{"id":39811,"date":"2019-09-25T19:26:58","date_gmt":"2019-09-25T23:26:58","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/?p=39811"},"modified":"2019-09-25T19:28:03","modified_gmt":"2019-09-25T23:28:03","slug":"marty-needs-advice-as-he-builds-a-passive-magnetic-loop-antenna","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/2019\/09\/marty-needs-advice-as-he-builds-a-passive-magnetic-loop-antenna\/","title":{"rendered":"Marty needs advice as he builds a passive magnetic loop antenna"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"<\/a>Many thanks to SWLing Post<\/em> contributor, Marty Kraft, who asked that I share the following question with our community:<\/p>\n

I\u2019m still working on a receive-only passive hula loop magnetic antenna for my Tecsun PL-660.<\/p>\n

After viewing thousands of YouTube videos (LOL), I built the PVC-pipe structure [you can see in the photo below].<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

But I need some tech help to finish…<\/p>\n

The antenna is 90 inches tall; large loop diameter is 40 inches; and small loop diameter is 17 inches. The wiring is 14 gauge braided.<\/p>\n

I plan to put the antenna outside on the porch. Then I\u2019ll run coax from the small loop to the receiver inside and use a 365 pF air variable capacitor to tune the large loop.<\/p>\n

My first question is, what\u2019s the best coax to use for the 10-ft run from the small loop to the radio inside? Second, will that 365 pF cap tune the entire 3-30 MHz range?<\/p>\n

It\u2019s hot here in Louisiana, so I\u2019d really like to tune the capacitor from inside my apartment, also using coax to connect the cap to the large loop. Will that work? Or does the cap have to connect directly to the large loop?<\/p>\n

