{"id":44834,"date":"2020-08-16T07:40:19","date_gmt":"2020-08-16T11:40:19","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/?p=44834"},"modified":"2020-08-16T07:40:19","modified_gmt":"2020-08-16T11:40:19","slug":"bruce-compares-two-homebrew-ncpl-antennas-to-the-airspy-youloop","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/2020\/08\/bruce-compares-two-homebrew-ncpl-antennas-to-the-airspy-youloop\/","title":{"rendered":"Bruce compares two homebrew NCPL antennas to the Airspy Youloop"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"\"<\/a>

The Airspy Youloop<\/p><\/div>\n

Many thanks to SWLing Post<\/em> contributor, Bruce (VE3EAR), who writes:<\/p>\n

I decided that more testing of the Noise-Cancelling Passive Loop (YouLoop) antenna was needed, but I wanted to start with a clean page.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

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

I built two identical loops using some 3\/8 inch heliax scraps I had on hand. Both are one metre in diameter and employ the same feed arrangement, with a balun wound on a half inch square binocular core of type 75 mix. There are four turns on the antenna side and eight on the feed line side, of #24 gauge plastic insulated wire. The feed line shield connects to the antenna shields. The only difference between the two antennas is at the top of the loop, opposite to the feed point. One has a simple one inch gap in the shield, with the centre conductor passing across the gap, while the second one uses the crossover connection of the YouLoop design.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

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

I’ve been running some A-B comparison listening sessions, both mid-day and in the evenings after local sunset. The testing is done outside, with the antennas hanging on a low limb of a maple tree in front of the house. The feed line is about twenty feet of coax which connects to my Realistic DX-440 receiver on the front porch. Testing is done listening to the AM broadcast band and the 160, 80, and 40 metre ham bands, with the loop aligned both E-W and N-S and about one loop diameter off the ground.<\/p>\n

Both loops work well, but I do have to give the nod to the YouLoop (by Airspy), which produces a stronger signal of two S-units higher than the conventional loop. It also has deeper and sharper nulls, which can sometimes produce total nulling of the station!<\/p>\n

73, Bruce, VE3EAR<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Thank you so much, Bruce, for sharing your findings with us! I, too, have found that the Youloop generally outperforms my homebrew NCPL antenna. I believe one of the reasons for this as Youssef at Airspy once told me is because the Youloop<\/a> has a lower loss transformer than anything that can be wound by humans (0.28 dB)–this improves gain.<\/p>\n

