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.
Coax antenna switches generally only switch the center conductor of the coax and all the coax braids remain connected in parallel summing the common mode noise off ALL coax lines onto the coax selected - this means you may be picking up common mode noise from coax lines that are not even connected to the coax antenna selected. The only practical solution is to isolate the coax braids from each other BEFORE they connect to the antenna switch as shown in the picture for a FLEX RADIO Antenna Genius 8 port switch or just a simple 2 position antenna switch.
This product listing is for antenna switches from 2 - 8 antennas. Each switched line needs a common mode noise filter prior to being connected to the switch. In some cases you can use a double male barrel connector to attach the filter to the switch or you may need a short jumper cable.
We offer a low power filter (CMNF-500-50 up to 500 watts PEP and up to 46 dB of common mode noise suppression per line) or a high power (Maxi-Choker, MC-1-1500 up to 1.5KW PEP and up to 42 dB of common mode noise suppression per line) and 2-8 ports of antenna switch. If you use a dummy load for one of the switched ports you do not need a filter for that port. Each filter has a range of 1.8 to 61 MHz (see individual listing on this website for specifics).
Picture shown is 8 port FLEX RADIO Antenna Genius at AK6R with one dummy load and 7 antennas. Inputs to Antenna Genius is from TUNER GENIUS with SO2R option.
This kit also includes 1/2 snap on filters for the ethernet line and the 12 volt power supply and two 1" snap on filters for the RF input lines (1/2" ID RG-213 shown and also works with 1/4" ID RG8-X/RG400, etc.).
