80m wire loop TX/RX antenna is AWESOME | Ham Radio

In this video I take you along a overview of my newly installed 80m loop antenna, good for 80,40,20,17,15,12,10,&6m . And then go in the shack to compare it with my Vertical antenna. This is my experience and may be different for yourself. I posted screenshots of the NanoVNA sweeps in the discord here - / discord
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#hamradio #antenna #loop #k5yvy
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[@MM0OPXFieldRadio]

I had one at my old QTH and would have one again if I had the space. I would however omit the balun and feed direct with ladder line and a balanced tuner which would allow all of 80m to be used. I found that it excellent as a DX antenna on 40m working VK a number of times. Keep going with it you will love it.

[@K5YVY]

Thanks Colin! Yes ladder line is ideal , but I don't have a balanced tuner at the moment, and where the wire won't work, the vertical will. The wire is doing what I wanted it to do, so I'm happy with it. Thanks for stopping by and leaving a comment! 73 to you.

[@radiotests]

You have that beautiful MS Clay for propagation! You should build a ground loop if you can keep the critters out of it. Would love to see it in action, only read about it down there and with salt flats. Years ago I flew down to consult on rebuilding the Old house in back bay Biloxi. Left with 40 lbs of lovely frozen MS shrimp as luggage!

[@K5YVY]

Yea I think I can get away with antenna's lower than "normal" because of the clay soil. A ground loop would be interesting, but horrible to still mow the yard lol.

[@martykm6pra114]

Lol Joe you're right just put antenna in the air! I've been working 80m on a gutter! Lol everyone told me "a gutter won't radiate" my log book says different. Lol👍🤣

[@K5YVY]

Exactly Marty! Just try it! It might not work, but it MAY work great.

[@butterbean4195]

good to see you got it up Joe!. im still working on my stuff just got vhf/uhf back up. the mosley TA-33jr W/warc is on a pole in the yard waiting on a part. then it goes up the west tower. stay safe everyone.

[@K5YVY]

Thanks Butter Bean! I would love to get my 3 element HF beam and my VB-66DX up. Next Big antenna projects when I some trees cut. Hope your part comes in soon and you get it on the air!

[@JayN4GO]

Gm Joe. I run a delta loop and have configured it so many ways it ain’t funny. lol the best that I have found is to feed it at the lowest corner with tru ladder line. I run that open wire to a balun designs 4:1 right at the shack entry. I’ve tried coax as well with a pretty significant loss on the higher bands. The tru ladder line really took all that away. Once you trim your trees you might give it a try. About 10 ft up your tower and shoot the other points of the loop higher if you can. Loops and quads will always open the band first and be the last to close it. Hehe. Great audio btw. Dunno what mic and rack you’re running there. 73 jay

[@K5YVY]

Nice tips Jay! I will definitely come back to your comment when I get ready to reconfigure it. Love hearing other peoples results. Thank you for the audio comment. In the shack I run a cheap Neweer mic off Amazon and the audio goes directly into the computer where I have a couple VST plugins for noise control and voicemeeter software mixer to control the EQ and outputs of the audio. One mic gives me audio to the computer, 7300, and 705 simultaneously as needed. 👍 73

[@DK5ONV]

Uncle Lou from Barcelona Spain...no comment about him and his antennas 😜

[@K5YVY]

lol

[@K3JRZOnTheAir]

I'd say it WORKS! Nice job!

[@K5YVY]

Yep, some stations it works great, other stations I might have a better chance with the vertical. But it's doing exactly what I wanted it to do so far.

[@TheSmokinApe]

Impressive son, impressive...

[@K5YVY]

Thanks Ape, I really wish now I could have found my head strap for my go pro to get those climbing segments. But we got it on the air.

[@dongibbskk4qam]

Nice comparison Joe. It doesn't really mater how high you have it, the loops just work. It may not be a quarter wavelength high on 80m, but it is over the "recommended" height on 20m and up. There will be plenty of contacts made on this antenna.

[@K5YVY]

I am glad I have a couple antennas to switch between now, depending on the other station, they may a S-5 on the vertical and a S-9+ on the loop, or it may be right the opposite, some stations it makes no difference.

[@robindorling3669]

Hi lm Robin zs6rwd l have had a skywire antenna 160m full length with ladder liine fed in tuner works great for 20 yrs or so works great on all hf bands nvis and dx on higher bands it's the best hf antenna I have ever had

[@K5YVY]

Hello Robin! Great to hear, It has become my primary antenna for sure. Thanks for coming by and commenting, 73 👍

[@robindorling3669]

@@K5YVY yes it's a fantastic all round antenna with brilliant reception

[@WannaBeEinstein]

Nice loop. I use Google earth to plan my antennas and model them all the time. 73, K1QS.

