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Author Topic: What is your preferite SWL antennas?  (Read 637 times)

KD7RDZI2

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What is your preferite SWL antennas?
« on: July 12, 2021, 01:25:25 PM »

and for which bands?
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N8YX

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Re: What is your preferite SWL antennas?
« Reply #1 on: July 13, 2021, 08:31:58 AM »

Alpha-Delta DX-SWL Slopers with a remote coaxial switch box as close to the feedpoint as possible. They'll handle all the major SWBC bands from 90M-11M, or MW-11M, depending on model. Put five of these up arranged NE-SE-S-SW-NW and you'll cover 95% of the Earth's surface. Mine are quite directive - handy for eliminating interference by electrically steering the active antenna. If your switch box grounds the unused inputs (many do) the non-selected slopers act as reflectors.

When I get a little more space I'm going to adopt a Robert Plant approach and put up a Big Log on an 80ft or so tower; it'll cover 20M and up for upper HF SWLing. Slopers on that tower will be the A-D 160-80-40-30M amateur bands variant. Another tower gets a Pro-67, TH-11DX or similar 20-10M amateur-bands Yagi and my DX-SWLs will get mounted to it.

Backups are planned...a stock 6BTV inside a flagpole radome and a modified one that covers 11-12-17-25-49-60M in another. Remote tuners at the feedpoints will handle any mismatch issues on the lower bands.
« Last Edit: July 13, 2021, 08:50:44 AM by N8YX »
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N2HUN

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Re: What is your preferite SWL antennas?
« Reply #2 on: July 14, 2021, 04:30:26 AM »

I just use my 30 foot vertical mounted on the ground.  It doubles as a ham antenna.
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N8AUC

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Re: What is your preferite SWL antennas?
« Reply #3 on: July 14, 2021, 04:49:04 PM »

I've got a full sized, homebrew 40-80 meter fan dipole stretched across the backyard.
I use it for ham radio, and for those times when I just want to tune around and play SWL listening to stuff.

It works great for AM BCB DXing as well, which is lots of fun at night.
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VA3VF

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Re: What is your preferite SWL antennas?
« Reply #4 on: July 15, 2021, 09:22:13 PM »

My current favorite is a loop using CCW's Loop Antenna Amplifier +:

http://www.crosscountrywireless.net/loop_antenna_amplifier.htm

Before that I was using a Mini-Whip. It was very good on VLF, LF and MF. Good elsewhere.

My interest tops at 30MHz.
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K7LZR

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Re: What is your preferite SWL antennas?
« Reply #5 on: October 14, 2021, 11:58:26 AM »

I use a homebrew active loop and it works well. Covers 100khz to 30mhz. I really like it.
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KQ4O

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Re: What is your preferite SWL antennas?
« Reply #6 on: January 13, 2022, 03:41:37 PM »

RF Systems T2FD.  Used it in a noisy suburban area 20 years ago, still heard the low power local broadcasters on HF from 3 MHz on up to 26 MHz.  Absolutely remarkable.  Still have two new in package just in case I ever get a chance to set it up again.
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W7XTV

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Re: What is your preferite SWL antennas?
« Reply #7 on: January 13, 2022, 08:42:38 PM »

My 40-foot end-fed wire/9:1 unun with in-shack tuner.  Works on all frequencies between 3.5 and about 28.5 MHz (not enough range to cover all of 10 meters, unfortunately).  Not very efficient below 40 meters, but it works well enough on the 60 and 49 meter broadcast bands, as well as everything through 13 meters.
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He speaks fluent PSK31, in FT8...  One QSO with him earns you 5BDXCC...  His Wouff Hong has two Wouffs... Hiram Percy Maxim called HIM "The Old Man..."  He is... The Most Interesting Ham In The World!

N6YWU

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Re: What is your preferite SWL antennas?
« Reply #8 on: January 25, 2022, 09:59:39 AM »

For SWL, I use a 40M diameter LOG (loop-on-ground) antenna, instead of my HF transmit antenna.  Literally just some scrap wire thrown in a big circle on the ground or in the grass in my back yard, plus a small 9:1 isolation transformer between it and the feedline.  On the lower HF bands, the LOG seems to pick up significantly less noise, thus gives me a better S/N (more FT8 DX decodes, etc.) than my HF antennas in the air.
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K2SOG

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Re: What is your preferite SWL antennas?
« Reply #9 on: January 30, 2022, 05:55:10 PM »

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