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KX3 & Loop Antennas

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TFJM

KX3 & Loop Antennas

Has anyone had much success using either an Alex Loop or Chameleon P Loop antenna with their KX3? I have few antenna options in an apartment situation and throwing a 25 foot long wire into a nearby tree has not worked for me. Even tried loading up a 33 foot long aluminum balcony railing with no luck.

Thanks,

Tom W1PDI

Ramon Tristani-2

Re: KX3 & Loop Antennas

Banned User

I have tried the MFJ 1788 MagLoop and the TW2010. Both are good choices. The Magloop is good for up to a bit more than 100 watts. The TW2010 is better made and easier to operate and will handle a full gallon. Both are portable but the TW2010 is light and rugged.

Ramón E. Tristani Sr. NQ9V
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> On May 30, 2016, at 19:38, TFJM via Elecraft <[hidden email]> wrote:
>
> Has anyone had much success using either an Alex Loop or Chameleon P Loop
> antenna with their KX3? I have few antenna options in an apartment situation
> and throwing a 25 foot long wire into a nearby tree has not worked for me.
> Even tried loading up a 33 foot long aluminum balcony railing with no luck.
>
> Thanks,
>
> Tom W1PDI
>
>
>
> --
> View this message in context: http://elecraft.365791.n2.nabble.com/KX3-Loop-Antennas-tp7618249.html
> Sent from the Elecraft mailing list archive at Nabble.com.
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k6dgw

Re: KX3 & Loop Antennas

In reply to this post by TFJM

I replaced my Buddipole with an Alex and use it a lot in the field ...
understand that as I accumulate birthdays, "field" more and more means a
drive-to a park or friendly hill. It works better than the BP ever did,
I can set it up in 5 min, it is fairly insensitive to ground and
surrounding objects, including me. I sit under it so I can reach the knob.

It's a resonant transformer. To be effective, it must be EXACTLY
resonant. That's a bit touchy on 30 and 40. You MUST bypass the ATU.
"Getting close" with the knob and then letting the ATU do it's matching
job yields a fairly pricey dummy load. On 40, the BW of the Alex isn't
much more than a SSB signal.

Beware: Small mag loops can involve some huge circulating currents and
RF voltages. The Alex is OK to 10W. Google "magnetic loop calculator"
for a very cool little calculator. Try it with 1 KW, it will really
surprise you. And sadly, I don't think a Reynolds Wrap hat will protect
you if you're close.

Small mag loops are bi-directional in the plane of the loop but it is
very broad. Orthogonal to the loop plane, there are two very sharp,
deep nulls, sometimes useful to eliminate noise from a point source or QRM.

73,

Fred K6DGW
- Northern California Contest Club
- CU in the Cal QSO Party 1-2 Oct 2016
- www.cqp.org

On 5/30/2016 4:38 PM, TFJM via Elecraft wrote:
> Has anyone had much success using either an Alex Loop or Chameleon P Loop
> antenna with their KX3? I have few antenna options in an apartment situation
> and throwing a 25 foot long wire into a nearby tree has not worked for me.
> Even tried loading up a 33 foot long aluminum balcony railing with no luck.
>
> Thanks,
> Tom W1PDI

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TFJM

Re: KX3 & Loop Antennas

Thanks for the feedback Fred. So I'll have to turn off the internal KX3 ATU? How do I do that?

Also have you seen or read anything on the Chameleon F loop? I saw a few things on You Tube. Similar to the Alex Loop.

Doesn't the Alex Loop tune itself?

Tom

W1PDI

Sent from my iPhone

On May 30, 2016, at 8:15 PM, k6dgw [via Elecraft] <[hidden email]> wrote:

I replaced my Buddipole with an Alex and use it a lot in the field ...
understand that as I accumulate birthdays, "field" more and more means a
drive-to a park or friendly hill. It works better than the BP ever did,
I can set it up in 5 min, it is fairly insensitive to ground and
surrounding objects, including me. I sit under it so I can reach the knob.

It's a resonant transformer. To be effective, it must be EXACTLY
resonant. That's a bit touchy on 30 and 40. You MUST bypass the ATU.
"Getting close" with the knob and then letting the ATU do it's matching
job yields a fairly pricey dummy load. On 40, the BW of the Alex isn't
much more than a SSB signal.

Beware: Small mag loops can involve some huge circulating currents and
RF voltages. The Alex is OK to 10W. Google "magnetic loop calculator"
for a very cool little calculator. Try it with 1 KW, it will really
surprise you. And sadly, I don't think a Reynolds Wrap hat will protect
you if you're close.

Small mag loops are bi-directional in the plane of the loop but it is
very broad. Orthogonal to the loop plane, there are two very sharp,
deep nulls, sometimes useful to eliminate noise from a point source or QRM.

73,

Fred K6DGW
- Northern California Contest Club
- CU in the Cal QSO Party 1-2 Oct 2016
- www.cqp.org

On 5/30/2016 4:38 PM, TFJM via Elecraft wrote:
> Has anyone had much success using either an Alex Loop or Chameleon P Loop
> antenna with their KX3? I have few antenna options in an apartment situation
> and throwing a 25 foot long wire into a nearby tree has not worked for me.
> Even tried loading up a 33 foot long aluminum balcony railing with no luck.
>
> Thanks,
> Tom W1PDI

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Phil Wheeler-2

Re: KX3 & Loop Antennas

In reply to this post by k6dgw

Re "Try it with 1 KW, it will really surprise
you. And sadly, I don't think a Reynolds Wrap hat
will protect you if you're close.: Not to worry,
because the AlexLoop would fail very quickly if
subjected to a kW! I'd not want to be under it or
anywhere near it in that case.