[@K5YVY]

Thanks! I had wondered how accurate the measurements were in maps, I took a known length such as the length of my home is 60ft, google maps was right on the money, so I agree it is a good resource to plan and measure with 👍. 73

[@Ei2iP]

I can't take ft8 contacts seriously when testing an antenna. Why not try the RBN, reverse beacon network? Also I thought ideally 2.5:1 was the ideal balun for 80M loop?

[@K5YVY]

Why can’t you take ft8 serious testing an antenna? It’s still a mode that you can plot multiple stations at a time with a db strength indicator. 🤷🏼‍♂️ I just need to know it is actually transmitting, and plotting receiving stations on the map helps show me if it tends to be directional or not. I’m just a simple guy. As far as the 4:1 current balun, from my reading it varies on the operator, as some use no balun or may use various others. As my case the 4:1 works just fine, might try other configurations one day. Thanks for commenting👍

[@W7HU]

Nice job buddy

[@K5YVY]

Thank you Alex!

[@pz2ytsuriname630]

Hello Joe nice

[@K5YVY]

Hey, thanks Yudel ! 73

[@Thousandslakes]

You know you can use your loop also on 6m band? if not directly in tune it's simple to make a manual tuner for 6m band . There are good schematic on google for make it

[@K5YVY]

Marko Yes I use my loop on the 6m band very often. Works well , but I do still want to get my 6 element yagi for 6m in the air 😎 thank you 73

[@cdrsales8870]

how do you adjust for swr mainly for 75mtr with the balun, most others use 400 ohm ladder line, I prefer the 4/1 method myself getting ready to install one so setting SWR is important

[@K5YVY]

Hey Richard, myself I was lucky, I cut approx 266ft of wire and it worked where I wanted it to. So I didn’t mess with it anymore, but if I wanted to adjust the tune I would start by folding a good bit of wire on one end and twisting it around itself. This will allow you to see adjustments in your swr and allow you to decide if you need to continue to shorten or lengthen the wire without making a permeant cut. Keep in mind this method will not show you exactly where to cut , because the twist will still interact some, so just cutting at the fold will not be the same swr when you cut it, may have to trim some more to get that swr where you want it. I hope that made some sense.

[@K5YVY]

I will add that I can use the internal tuner for all bands 80-6 with this wire. Except for the upper part of 80m. 3.7Mhz and lower internal tuner works, above i switch to my vertical which is tuned for the upper portion.

[@Scout75PortableRadio]

Very cool, Joe! Now I need to get something like that setup at the home QTH.

[@K5YVY]

Go for it! Thanks Scout, it's worth a try.

[@johnwest7993]

Any antenna works better than no antenna. I've worked a thousand miles on 20 meter sideband loading up the coax shield for a 2 meter beam on a chimney mount on the roof.

[@K5YVY]

You are correct about that John 👍.

[@hash46176]

Thats the key just have fun

[@K5YVY]

Yes sir that’s it. Thank you John for leaving a comment. Best wishes.

[@hash46176]

I am studying for my general and maybe extra

[@K5YVY]

Awesome! HF is awesome. Of course I have to say definitely go for that extra, I would at least try it where you pass your general, you may just get it to at the same time, or at least see which parts you need to study maybe more than other parts. I took all mine separately , some people can study and learn different than others. Wish you the best of luck, you’ll get it👍

[@dougtaylor7724]

I like the disclaimer at the end. One thing I’ve learned, there are no such things as antennas that work the same everywhere. Terrain and ground types as well as blind luck plays a part.

[@K5YVY]

😎 very true, you just have to try it. I’ve had antennas with more elements and gain than another local 2 miles up the road and he would hear and talk to stations that I couldn’t even hear. Just have to see how it works for you👍

[@mel-ve3ojn319]

Good video Joe. Since I put up my homebrew 1/4 wave 80m vertical I totally love it. I took down the dipole but I do want to build a 80m loop also. We will have to try a sked on 80m some night. Good job. 73 mel ve3ojn

[@K5YVY]

Sounds great Mel! I'm always up for a Sked, when we can make it happen.

[@timbacchus]

Mine is only 20 feet off the ground and had it for 25 years just love it and requires no maintenance. Same length as yours. Has the most gain on 20 meters

[@K5YVY]

Awesome Tim! I have to agree it seems to work pretty good on twenty.

[@kd7nfr]

I put an 80m loop up to see what they were all about, and I've never looked back.

