{"id":26213,"date":"2017-06-08T07:13:01","date_gmt":"2017-06-08T11:13:01","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/?p=26213"},"modified":"2017-06-08T07:13:01","modified_gmt":"2017-06-08T11:13:01","slug":"how-to-build-a-milk-crate-am-broadcast-loop-antenna","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/2017\/06\/how-to-build-a-milk-crate-am-broadcast-loop-antenna\/","title":{"rendered":"How to build a Milk Crate AM Broadcast Loop Antenna"},"content":{"rendered":"

Many thanks to SWLing Post contributor,\u00a0James Townley, who shares the following guest post originally posted on his Shortwave\/Medium Wave blog<\/a>:<\/em><\/p>\n

\n
\"\"<\/a>

540 kHz to 1700 kHz Loop Antenna (Click to enlarge)<\/p><\/div>\n

AM Broadcast Loop Antenna<\/h2>\n

by\u00a0James Townley<\/strong><\/p>\n

Several years ago, I became interested in medium wave DXing. One of my limitations was the size of my yard, so I developed an interest in tuned loop antennas to compensate, because setting up a beverage antenna was out of the question. I experimented with different sizes of loops, and found that the bigger the aperture, the more gain the loop would have. The tuned loop antenna is also very directional, which allows you to reject, or null out interference from either noise or other stations. Loops are considered bi-directional in that they receive to the front and back, but not to the sides. The tuned loop antenna quickly became my weapon of choice for medium wave DXing.<\/p>\n

Recently when the weather began allowing me to enjoy the outdoors, I decided to make another smaller loop antenna from a plastic milk crate I had lying around. I saw the idea on the internet when I observed that someone had used a milk crate for their loop.\u00a0Click here<\/a>\u00a0to see a variety of tuned loop antennas that others have made. Whichever material you decide to make your loop antenna from, just make sure that it is not a conductive material. Wood, plastic, and cardboard seem to be popular materials for loop making. In the photo above, I am using my Sony ICF-2010 to listen to WCCO on 830 kHz. This station is nearly 200 miles south of me, but I am able to receive it with 9 LEDs lit on my signal strength meter while using the loop. There is no direct connection of the loop to the radio, it is inductively coupling with the radio’s own ferrite rod antenna.<\/p>\n

If you are interested in making a loop antenna like mine, here are the materials you will need:
\n120 ft of 18ga insulated wire (I bought a 100 ft spool of cheap speaker wire and pulled the 2 conductors apart):<\/p>\n

1 – Plastic milk crate
\n1 – 15 to 365 pF air variable capacitor<\/a> (found in many old radios, or a google search to buy one from an internet store)
\n1 – Tuning knob. Any knob will do as long as it fits the shaft on the variable capacitor.
\n1 – Tape or wire ties. I used tape to secure the wire while winding, then hot glue when finished.<\/p>\n

When you begin to wind your coil, use tape or a wire tie to secure the wire, and leave about a foot of wire. This extra foot of wire will later be soldered to the frame on the capacitor. As you wind your coil, pull the wire snugly and with each turn leave about a quarter inch spacing between each turn. The spacing isn’t critical as long as the spacing is consistent. \u00a0I wound 21 turns on my crate. This may differ for you, depending on the size of your crate, or the value of you capacitor. If you find that the bottom frequency isn’t low enough, you can add more wire to make a few more turns. This will lower the bottom frequency for you.<\/p>\n

After winding the coil, you can solder each end of the coil to your capacitor. The beginning of the loop gets soldered to the frame of the capacitor, and the other end of the coil to the rotor solder lug on the side of the capacitor. If you do not have a soldering iron, you can use alligator clips to connect your loop coil to the capacitor as well. I secured my capacitor to the inside corner of the crate with hot glue. I put a generous amount of the hot glue onto the bottom of the capacitor frame, and held it to the crate until the glue cooled enough for the capacitor to stay on it’s own. I used enough to get the job done, but not so much that it interfered with the plates in my capacitor. The hot glue seemed to adhere very well. I then checked the spacing of my coil turns, and secured them with the hot glue as well.<\/p>\n