73, Phil W7OX

On 5/30/16 5:13 PM, Fred Jensen wrote:

> I replaced my Buddipole with an Alex and use it
> a lot in the field ... understand that as I
> accumulate birthdays, "field" more and more
> means a drive-to a park or friendly hill. It
> works better than the BP ever did, I can set it
> up in 5 min, it is fairly insensitive to ground
> and surrounding objects, including me. I sit
> under it so I can reach the knob.
>
> It's a resonant transformer. To be effective,
> it must be EXACTLY resonant. That's a bit
> touchy on 30 and 40. You MUST bypass the ATU.
> "Getting close" with the knob and then letting
> the ATU do it's matching job yields a fairly
> pricey dummy load. On 40, the BW of the Alex
> isn't much more than a SSB signal.
>
> Beware: Small mag loops can involve some huge
> circulating currents and RF voltages. The Alex
> is OK to 10W. Google "magnetic loop calculator"
> for a very cool little calculator. Try it with
> 1 KW, it will really surprise you. And sadly, I
> don't think a Reynolds Wrap hat will protect you
> if you're close.
>
> Small mag loops are bi-directional in the plane
> of the loop but it is very broad. Orthogonal to
> the loop plane, there are two very sharp, deep
> nulls, sometimes useful to eliminate noise from
> a point source or QRM.
>
> 73,
>
> Fred K6DGW
> - Northern California Contest Club
> - CU in the Cal QSO Party 1-2 Oct 2016
> - www.cqp.org
>
> On 5/30/2016 4:38 PM, TFJM via Elecraft wrote:
>> Has anyone had much success using either an
>> Alex Loop or Chameleon P Loop
>> antenna with their KX3? I have few antenna
>> options in an apartment situation
>> and throwing a 25 foot long wire into a nearby
>> tree has not worked for me.
>> Even tried loading up a 33 foot long aluminum
>> balcony railing with no luck.
>>
>> Thanks,
>> Tom W1PDI

Raymond Sills

Re: KX3 & Loop Antennas

In reply to this post by TFJM

Hi Tom:

There is a menu setting for the ATU which lets you put it in BYPass.

The AlexLoop is tuned manually. It’s pretty easy: with your KX3 set to the operating band of choice, simply tune the tuning knob on the antenna until you hear a peak in background noise. It’s very pronounced, so you won’t miss it. That gets you in the ballpark. Then, put the KX3 into tune mode (I use one watt) and then touch up the AlexLoop’s tuning, while keeping an eye on the KX3’s SWR display. Dip the tuning for minimum SWR, and you’re done.

If you have to QSY more than a few KHz, you’ll need to touch up the antenna’s tuning. The AlexLoop is a great portable antenna, especially for rigs that do not have an in-built ATU. With the AlexLoop, the loop =is= the tuner.

73 de Ray
K2ULR
KX3 #211

> On May 30, 2016, at 8:35 PM, TFJM via Elecraft <[hidden email]> wrote:
>
> Thanks for the feedback Fred. So I'll have to turn off the internal KX3 ATU? How do I do that?
>
> Also have you seen or read anything on the Chameleon F loop? I saw a few things on You Tube. Similar to the Alex Loop.
>
> Doesn't the Alex Loop tune itself?
>
> 73
>
> Tom
> W1PDI
>
> Sent from my iPhone

thelastdb

Re: KX3 & Loop Antennas

In reply to this post by TFJM

All,
I found it convenient to program the PF2 key to toggle the ATU/THRU function with one button push. I have the PF1 key programmed as DUAL WATCH during the winter months for Fox hunts and programmed as RX Preamp in summer for Field ops.

Myron WVØHPrinted on Recycled Data -------- Original message --------From: Ray Sills <[hidden email]> Date: 5/30/2016 9:01 PM (GMT-06:00) To: Elecraft Reflector Reflector <[hidden email]> Subject: Re: [Elecraft] KX3 & Loop Antennas
Hi Tom:

There is a menu setting for the ATU which lets you put it in BYPass.

The AlexLoop is tuned manually. It’s pretty easy: with your KX3 set to the operating band of choice, simply tune the tuning knob on the antenna until you hear a peak in background noise. It’s very pronounced, so you won’t miss it. That gets you in the ballpark. Then, put the KX3 into tune mode (I use one watt) and then touch up the AlexLoop’s tuning, while keeping an eye on the KX3’s SWR display. Dip the tuning for minimum SWR, and you’re done.

If you have to QSY more than a few KHz, you’ll need to touch up the antenna’s tuning. The AlexLoop is a great portable antenna, especially for rigs that do not have an in-built ATU. With the AlexLoop, the loop =is= the tuner.

73 de Ray
K2ULR
KX3 #211

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Doug Turnbull

Re: KX3 & Loop Antennas

In reply to this post by TFJM

-----Original Message-----
From: Elecraft [mailto:[hidden email]] On Behalf Of TFJM
via Elecraft
Sent: 30 May 2016 23:39
To: [hidden email]
Subject: [Elecraft] KX3 & Loop Antennas

Has anyone had much success using either an Alex Loop or Chameleon P Loop
antenna with their KX3? I have few antenna options in an apartment situation
and throwing a 25 foot long wire into a nearby tree has not worked for me.
Even tried loading up a 33 foot long aluminum balcony railing with no luck.

Thanks,

Tom W1PDI

--
View this message in context:
http://elecraft.365791.n2.nabble.com/KX3-Loop-Antennas-tp7618249.html
Sent from the Elecraft mailing list archive at Nabble.com.
______________________________________________________________
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Help: http://mailman.qth.net/mmfaq.htm
Post: mailto:[hidden email]

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Please help support this email list: http://www.qsl.net/donate.html
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