[@K5YVY]

Awesome Jake. Yeah two locals here each put up a 160m loop and they both till this day still say if they knew how well they worked they would had never bought their hex beams. I had to 80m ,due to power lines on the property. Mine has become my primary antenna now, but I’m curious to try a filter on it to see if I can cut back some of the noise I pick up 🤷🏼‍♂️. Thanks for commenting 73!

[@kd7nfr]

@@K5YVY You have a nice channel, keep it up and you'll pick up I'm sure. I don't have the room for a 160, but that would be amazing to have! As far as the noise in the loop, how is the grounding in your shack? A loop should be much quieter than a vertical.

[@K5YVY]

Thank you for the kind words of the channel. Although we shared this in discord I put it here as well for others. It appears my increased noise in the loop is probably coming from power lines running parallel with the south and west side of the loop. The lower temps seem to increase the noise so I imagine with heaters running in the neighborhood that’s causing more flow in the power lines as well🤷🏼‍♂️. Always something to investigate. 73

[@marklowe7431]

Like anything loop. Usually means awesome s/n. If only for rx it's worth it.

[@K5YVY]

It has definitely become my primary antenna. Although I still keep the Gap Titan handy , sometimes the vertical gets the contact easier.

[@kd8opi]

Not sure your 80m loop is better than your vertical based on the video. The S/N ratio was the same. Personally, I’d rather have an S8 signal with an S0 noise floor than S9+10 with an S2 noise floor. I’d bet your 80m loop is a good cloud burner in the best sense, probably fantastic for NVIS and superior to your vertical up to 500 miles. A loop set up like yours would blanket regions of the country, or the entire state of Texas. For DX, you prolly need it at 120 ft. It’s ain’t called a sky loop for nuthin’!

[@K5YVY]

My purpose for the loop was actually to have a antenna that would be more NVIS than my vertical. But I find myself primarily working off the loop as I switch between the two, most stations are stronger on the loop, I do come across a station now and then stronger on the vertical still. The noise factor was disappointing, as I know others that put a loop up similar to mine and first thing they rave about is the low noise. I have power lines fairly close on two sides of the loop and believe that’s most of my noise issue as the vertical isn’t as affected. I do work plenty of DX still off the loop, but I could imagine how much better at the appropriate height it would be. Thanks for commenting👍

[@kd8opi]

@@K5YVY Yeah, after reading your comment I have to agree with you. I was a little surprised to see the noise up on the loop. I’ve had/built two vertical antennas in my day. The first and most complex was a 31 foot vertical with an aluminum ground plate and 32 radials. It was surprisingly expensive given all the copper involved. It was a solid performer, I got into Europe no problem and most of the country. You can see a video on my KZbin channel of it on receive with an icom r75. It did a great job for a vertical, but it always had a relatively high noise for compared to two wire fan diapoles I put up, and of course when I built/set up my Cushcraft MA5B beam, it was no comparison on 20m-10m. You may have a higher noise floor because of powerline noise, of course you probably can determine that yourself as powerline noises typically can be blocked to great effect with NB on modern receivers. If your noise blanker doesn’t work, you’re probably just picking up atmospheric noise locally better than your vertical. A good vertical/ground system has its maximum take-off angle at 10 deg or so; your loop has a 90 deg max take-off angle (straight up) at 20ft. Especially on 80 m, I’m betting any thunderstorm in any direction w/in 1000 miles can impact your noise. I’m not sure there’s anyway to fix that with the loop except for raising it, but that’s the problem with horizontal loops, ideally they need to be half a wavelength up for maximum performance. And an 80 m, unless you’re living in a redwood forest that’s gonna be really tough to do. Still, it’s a great NVIS set up. Do you know would be cool with the amount of property you have? Set up a 20 m or 15 m triangle loop fed at one corner opposite to where you’d like to get more DX from. If you can put that up just a bit higher, at 30 feet, you’ll get 2-3 db opposite the feed point corner. Alternately, you can set up a vertical delta loop for 40 m, then put a reflector behind it that’s 5% larger, and you’re going to get a huge 5 to 6 Db again and maybe 10 db FTB. That’s my next project. I don’t have my beam anymore, to install a new one at my current property and do it right Would probably cost me five or $6000 on the cheap side of things. Anyway, I like your videos. Post some more!

[@K5YVY]

Great information! Now I know what to use my left over wire for. Seriously thank you for those ideas, might have to talk more!

[@Thousandslakes]

NG9X That's not true I can use my 80m loop which is about 90ft at its highest point and on 80 m it's a fairly good nvis antenna perhaps better mid range antenna ! But on all the other bands above up to 10m I'm able to work the whole world with just 100 watts ssb phone and cw while on digimodes 5 watts is enough .

