Hello everyone -
I've gone far down the rabbit hole of dxing and radio tinkering in general.
Each time I say that to myself, a few weeks later I find myself deeper still
without much chance of finding my way out.
The truth is at this point, I've gone so far that I doubt I could ever find my
way back and even if I could, I think I would choose to continue.
I love dxing with my SRF-T615, and I usually do that barefoot, but I also have
really enjoyed experimenting with the many antenna designs posted on this site
and elsewhere. I've built many crate antennas with varying success, I've built
a couple of different PVC loops and while I am happy with them I am also
interested in the monster ferrite antenna and the FSL antennas that have been
written about and constructed by members of the ULR DX group.
I'm still waiting on some ferrite ordered from the Ukraine for my FSL. While
I've been waiting I have constructed two ferrite antennas using the 18"
"monster" ferrite from Stormwise.
Both were constructed as outlined by Kevin S. in the files section of this website.
One is enclosed in PVC like Kevin shows in the .pdf - that one covers the BCB
while my second one is attached to the largest lazy susan that Bed Bath and
Beyond sells. The second one is set up for the BCB as well as longwave band. It
also has a sense coil and I can easily connect it to my FRG-7 or other ULRs.
I have a PL-310 and a PL-390. I've opened up both of them and put a few turns
of magnet wire around the internal ferrite antennas. I've fed the wire through
the slots under the stands, as suggested elsewhere on this site.
Last night from around 19:30 edt until around 20:30 edt I finally had a chance
to get 'em all together to see what all of the time spent on this might yield.
Four new stations on my first session with this set-up, not to mention all of
the fun that trial and error provides...
Stations logged -
from Berkley MI
Tecsun PL-310 w/ 18" ferrite loop antenna
4-5-2011 from 19:30 edt - 20:30 edt
1280 WJST New Castle, PA Pittsburgh Penguins v New Jersey Devils NHL Hockey
1280 WHTK Rochester, NY New York Yankees v Minnesota Twins MLB
940 KPSZ Des Moines, IA Des Moines Buccaneers v Youngstown Phantoms - USHL
Hockey
960 WFIR Roanoke, VA - Heard a male announcer give station ID and local weather
then back to Dave Ramsey.
I also relogged something during the day with the pl-310/MF ant combo
previously only heard in my car - WMMI Shepherd MI on 830 kHz. I logged that
one during some daytime testing of the antenna. During this testing I also
noted that 670 WSCR in Chicago could be heard using my new antenna, but
barefoot it could not be heard at all!
In summary I love these ferrite antennas! They are much more practical than
air-core loop antennas. Not as cumbersome and much easier to maintain. They
also double as a home self-defense system and can travel with you anywhere!
I'll post some pics soon.
Brian Miller
Berkley MI