I was very impressed with the results after spending some time with the loop. It’s small enough to maneuver around easily, but big enough to give it some gain, so I can listen to daytime DX. I may make another tuned loop using two crates to see how much more gain I get with the larger aperture.<\/p>\n

Happy DXing,
\nJames Townley<\/p>\n

\n

Many thanks, James, for sharing your project with us! This loop appears to be relatively simple and accessible even to those with little knowledge of soldering or homebrewing. I’m now wondering how a loop made of four milk crates might perform!<\/em><\/p>\n

Click here to view James’ Shortwave\/Medium Wave blog.<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Many thanks to SWLing Post contributor,\u00a0James Townley, who shares the following guest post originally posted on his Shortwave\/Medium Wave blog: AM Broadcast Loop Antenna by\u00a0James Townley Several years ago, I became interested in medium wave DXing. One of my limitations was the size of my yard, so I developed an interest in tuned loop antennas […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":15,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[4199,373,3607,8,3194,627,433,3],"tags":[4097,4666,6225,4667,4357,3417,4099,6224],"class_list":["post-26213","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-accessories","category-am","category-antennas","category-articles","category-guest-posts","category-how-to","category-mediumwave","category-news","tag-am","tag-how-to-build-a-mediumwave-antenna","tag-james-townley","tag-loop-antennas","tag-mag-loop-antennas","tag-magnetic-loop-antennas","tag-mediumwave","tag-milk-crate-loop-antenna"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/pn3uc-6ON","jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":61520,"url":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/2025\/01\/giuseppes-multi-band-milk-crate-loop-antenna\/","url_meta":{"origin":26213,"position":0},"title":"Giuseppe’s Multi-Band Milk Crate Loop Antenna","author":"Thomas","date":"January 2, 2025","format":false,"excerpt":"Many thanks to SWLing Post contributor Giuseppe Morl\u00e8, who shares the following guest post: Dear Thomas and Friends of SWLing Post, I am Giuseppe Morl\u00e8 from Formia, a town in central Italy on the Tyrrhenian Sea. I have built a new \u201cMultiloop\u201d antenna using a 40 cm diameter milk crate.\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Antennas"","block_context":{"text":"Antennas","link":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/category\/antennas\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/Giuseppe-Milk-Crate-Loop-Antenna-1.jpeg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/Giuseppe-Milk-Crate-Loop-Antenna-1.jpeg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/Giuseppe-Milk-Crate-Loop-Antenna-1.jpeg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/Giuseppe-Milk-Crate-Loop-Antenna-1.jpeg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/Giuseppe-Milk-Crate-Loop-Antenna-1.jpeg?resize=1050%2C600&ssl=1 3x"},"classes":[]},{"id":33579,"url":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/2018\/08\/bill-tweaks-his-am-loop-antenna-for-optimal-mediumwave-performance\/","url_meta":{"origin":26213,"position":1},"title":"Bill tweaks his AM loop antenna for optimal mediumwave performance","author":"Thomas","date":"August 17, 2018","format":false,"excerpt":"Many thanks to SWLing Post contributor, Bill Hemphill (WD9EQD), who writes with the following update to his previous post: As you may remember, back in May, I picked up a beautiful home-made loop antenna. It was 25 inches on a side with 23 turns of wire. My initial testing showed\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "AM"","block_context":{"text":"AM","link":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/category\/am\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/08\/loop-calculator-2.png?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/08\/loop-calculator-2.png?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/08\/loop-calculator-2.png?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x"},"classes":[]},{"id":31920,"url":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/2018\/05\/bill-scores-a-homebrew-lw-mw-magnetic-loop-antenna\/","url_meta":{"origin":26213,"position":2},"title":"Bill scores a homebrew LW\/MW magnetic loop antenna","author":"Thomas","date":"May 7, 2018","format":false,"excerpt":"Many thanks to SWLing Post contributor, Bill Hemphill (WD9EQD) who shares the following: I went to the Warminster Amateur Radio Club (WARC) hamfest [yesterday] in Bucks County, PA. For some time, I have been thinking about making a loop antenna for AM DXing. It was my lucky day. When I\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "AM"","block_context":{"text":"AM","link":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/category\/am\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/05\/Mag-Loop-Antenna-Homebrew-1-777x1024.