[@DonDegidio]

Hi Joe/Brett, If it works for you, the height is OK. Just get it up as high as you can. Wish I had some trees like yours, but I have only a 1/3 acre plot. The back and forth between the vertical and loop proves the loop works. Have fun and you and the family stay safe. 73 WJ3U

[@K5YVY]

Thanks Don D ! My personal Goal with this loop antenna was to actually be able to work stations closer to me, so far I feel like it may still be a little to high for the NVIS I was hoping for but being that part of it goes across the driveway I can't safely have it any lower than it is now. Thanks for leaving a comment! 73 Don.

[@DK5ONV]

One question to you, Joe. Why do have your IC-7300 set to AGC-F...?

[@K5YVY]

Quick answer, always have. Unscientific answer is where I get a static crash it doesn’t interfere with me hearing the other station. Say if I had it set to slow and got a static crash it would take a couple seconds for the AGC to bring the other stations audio back up so I could hear what they are saying.

[@kd8opi]

There are no hard rules for AGC. Some say fast is for digital modes, slow is for voice. Some rigs have adjustable decays, some are more hard wired. Just like you don’t leave your gain wide open all the time, keeping only one setting for AGC in all situations (fast, slow, or medium) probably isn’t great-though admittedly I keep mine the same most of the time. I play with my gain all the time, it especially helps with NB and NR.

[@frankmooney7282]

I'd like to have your clay. i have lots and lots of rock with a little bit of dry dirt to hold them together, lol

[@K5YVY]

Well you got me there. 😎

[@CurtTerpstra]

There are three things that go into an antenna 1 - Can you hear 2 - does it tune so you don't blow up your radio 3 - Can you talk on it Anything outside of these three things is just icing on the cake.

[@K5YVY]

I can completely agree with that!

[@DK5ONV]

Whoaaa...that's quite some of an loop antenna. Impressive and I am sure this Wire Construction screams the Shit out of the 80m Band. A fatass thumbs up for that from your Friend Uncle Guenter of the German Frontier

[@K5YVY]

lol thanks it works quite well, surprisingly great on 40 with no tuner needed.

[@johndavis3615]

it's an 80M loop but you demo'd it on other bands and not 80M ! ??? I made 40M horiz loops and just used them on 40M with a Q secton matching device.

[@K5YVY]

John , what was I thinking!? All this time and I didn’t even think about 80m not being in the video. I shared the analyzing results in the discord at the time. I can tell you it works great in the extra/cw portion of 80m but I still use my vertical above 3.700Mhz cause it’s easier for me than using the manual tuner. Thanks for the awareness and comment👍 73

[@davidc5027]

Good advice... Yeah, you know, one watches some of these youtube video's that model low hanging horizontal antenna, and claim all the RF just goes straight up, and I call BS, and what we see in your video is just more proof. Don't get me wrong, the modeling programs are on the right track, but the visual representations, IMHO, are much less pronounced than what is shown.

[@K5YVY]

Thank you David, yeah model programs are great, but there is always that “real world” element that can be very complicated for a computer. I always want to promote the idea of “Just try it”. Because of modeling programs and other “how you should do it” videos I really expected my loop to be NVIS, I already had a low take off angle vertical for DX, but to my surprise with my setup, the loop worked very well and I’m still working DX with it. Soil condition is sandy clay here and I suspect that is why I don’t have to have the loop at 50-75’ like popular belief. 🤷🏼‍♂️.

[@davidc5027]

@@K5YVY I love trying new things, and learning the positives and negatives of each antenna type. Case in point with the vertical antenna. Vertical antennas in the past were elevated for a reason besides needing far fewer radials. There were elevated so there would be less impact in the Fresnel Zone. Ground mounted antennas the radiation is happening at the bottom of the antenna where the current is. Trees, houses with wiring, bushes, shrubs, etc, that are within 1-3 wavelengths of the ground mounted antenna absorb signal due to low radiation angles. This is a negative of the ground mounted vertical, but you will never hear about it from the antenna manufacturers. I truly believe the best antenna type is the one that is best suited for the situation, but think hams should know the disadvantages of each type by experimentation. In other words, don't just take my word or anyone else's word for it :) Try it for yourself and judge. Cheers and 73

[@K5YVY]

You are exactly correct, my vertical is the GAP Titan DX, no radials and mounted on a pole, the base is 8ft and the feed point in half way up the 20ft antenna from there. So far I have avoided antennas with radials, mainly cause I just never wanted to deal with them lol. I’ve always enjoyed making antennas, even though I’m not very understanding of the science of them, I have a understanding of how they work. Cheers73👍