----- Original Message -----

From: Gil Stacy

To: ultralightdx@...

Sent: Friday, January 02, 2009 2:44 PM

Subject: [ultralightdx] Welcome Aboard

John,

Welcome aboard.  I've enjoyed reading your DXepedition reports from the Coast of SA over the years.  Your distance loggings are incredible and you could easily challenge the records set from Grayland.

73 Gil NN4CW

The MC325M variables are a linear taper variable. The linear taper does
reduce the issues at the top of the band in terms of 'bunching' and allows
a better peak.

Russ Edmunds
Blue Bell, PA ( 360' ASL )
[15 mi NNW of Philadelphia]
40:08:45N; 75:16:04W, Grid FN20id
<wb2bjh@...>
FM: Yamaha T-80 & Onkyo T-450RDS w/ APS9B @15'
AM: Modified Sony ICF 2010 barefoot

--- On Fri, 1/2/09, Brandon Jordan <bcdx.org@...> wrote:
From: Brandon Jordan <bcdx.org@...>
Subject: [ultralightdx] Variable caps with offset plates
To: ultralightdx@...
Date: Friday, January 2, 2009, 6:43 PM











I am assuming the "fine tuning" capacitor is mainly for
peaking the

signals at the top portion of the band where things can get a bit

touchy. I have a few Hammarlund MC-325-M variable capacitors that I

picked up off eBay a few years ago for use in an NRC alt-az loop that I

never got around to constructing. This model capacitor is 12 to 325 pf

with special off-set plates, which if memory serves is to allow a linear

adjustment across the entire tuning range instead of "bunching"

everything up in the upper tuning range. Can anyone verify that? I'm

going to dig one out of the box and use it on a box loop project this

weekend.

From: Brandon Jordan
Subject: [ultralightdx] Variable caps with offset plates
To: ultralightdx@...
Date: Friday, January 2, 2009, 6:43 PM

I am assuming the "fine tuning" capacitor is mainly for peaking the
signals at the top portion of the band where things can get a bit
touchy. I have a few Hammarlund MC-325-M variable capacitors that I
picked up off eBay a few years ago for use in an NRC alt-az loop that I
never got around to constructing. This model capacitor is 12 to 325 pf
with special off-set plates, which if memory serves is to allow a linear
adjustment across the entire tuning range instead of "bunching"
everything up in the upper tuning range. Can anyone verify that? I'm
going to dig one out of the box and use it on a box loop project this
weekend.

I am assuming the "fine tuning" capacitor is mainly for peaking the
signals at the top portion of the band where things can get a bit
touchy. I have a few Hammarlund MC-325-M variable capacitors that I
picked up off eBay a few years ago for use in an NRC alt-az loop that I
never got around to constructing. This model capacitor is 12 to 325 pf
with special off-set plates, which if memory serves is to allow a linear
adjustment across the entire tuning range instead of "bunching"
everything up in the upper tuning range. Can anyone verify that? I'm
going to dig one out of the box and use it on a box loop project this
weekend.

Kevin,

Just before heading down to the local dollar store, I looked up the
crate's
dimensions online and thought that if two crates were stacked together
then
the wire was wound, you could get more gain than one crate if coupling
directly to a receiver. If you were inductively coupling to an ultralight
or
larger portable radio, you would have a convenient shelf to place the
radio
diectly in the loop's center. So, that's what I'm going to try building
this
weekend provided the little QRP kit I ordered doesn't arrive before then.
;-)

73,

Chris

Kevin:

Thanks for sharing your fantastic antenna design.

If I build one, I think I'll add vernier tuning. My arthritic hands
don't work well without it.

Have a great DXing year.

Richard Allen
3622'51"N / 9726'35"
(near Perry OK USA)

Thanks Kevin. I haven't soldered in years but could probably manage
that. The wife would probably be more receptive to it than my old loop
which is rotting away (I'm sure) in mom's basement.

Do let us know about an add-on so that it could be directly coupled. I
still have the RS DX-400 that I used with the Sanserino.

About directionality, the Sanserino was great and I added 7 new stations
the day that I got it / strung it but it was hard to use when two
stations were 180 degrees apart. I found that if I took my old
Select-a-tenna and placed it across the feed going to the receiver and
adjusting the S-a-T's capacitor that I could notch one direction out.
That was nice but very difficult / tricky to do in every case.

What about the slinky loop? My inspiration is here:
http://www.ayrshirehistory.eu/tadx/david_hamilton_05.html

73,
Dave in Indy

-----Original Message-----
From: satya@... [mailto:satya@...]
Sent: Friday, January 02, 2009 2:26 PM
To: HASCALL, DAVID CIV DFAS
Subject: RE: The Crate Loop - now available at DXer.ca

Hi David:

The Crate Loop, like the Sanserino, Terk Loop et al, are bi-directional,
just like portable receivers. It is suitable for passive coupling only,
although with an extra couple turns to make a sense coil, it could be
fed
into a communications receiver or other receiver with an antenna input.
I
may try that in the coming days to see how it works!

If your soldering expertise is such that you can stumble through without
hurting yourself or burning the house down (which is about where I'm
at),
the Crate Loop is a snap to assemble.

Kevin

Thanks Kevin for the interesting plans. I'm not too technical so I

may

never build one but I like to read about things like this and wonder.
Question: Directionality - I had an old Sanserino box loop. That was
bi-directional to the sides. How directional is this, or is it
omnidirectional? If I wanted to hook this loop up to the antenna
terminals on a receiver (instead of using the proximity coupling
technique), how would I do that?