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/05\/Mag-Loop-Antenna-Homebrew-1-777x1024.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/05\/Mag-Loop-Antenna-Homebrew-1-777x1024.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x"},"classes":[]},{"id":61431,"url":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/2024\/12\/a-file-worth-having-bobs-guide-to-building-an-electrically-small-resonant-loop-antenna-for-mediumwave-reception\/","url_meta":{"origin":26213,"position":3},"title":"A File Worth Having: Bob’s guide to building an Electrically Small Resonant Loop Antenna for Mediumwave Reception","author":"Jock Elliott","date":"December 17, 2024","format":false,"excerpt":"This post is short and sweet. If you click here--Electrically Small Resonant Loop Antenna for Mediumwave Reception (PDF)--you can download a copy of Bob Colegrove's excellent paper on the Electrically Small Resonant Loop Antenna for Mediumwave Reception. He has actually built this antenna; it works; and he uses it often.\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "AM"","block_context":{"text":"AM","link":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/category\/am\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/12\/Bob-Homemade-Loop-antenna-1.jpeg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/12\/Bob-Homemade-Loop-antenna-1.jpeg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/12\/Bob-Homemade-Loop-antenna-1.jpeg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/12\/Bob-Homemade-Loop-antenna-1.jpeg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/12\/Bob-Homemade-Loop-antenna-1.jpeg?resize=1050%2C600&ssl=1 3x"},"classes":[]},{"id":43826,"url":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/2020\/06\/andy-seeks-advice-on-directly-coupling-an-am-loop-antenna-to-a-crystal-radio\/","url_meta":{"origin":26213,"position":4},"title":"Andy seeks advice on directly coupling an AM loop antenna to a crystal radio","author":"Thomas","date":"June 12, 2020","format":false,"excerpt":"Many thanks to SWLing Post contributor, Andy, who asks the following question in response to a previous post about building a Milk Crate AM Broadcast Loop Antenna: All references to tuned loop antennas talk about no real connection to the AM radio, but merely inductive coupling. However, I made a\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "AM"","block_context":{"text":"AM","link":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/category\/am\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/06\/MW-Loop-Antenna-Milk-Crate-e1591968023256.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/06\/MW-Loop-Antenna-Milk-Crate-e1591968023256.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/06\/MW-Loop-Antenna-Milk-Crate-e1591968023256.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/06\/MW-Loop-Antenna-Milk-Crate-e1591968023256.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":39725,"url":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/2019\/09\/david-reviews-and-compares-the-mla-30-magnetic-loop-antenna\/","url_meta":{"origin":26213,"position":5},"title":"David reviews and compares the MLA-30 magnetic loop antenna","author":"Thomas","date":"September 18, 2019","format":false,"excerpt":"Many thanks to SWLing Post contributor, David Day (N1DAY), who has completed a thorough review of the MLA-30 loop antenna. In this review, he compares the MLA to the Wellbrook ALA1530-LF and a 30 foot square ground loop antenna. In short, he finds that the MLA-30 performs fairly well on\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Antennas"","block_context":{"text":"Antennas","link":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/category\/antennas\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/09\/mla30_3-e1568805326349.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/09\/mla30_3-e1568805326349.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/09\/mla30_3-e1568805326349.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/09\/mla30_3-e1568805326349.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x"},"classes":[]}],"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/26213","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/15"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=26213"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/26213\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=26213"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=26213"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=26213"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}