Does anyone know if the NRC Facebook group is still active?  A couple of weeks ago I joined NRC and also asked to join the Facebook group, but got no response. Maybe the admin is in transition or something like that. 

Yes the tuning on the loop  needs to be very precise. A touch either way and you loose the peak. It is also pretty critical where you place the radio relative to the loop. With some of my small radios I actually put the radio inside of the loop. Perpendicular sitting right at the bottom. But playing with the distance and orientation of the radio relative to the antenna will make a huge difference. I also bought a Lazy Susan (rotating disk/platter on bearings) to be able to aim the radio and antenna at the same time. Remember the antenna is directional along the plane of the loop. So the edge (the direction the wire is wound) is what needs to be pointed at the signal and the radio.
From Wikipedia "The radiation pattern of a  loop antenna peaks at right angles to the plane of the loop".
I have several of these small loops. When used correctly, and depending on conditions they can make the difference between a copy and none. They are also good for nulling noise and adjacent channels. I have a couple connected to fixed radios (AM/FM tuner connected to a surround receiver) just to null  noise even if just for some local stations. They can definitely be very useful when used correctly. 
Play with it some more, you may be pleasantly surprised.

Hi Ron
Once again many thanks! So clip-on it is! And now finally fully understood, and I really appreciate your patience 🙂.
Cheers
Drifter

Hi FenDrifter
You can still improve SW a good bit by plugging a long wire into the jack. Its not as good as turning on whip only (CH 5) and connecting an external antenna to the whip. If you are in CH A mode you have turned off the whip and are using the internal and external ferrite. When you use the plug at the top of the radio for an external antenna you are only getting indirect coupling from the external antenna to the internal ferrite. Its good for SW but not as good as using the whip only with an external attached. If you notice the You Tube video by Official SWL channel, he has plugged an external antenna into the top jack. He is getting good SW reception but again, not as good as if he were turning on whip only and attaching an external to it. Again, with the plugged in external he is getting indirect coupling from the external antenna to the radio.
73's
Ron

FM tends not to travel by ground wave.

That depends very much on what you call “ground wave”.

If you mean a wave that propagates along the ground and follows the curvature of the earth, like MW or LW does,  then you're right FM does not normally travel by groundwave, as it propagates in a straight line.

But if you mean by that word everything that is not a sky wave, then you may say that FM travels by groundwave.

73, Martin.

Hi Ron
Many thanks for such a detailed reply! It’s cleared me up on attaching a long wire for SW. So do I understand that plugging a long wire into the jack socket only benefits MW? In other words, regardless of what the #3 setting is, that socket is only for MW? 

Drifter

Hi FenDrifter
When you press and hold the "3" button while radio is in the MW/LW mode you will see a short message on the display that reads either "CH 5" or "CH A". In "CH 5" the radio is using the whip antenna only and clipping a long wire or loop antenna to it will definitely bring in decent SW signals. If you notice the display reads MW SW above the displayed frequency. I use a 30 foot long wire with an alligator clip and pull about 1/2" of the whip antenna up and attach the gator clip. If I'm using my MLA 30+ loop I have rigged up a gator clip to attach it to this short section of whip. Simple and effective. Now, if the "CH A" mode is used you are turning off the whip and using the internal (and external ferrite when plugged in) ferrite antenna. If you plug a long wire or loop antenna into this jack you are getting a bit better signal by way of indirect coupling. Its about the same as using an old Select-A-Tenna or Tecsun AN-200 passive loop. I hope this helps clear up your inquiry and it won't harm your radio at all. Good DX and 73's!
Ron

Hi all,

I recently heard a "lowish" powered FM station (generally speaking), WBNO out of Bryan, Ohio, from my Michigan home.

The station is broadcasting at 6000 watts, with an antenna approximately 300 feet high.

I live 200 miles from this station and was able to positively ID their signal.

Two questions to the group:
1)  How can I tell whether the reception is groundwave or something else?

2)  What is your longest groundwave reception?


Thank you for your knowledge!


Johnny

Okay all!
I bought another one! This time it was called Hwydo AN200, but they’re all the same. This time I’ve learned some very valuable beginners lessons. If you’re reading this having never used one of these before, don’t expect miracles! Secondly, the point of tuning enhancement is very small, you only have to virtually touch the knob to get it right, that is one you’ve found the maximum noise point it will be to one side of that. I found all this out this morning when I had the bright idea of trying it with my Panasonic RF-2200. This has needle type signal strength meter which was key to all! Having found a usable station (none were very good this morning, appalling conditions) I tuned the rotating ferrite antenna to optimum position, and then having positioned the antenna closely at ninety degrees to one of it’s ends, I went ahead and tuned it. I should say that the needle position was approximately mid point, so any deflection would be quickly obvious. Doing this made it clear that the maximum gain point was very small, much smaller than I had imagined it would be. If I’d known how very small this gain point was, I wouldn’t have been so quick to return the other one. I sa an interesting video on YouTube where somebody compared the small ferrite antenna supplied with the (I think) PL-368 with an AN-200 and there was no difference, this surprised both him and me, but of course the loop isn’t restricted to one or two radios. I hope this might be of help to someone. 

Drifter

On Thu, Mar 10, 2022 at 07:24 PM, James Rohrer wrote:

Do you expect the ULI scores to be lower during the spring and summer?

 

I think it's time for a reality check here.

Long range DX is very dependent on seasonal changes, especially transoceanic DX on medium wave. For example, here in the USA I can routinely receive transoceanic DX from Asia in the fall, and from Australia in the spring and summer.

What Paul is doing is receiving the same eastern Australian stations over and over, which can be routinely received by anyone with a radio at night in his location. Everyone is free to choose the style of DXing they prefer, of course, but if you are interested in long range and/ or transoceanic DX on medium wave, you will need to learn the seasonal propagation changes in order to have much chance of success.

Gary DeBock (in Puyallup, WA, USA)

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The latest version is now online:

https://ultralightradiodxing.blogspot.com/2022/02/software-mwdxerdb.html

The change log includes all the changes since 22.02.