I also saw plans online for a Slinky loop, that uses 4 slinky's. It

is

unidirectional (like a Ewe) to the coax side and nulls to the pot

side.

I daydreamed of mounting the slinky's on a piece of plywood to make it
portable and have hinged pieces to come out and stand it up.

Dreamin' on in Indy,

Dave


------------------------------

Message: 4
Date: Thu, 1 Jan 2009 20:29:40 -0800 (PST)
From: satya@...
Subject: [IRCA] The Crate Loop - now available at DXer.ca
To: irca@..., ultralightdx@...
Message-ID: <3438.64.95.190.219.1230870580.squirrel@...>
Content-Type: text/plain;charset=iso-8859-1

Hi all:

Just published on the DXer.ca web site are the detailed plans for The
Crate Loop, a quick, cheap and easy way to make a very capable passive
loop antenna which far exceeds the capabilities of the Terk,
Select-A-Tenna and other similar loops. I created it to make a loop
that
would be effective with the Eton e100 Slider, but it is a killer loop
for
any portable radio or desktop ferrite loop like the Quantum Loop.

Kevin S
Bainbridge Island, WA

Hello Paul,
 
     The stock E100 has a poorly shaped, flat loopstick which makes inductive coupling with external passive loop systems marginal at best.  To my knowledge, every user of a Slider E100 has found it superior in DX performance to a stock E100 with either a Terk, SAT, Twin Coil, Q-stick, Quantum Loop or other accessory.  This is based on observations by Kirk Allen, Kevin Schanilec, myself and others.
 
     These passive and active loop systems usually provide a greater boost with other Ultralight radio designs, because of better-designed stock loopsticks in these other models.
 
     73,  Gary DeBock 
 
In a message dated 1/2/2009 12:06:16 P.M. Pacific Standard Time, texnote@... writes:

Is there an update on this, by way of a comparison between the

slider antenna and the twin coil ferrite antenna?

Paul

--- In ultralightdx@..., D1028Gary@... wrote:

>

> Hello Gary,

>

> Recently John Bryant gave a plywood-mounted Slider E100 to

Kirk Allen,

> and I gave plastic-mounted Slider E100 models to Kevin Schanilec,

and Colin

> Newell.

>

> Both Kirk and Kevin have mentioned that their Slider E100's

outperform

> certain external antenna accessories in sensitivity, and Colin

also has given

> a similar great report..

>

> As one of the designers of the Slider antenna, I try to avoid

criticism

> of competing antenna systems, and let others give their own report

on its

> superior capabilities. Within a few days, I think you will hear

more about

> these direct comparisons run by impartial observers, which of

course will

> persuade curious DXers much more than anything that I could say.

>

> 73 and Good DX,

> Gary DeBock

>

>

>

> **************Make your life easier with all your friends, email,

and

> favorite sites in one place. Try it now.

> ( http://www.aol.com/?optin=new-

dp&icid=aolcom40vanity&ncid=emlcntaolcom00000010)

>

---

New year...new news. Be the first to know what is making headlines.

Hi all:

I had a chance to try out the Slider e100 with and without the Crate Loop
this morning to see what kind of improvement in sensitivity and
selectivity could be had with the hottest receiver around. For stations
that were already doing well on the “barefoot” Slider, improvements with
the Crate Loop were often quite modest. However, with targets that were
weak and/or suffering interference from strong locals, the results were
often dramatic. Some examples were:

530 – the Slider had the airport TIS station with fairly reasonable audio,
but nothing else, since it was not that far above the noise floor. With
the Crate Loop, the airport TIS came in clear, and the more distant TIS
station for the mountain pass on I-90 was also intelligible above a much
quieter noise floor.

560 – in the shadow of a very strong local on 570 (KVI, 5kw about 14 miles
away) nulled to the extent possible, the Slider had a semi-local (KPQ)
fairly good with mostly-intelligible audio under moderate interference.
With the Crate Loop in adjacent orientation, the audio was clearly
intelligible and the interference much reduced.

670 – the Slider had KBOI (420 miles away) with fairly intelligible audio
that occasionally dipped below intelligibility and/or disappeared during
fades. The Crate Loop had consistent good audio that remained
intelligible during most of the the fades.

680 – the Slider had a semi-local old-time music station with decent
signal but suffering horribly from an image/heterodyne from a strong local
on 1590. With the Crate Loop in adjacent orientation to notch out 1590,
the image disappeared and the music station was in the clear.

1060 – the Slider had nothing but interference from a nulled strong local
on 1050 (KBLE, 5kw about 7 miles away). With the Crate Loop in facing
orientation, CKMX in Calgary (450 miles away) had reasonable CW music, and
the interference was noticeably reduced.

1110 – the Slider had a 500 watt semi-local (KDWB, about 50 miles away)
with mumbling audio. With the Crate Loop in facing orientation, the audio
was clearly intelligible.

1140 – the Slider had CHRB (440 miles away) with mumbling audio under
heavy interference from a nulled strong local on 1150, while the Crate
Loop in adjacent orientation brought it in with intelligible audio and
almost no interference.

1530 – the Slider had KFBK-Sacramento (600 miles away) with somewhat
intelligible audio, while the Crate Loop had clear audio.

1640 – the Slider had semi-local KDZR with acceptable audio (if Radio
Disney programming can be referred to as such... :-), while the audio with
Crate Loop was much better (correction: much clearer... :-).

73 - Kevin S
Bainbridge Island, WA