AM — truly impressive.

I even caught a segment of the VOA program “World Today,” discussing the Chinese economy and Southeast Asia.

As the sun set, the DX signals faded, making way for closer European and Asian broadcasters.

I will definitely return with a longer wire to see if this surprising setup can be improved even more.

A warm greeting to all the Friends who follow SWLing Post and to you, Dear Thomas.

73, Giuseppe IZ0GZW

Pavel’s Practical Electronics Homebrew Mediumwave Ferrite Antenna

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Many thanks to SWLing Post contributor, Pavel Kraus, who shares the following guest post:

Mediumwave Ferrite Antenna

by Pavel Kraus

This antenna for MW was made according to the instructions from Everyday Practical Electronics magazine, September 2000. The author of the Active Ferrite Loop Aerial construction project is Raymond Haigh.

The antenna was only adjusted mechanically according to my capabilities. Reception on this antenna was tested with receivers Malahite DSP 2 – original, Belka, Qodosen DX 286, AOR 7030+, Eton E1 XM and other receivers. Of course, the antenna does not replace a long wire antenna, but in limited urban conditions its performance is sufficient. I compared the antenna to Garry Thomas’ factory Quantum Loop.

Both antennas work similarly, Quantum Loop has a shielded ferrite rod, it is less susceptible to elmg. interference. Raymond Haigh’s antenna shows a bit more gain, the ferrite antenna is made up of 7 pieces of ferrite rods 20 cm long and 1 cm in diameter. The antenna is not shielded.

The construction of the antenna according to the instructions is not difficult. A Raimond Haigh antenna will definitely improve MW reception, especially for radios without an internal ferrite antenna. Instructions can be found at https://www.worldradiohistory.com/UK/Practical-Electronics/00s/Everyday-Practical-Electronics-2000-09.pdf

Belka Test

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Yk-ngCQ8TFc

Qodosen DX286 Test

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F77HOJSmu_4

Malahite DSP2 Test

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C2dvaCT9z6Y

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DICA 2: “The Revenge” – Giuseppe tests his updated homebrew antenna!

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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.

73.

Videos

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D.I.C.A.: Giuseppe’s latest homebrew portable antenna

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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!

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Martin builds a simple ferrite rod to inductively couple radios to his external mediumwave antenna

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Many thanks to SWLing Post contributor, Martin Tobisch, who shares the following guest post and videos from his home in Malta:

New AM Signal Coupler

Many AM medium wave listeners are looking for solutions to improve the reception performance of their radios.

After many attempts, which I don’t want to entertain anyone with, a coupler was created that feeds the external antenna directly into the ferrite antenna. I use my 66 foot long wire antenna on 50 ohm RG-58 cable, but other antennas will have similar success.

The clips available on YouTube speak for themselves:

https://youtu.be/FIylJk3F9Xk?si=Kp7SowdUXI5i5QAV

https://youtu.be/RHAla9jPoi8?si=VoG3w274k08Ul8Q4

Experiments with smaller ferrites and antenna rods met with no success. It is important that the coupler still works even at a distance from the ferrite antenna and without precise alignment.

With tube radios it easily bridges the distance from the housing to the ferrite rod Antenna
The finished coupler consists of 6 NiZn ferrite cores, which are connected with glue to form a rod. 8 turns of wire are wound over this and soldered to an RG-58 cable. Some electrical isolation tape and ready. So far I’ve just put it in a box. Of course there are finer solutions and it should be protected against shock. Ferrite cores are notoriously brittle.

Here is a link to the ferrites used (purchased at AliExpress).

Advantages: Advantages to what? Nothing comparable exists.

So there are advantages to feeding via an antenna socket. The signal coupler is also good for radios without an antenna socket. But in case of using an antenna socket, common mode wave interference picked up in the house goes unlimited into the radio. Due to the magnetic coupling to the ferrite antenna, common mode waves are completely suppressed. They do not create a magnetic field in the coupler.

No changes are necessary in the radio

The biggest advantage is, that you can listen to distant stations loud and clear, which previously only produced a quiet scratching noise.

I very much welcome reports of experiences.

Martin.Tobisch@aol.com

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Video: Giuseppe’s “Cassette Loop” on the shortwaves with induction

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Many thanks to SWLing Post contributor, Giuseppe Morlè (IZ0GZW), who writes:

Dear Thomas and Friends of the SWLing Post,

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: