Loop antennas may be constructed in many forms including horizontal full wave loops in square, rectangle or triangle (delta) shapes. They can also be in the vertical plane and are most often in the same shapes with the delta being very popular as it has both vertical and horizontal polarization. The impedance at the loop resonant frequency is approximately 100 ohms but will very slightly on harmonics. Loops are “quiet” antennas compared to verticals and dipoles and are omni-directional. The also exhibit gain on harmonic bands. Once you try a loop antenna you will know why they are so popular with old timers but still a secret to newcomers. Shown below are some typical designs:
Full Wave Horizontal Loop Antenna (a.k.a Skyloop)
This antenna is horizontally polarized and should be mounted as high as possible but works well at low heights of 10-30 feet. They are quieter than a dipole or a vertical, have a broader bandwidth and will usually out perform a dipole antenna.To determine the approximate circumference in feet of a full wave loop antenna use the formula:
1005/Freq in Mhz = length in feet.
The feed point impedance of a full wave loop antenna is theoretically in the vicinity of 120 ohms and requires a 2:1 impedance transformer (for single band loops or a 4:1 balun to match on multiple bands) with 50 ohm line. You will also need a feed line choke or better yet, just get the Hybrid 4:1+1:1 in a single box.
Vertical Delta Loops
Vertical delta loops can be oriented several way but the most popular is to have the “pointy” end at the top (usually a single support) and the lower horizontal ends just out of reach of humans and animals. Best feed point is 1/4 wavelength (246/f(mhz)) from the top point down one side. Vertical delta loops use the same 2:1 baluns as the horizontal loops or 4:1 for multi-band operation.
Purpose. The CU-4-1500 is used as a 4:1 (200 ohm unbalanced load to 50 ohm unbalanced source) broadband transformer for 50 ohm coax cable rated at at 1500 PEP into 200 ohms unbalanced load from 1.8-61 MHz. Excellent for 31-33, 41 and 43 foot multi-band verticals and also slopers (51', 85' or 119" work great) made by S9, ZeroFive, MFJ and DX Engineering and Palomar Engineers vertical antennas
USE: The top connector is for the 200 ohm unbalanced output, and the side connector is for a ground rod, counterpoise or radial connection.The SO-239 input connector shield/ground is shared with the ground connector.
For best results use a feed line choke between the CU-4-1500 and the coax input to isolate the coax from becoming part of the antenna. Our Maxi-Choker (MC-1-3000) is an excellent companion for this unun.
This Unun is a very efficient match for many 43 and 31-33 foot multi-band verticals including the S9, ZeroFive, MFJ and DX Engineering vertical antennas.
The CU-4-1500 is also useful for end fed OCF antennas utilizing a 4:1 unun and a coax feed line choke to set the antenna length for the "short" side of the OCF.
CU-4-5000 is in a 4" x 4" x 2" NEMA enclosure and weighs 3 pounds and is specified for 1.8-31 MHz - rated at 5KW PEP
CU-4-5000HD is in a 4" x 4" x 4" NEMA enclosure, contains 50% more ferrite cores then the 5000 and weighs 4 pounds and is specified for 1.8-31 MHz - rated at 4KW continuous duty, 5K+ PEP. The HD version of this unun is CUSTOM MADE PER ORDER - PLEASE ALLOW 2 WEEKS FOR MANUFACTURING PRIOR TO SHIPMENT.
