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.
BASIC Desktop Computer RFI Kit - AC Powered
This RFI kit is specifically selected to suppress most household computer device RFI problems. It contains a large ferrite ring for AC power supply protection and Snap On ferrite split bead filters selected to eliminate RFI from 1 to 300 MHz. The beads are easy to use, don’t require modification of the protected equipment and work in almost all cases, even when plug-in filters fail.
The RFI-Desktop kit is meant to be used with a AC powered computer (desktop type) with up to 6 input/output signal lines and an AC power cord line coming into the device. Included are one large ferrite ring filter and six, 3/8” inner diameter snap on split ferrite bead filters for the input/output lines.
Installation is easy. AC power cord through ring filter multiple times and snap on filters on I/O cables nearest computer - problem cured!
For additional devices like a printer and AC powered speakers, consider the Deluxe Desktop RFI Kit with additional filters.