Any other tips or suggestions? Thanks for the help!<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Post<\/em> Readers:<\/strong> If you have any helpful advice for Marty, please comment!<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Many thanks to SWLing Post contributor, Marty Kraft, who asked that I share the following question with our community: I\u2019m still working on a receive-only passive hula loop magnetic antenna for my Tecsun PL-660. After viewing thousands of YouTube videos (LOL), I built the PVC-pipe structure [you can see in the photo below]. But I […]<\/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":[3607,627,3,43],"tags":[4667,4357,5985,3417,5400,332,330],"class_list":["post-39811","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-antennas","category-how-to","category-news","category-shortwave-radio","tag-loop-antennas","tag-mag-loop-antennas","tag-magnetic-loop","tag-magnetic-loop-antennas","tag-martin-kraft","tag-pl-660","tag-tecsun-pl-660"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/pn3uc-am7","jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":38451,"url":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/2019\/07\/using-amplified-loop-antennas-with-portable-radios\/","url_meta":{"origin":39811,"position":0},"title":"Using amplified loop antennas with portable radios?","author":"Thomas","date":"July 11, 2019","format":false,"excerpt":"Many thanks to SWLing Post contributor, Marty, who writes: I have a question about loop antennas; specifically which type is \"better,\" passive magnetic loops or active electric loops? I know, \"It depends.\"--? I live in a ground-floor apartment, with a small porch, lots of RFI and restrictions against visible antennas.\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\/2017\/01\/Klaus-Mag-Loop-Antenna.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/01\/Klaus-Mag-Loop-Antenna.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/01\/Klaus-Mag-Loop-Antenna.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/01\/Klaus-Mag-Loop-Antenna.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":48145,"url":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/2021\/03\/michael-pairs-the-tecsun-pl-990-and-the-aor-la400\/","url_meta":{"origin":39811,"position":1},"title":"Michael pairs the Tecsun PL-990 and the AOR LA400","author":"Thomas","date":"March 10, 2021","format":false,"excerpt":"Many thanks to SWLing Post contributor, Michael Ye (BD4AAQ), for the following guest post: In the Loop:\u00a0PL-990 and LA400, a Perfect Match by Michael Ye (BD4AAQ) I have been a happy owner of Tecsun\u2019s PL-880 world band receivers for years. In fact I have two PL-880 radios, one sitting at\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\/2021\/03\/PL-990-and-PL-880-scaled-e1615376264103.jpeg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/03\/PL-990-and-PL-880-scaled-e1615376264103.jpeg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/03\/PL-990-and-PL-880-scaled-e1615376264103.jpeg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/03\/PL-990-and-PL-880-scaled-e1615376264103.jpeg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/03\/PL-990-and-PL-880-scaled-e1615376264103.jpeg?resize=1050%2C600&ssl=1 3x"},"classes":[]},{"id":42815,"url":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/2020\/04\/beating-the-quarantine-blues-readers-build-homebrew-ncpl-antennas\/","url_meta":{"origin":39811,"position":2},"title":"Beating the Quarantine Blues: Readers build homebrew NCPL antennas","author":"Thomas","date":"April 13, 2020","format":false,"excerpt":"Recently, I published a step-by-step guide on building a Noise-Cancelling Passive Loop (NCPL) antenna. Evidently, this antenna project really resonated with readers! [See what I did there? If so, my apologies!] I think this passive loop antenna project has been so appealing because (1.) most of us around the world\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\/2020\/04\/IMG20200408142726-197x300.jpeg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/IMG20200408142726-197x300.jpeg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/IMG20200408142726-197x300.jpeg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/IMG20200408142726-197x300.jpeg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":36661,"url":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/2019\/03\/building-a-20-meter-self-tuning-magnetic-loop-antenna\/","url_meta":{"origin":39811,"position":3},"title":"Building a 20 meter self-tuning magnetic loop antenna","author":"Thomas","date":"March 22, 2019","format":false,"excerpt":"I'm often asked about what's involved with building a home brew magnetic loop antenna. If you're considering building a passive loop antenna--one designed to both transmit and receive without any sort of receiver amplification--it's a simple project. With basic DIY skills, a little math, a good variable capacitor, some copper\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Antennas"","block_context":{"text":"Antennas","link":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/category\/antennas\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Magnetic Mag Loop Antenna Eric Sorensen","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/03\/Screen-Shot-2019-03-22-at-6.40.15-AM.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/03\/Screen-Shot-2019-03-22-at-6.40.15-AM.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/03\/Screen-Shot-2019-03-22-at-6.40.15-AM.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/03\/Screen-Shot-2019-03-22-at-6.40.15-AM.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":30672,"url":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/2018\/02\/indoor-shortwave-antenna-options-to-pair-with-a-new-sdr\/","url_meta":{"origin":39811,"position":4},"title":"Indoor shortwave antenna options to pair with a new SDR","author":"Thomas","date":"February 9, 2018","format":false,"excerpt":"Many thanks to SWLing Post contributor, Chris Freitas, who writes: \"I am thinking of the new RSP1A SDR. Would you know of a good indoor antenna that would work well with it?\" Your antenna question is simple, but the answer is complex! First off, I think the RSP1A is a\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\/2017\/11\/RSP1A1-1024x708.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/11\/RSP1A1-1024x708.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/11\/RSP1A1-1024x708.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/11\/RSP1A1-1024x708.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":38215,"url":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/2019\/06\/new-indoor-passive-loop-antenna-for-shortwave\/","url_meta":{"origin":39811,"position":5},"title":"New indoor passive loop antenna for shortwave","author":"Thomas","date":"June 17, 2019","format":false,"excerpt":"Many thanks to SWLing Post contributor, Dave Zantow (N9EWO), who notes: Here is an interesting looking indoor passive HF loop antenna [photo above] that Randy McIntosh just started selling in the US. Made in Greece. Model TLA500C. Sorry it\u2019s not for MW. Here' are the specifications\/description from the eBay page:\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\/06\/Passive-Loop-Antenna-863x1024.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/06\/Passive-Loop-Antenna-863x1024.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/06\/Passive-Loop-Antenna-863x1024.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x"},"classes":[]}],"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/39811","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=39811"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/39811\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=39811"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=39811"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=39811"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}