Click here to read our review of the Youloop<\/a> and click here for step-by-step instructions on building your own Noise-Cancelling Passive Loop antenna<\/a>.<\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Many thanks to SWLing Post contributor, Bruce (VE3EAR), who writes: I decided that more testing of the Noise-Cancelling Passive Loop (YouLoop) antenna was needed, but I wanted to start with a clean page. I built two identical loops using some 3\/8 inch heliax scraps I had on hand. Both are one metre in diameter and […]<\/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":[3607,433,3,43],"tags":[3724,8353,8460,4358,4359,4357,8413,8412,8584],"class_list":["post-44834","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-antennas","category-mediumwave","category-news","category-shortwave-radio","tag-airspy","tag-airspy-youloop","tag-bruce-mccreath-ve3ear","tag-homebrew","tag-homebrew-mag-loop-antenna","tag-mag-loop-antennas","tag-ncpl-antenna","tag-noise-cancelling-passive-loop-antenna","tag-youloop"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/pn3uc-bF8","jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":42856,"url":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/2020\/04\/hack-a-broken-vga-cable-to-make-a-binocular-ferrite-cores-for-your-ncpl-antenna\/","url_meta":{"origin":44834,"position":0},"title":"Hack a broken VGA cable to make a binocular ferrite cores for your NCPL antenna","author":"Thomas","date":"April 15, 2020","format":false,"excerpt":"Many thanks to Oscar (EA3IBC) who shares this simple hack. I've gotten quite a few emails from Post readers telling me that the only thing holding them back from building a NCPL antenna is the BN-73-302 binocular ferrite core needed for the 1:1 Balun. While so much of 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\/NCPL-Noise-Cancelling-Passive-Loop-Antenna-970x1024.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/NCPL-Noise-Cancelling-Passive-Loop-Antenna-970x1024.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/NCPL-Noise-Cancelling-Passive-Loop-Antenna-970x1024.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x"},"classes":[]},{"id":44073,"url":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/2020\/06\/rob-reviews-the-airspy-youloop-antenna\/","url_meta":{"origin":44834,"position":1},"title":"Rob reviews the AirSpy YouLoop antenna","author":"Thomas","date":"June 29, 2020","format":false,"excerpt":"Many thanks to SWLing Post contributor, Rob, who writes: Thank you for your informative blog. As a longtime SWLer I enjoy reading up on your posts. A few months ago I was considering the purchase of a magnetic loop antenna. Based on your \"YouLoop is a freaking brilliant passive loop\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Accessories"","block_context":{"text":"Accessories","link":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/category\/accessories\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/03\/YouLoop-Coax.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":42174,"url":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/2020\/03\/airspy-youloop-and-homebrew-passive-loop-antenna-designs\/","url_meta":{"origin":44834,"position":2},"title":"Airspy Youloop and Homebrew Passive Loop Antenna designs","author":"Thomas","date":"March 10, 2020","format":false,"excerpt":"Almost two weeks ago, at the 2020 Winter SWL Fest, I gave a presentation called \"A New Era in Portable SDR DXing.\" The presentation was essentially an in-depth version of an article I published in the January 2020 issue of The Spectrum Monitor magazine (see cover above). I devoted a\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Accessories"","block_context":{"text":"Accessories","link":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/category\/accessories\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/03\/Youloop-prototype-e1583854322268.jpeg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/03\/Youloop-prototype-e1583854322268.jpeg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/03\/Youloop-prototype-e1583854322268.jpeg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x"},"classes":[]},{"id":42582,"url":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/2020\/03\/the-airspy-youloop-is-a-freaking-brilliant-passive-loop-antenna\/","url_meta":{"origin":44834,"position":3},"title":"The Airspy Youloop is a freaking brilliant passive loop antenna","author":"Thomas","date":"March 30, 2020","format":false,"excerpt":"Before I start talking Youloop, I have a little confession to make up front: At the Winter SWL Fest when I gave a presentation about Portable SDR DXing, not only did I give attendees the wrong name of the Airspy Youloop antenna, but I also configured it incorrectly, hence the\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\/03\/Red-Oxx-Lil-Roy.jpeg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/03\/Red-Oxx-Lil-Roy.jpeg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/03\/Red-Oxx-Lil-Roy.jpeg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/03\/Red-Oxx-Lil-Roy.jpeg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":51178,"url":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/2021\/12\/airspy-hf-discovery-shortwave-portables-having-fun-with-the-airspy-youloop\/","url_meta":{"origin":44834,"position":4},"title":"Airspy HF+ Discovery & Shortwave Portables: Having Fun with the Airspy YouLoop!","author":"Thomas","date":"December 14, 2021","format":false,"excerpt":"Many thanks to SWLing Post contributor, Bill Hemphill, who shares the following guest post: YouLoop Antenna Fun by Billy Hemphill WD9EQD Like many listeners, I live in an antenna restricted community.\u00a0 While I have strung up some hidden outdoor wire antennas, I have found that they didn\u2019t really perform that\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\/2021\/12\/Screen-Shot-2021-12-14-at-06.15.01.png?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/12\/Screen-Shot-2021-12-14-at-06.15.01.png?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/12\/Screen-Shot-2021-12-14-at-06.15.01.png?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x"},"classes":[]},{"id":45532,"url":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/2020\/09\/majority-of-youloops-listed-on-ebay-are-not-an-airspy-product\/","url_meta":{"origin":44834,"position":5},"title":"Majority of YouLoops listed on eBay are not an Airspy product","author":"Thomas","date":"September 25, 2020","format":false,"excerpt":"Many thanks to SWLing Post contributor, Chris Smolinski, who shared the screen shot above of a \"YouLoop\" being sold by a vendor on eBay. While the Airspy YouLoop is based on a public domain noise-cancelling passive loop design that dates back decades (a.k.a. the Moebius loop antenna) buyers should note\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\/09\/imposter-youloops.jpeg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]}],"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/44834","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=44834"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/44834\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=44834"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=44834"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=44834"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}