| F4JKH |
Rating:      |
2023-02-01 | |
| Absolutely great! Put it on the balcony and off you go! |
Time Owned: 6 to 12 months. |
Last year, I bought the Alpha Antenna 100 Watt Magnetic Loop with 6m and 80m accessories.
After trying it out as SWL and getting licenced as HAM here in France in April 2022, the real success story began.
I am operating it from my balcony mostly in nominal configuration, hence in 40m through 10m, and tune it by hand while looking at my SWR meter in my shack.
I have specialised in FT8 and FT4 operations, participate also in WSPR.
I like to operate in 30m, 20m, 17m and 12m as FT8 and FT4 frequencies are very close without the need to retune.
It is on the balcony as I am living in an apartment flat building. I have had no chance to use an Installation on the roof yet.
Means, it is relatively small as an HF antenna, easy to mount and pretty much unrecognisable as antenna unless you know what it really is.
My experience shows that I reach other stations with a difference of 10 – 12 dB weaker most of the times. Means, I hear them e.g. at 0 dB, they report back -10 dB.
Most of the times, I obtain an SWR of 1:1.3 or lower (even down to 1:1).
However, when lucky and the conditions are just great, I am even better in réception than their signal.
I have also much better reports and performance in the higher frequency bands (10m) than in the lower ones.
Luckily, the 10m band became very active in Mid January 2023.
Powerwise, I can use the antenna up to 40-50 Watts easily in all bands. When getting higher, the SWR flips to 1:3 or 1:4 suddenly.
In 40m, I have been able to push it up to 100W power for the 12 seconds of FT8 transmissions.
To share my success in HAM radio with you:
From April 2022 up to today, I have completed 1949 QSOs, 1417 confirmed in QRZ or LotW.
Confirmed DXCC Count: 116
98% of the QSOs have been done with the MagLoop 100W Alpha Antenna.
Have a look in my QRZ Account, it contains also a picture of the antenna.
I have 7 QRZ diplomas confirmed to-date, some even with single band endorsements.
Latest QSO was with ZL/OE1HLB, Mr Hans Lambrecht, this morning. He is on a DX expedition trip in New Zealand.
I worked him on 15 meters in FT8 with 40 Watts TX power. Distance: 18957 km or 11782 miles from my QTH in Rambouillet, France (JN08VP).
Isn’t that incredible?
As information:
My radio is a YAESU FTDX10, connected to a DELL Alienware high performance PC for full deep decoding and USB CAT/PTT control plus Audio transfer.
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| LNXAUTHOR |
Rating:      |
2022-01-09 | |
| modified support mast - now great! |
Time Owned: 3 to 6 months. |
bought a used Alpha MFLA (magnetic field loop antenna) last summer... the package included the tripod, tuner box, support mast, coupler, 1/4 x 20 to 3/8 x 24 coupling nut, extra clips, and loop coax, along with txcvr coax
pros: solid construction, quality connectors, no-limit tuning (no stop limits on the tuner capacitor)
cons: non-standard tripod mount, however and to be fair, a converter nut was included and are available from Alpha; the biggest con however, was the support mast, which is a single 27-28" piece of Easton 7075 tubing - a real pain in the you-know-what if you want to pack the loop package down into a smaller bag!
my solution: 1) cut the tubing/mast in half and square the ends; (2) cut the heads off two 3/8 x 24 stainless nuts to acquire two 3/8 x 25 threaded pieces; (3) use JB Weld to affix the threaded pieces in the end of each tube (they slide in w/a perfect fit); and finally (4) use a coupler nut to use when combining the mast
the result is a very compact 100W Alpha MFLA!
performance has been great... i previously used a CHA F-LOOP original and had trouble with getting a desirable SWR - the Alpha box works great, and i have made consistent contact while /P using 10W with my IC-705
these MFLAs are quite expensive; recent price increases are pushing them into the stratosphere, especially with parts shortages, shipping problems and inflation - i recommend building your own, buying used loops, or taking advantage of manufacturer special deals ... i now have four different portable loop systems and enjoy each one, but this loop is the only one which supports 100W out of the box |
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| KA3BQE |
Rating:      |
2021-11-29 | |
| An antenna that amazes |
Time Owned: more than 12 months. |
This is the 2nd mag loop antenna I've used. What is a fairly small package when broken down and it sets up quickly enough. I used this antenna exclusively for months after we moved QTH and I couldn't get my outdoor antennas up. This antenna sat 6' away from my radio in my shack and it hears very well. I was quite amazed as it easily pulled in more stations than the previous mag loop I used. And worked equally as well in the opposite direction. To work stations 9k+ miles away on 20W FT8 on 40m is just amazing. When I do get to doing POTA activations this will be one of the antennas going with me.
I also used the lightweight tripod the antenna came with. It looks like it would also be sturdy enough for outdoor use.
Support by Alpha is also really good. One of the bolts got stuck in the original mast so I couldn't use the optional extension mast so they sent me a spare bolt for the extension. |
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| N4JAW |
Rating:      |
2021-10-10 | |
| Great HOA/Portable Anteena Great Suppport |
Time Owned: more than 12 months. |
I've had my 80 - 10 meter 100 watt Alpha Mag Loop antenna for several yeas. Restrictions prevent me from using an outdoor antenna but this antenna hasn't prevented me from working the world on SSB, CW, FT8 & SSTV. I've worked 20 meter FT8 QSOs from KY to Antarctica and Indonesia with 20 watts with the antenna sitting in my living room. During my 1st POTA activation, my Mag Loop came through with a 4300 mile 20 meter QSO to France.
If I can't use my DIY EFHW or Linked dipole or Buddipole Vertical/Dipole on some POTA sites, I use my Alpha Mag Loop and it has always performed beyond my expectations.
Since most of my portable operation is done using a bicycle as transportation, the Alpha Mag loop breaks down into a small package which is easy to carry and takes up very little space especially when I venture out on some of my bicycle tours around the mid-west of the U.S.
Above all of the performance values of the Mag Loop, Steve provides the BEST support for his product. I've only had one issues with my Mag Loop. A bad connector. In less than 5 minutes after posting my problem, Steve responded with a solution. I've yet to find any company, ANY COMPANY, even those with their BIG worldwide support networks to respond so promptly That's a man who stands by his product. |
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| K4SRQ |
Rating:      |
2021-08-01 | |
| Great Antenna Great Support |
Time Owned: 0 to 3 months. |
| Just got to use it tonight. KX3 in my backyard on a battery running 10Watts with 1.3 SWR. The bands were in bad shape. Near sunset, no luck on 20. 40 was pretty noisey but turning the antenna greatly mitigated much of the band noise. Maybe Cuba? Found my way to 30m. Replied to a CQ frm Ontario. Got to him with a 339! Oh, me, I am in Sarasota, Florida! Not bad for the first time out with the antenna! Great pre and post sales support. Great company, amazing antenna! |
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| IW8FAD |
Rating:      |
2021-07-14 | |
| A Great Portable Antenna ! |
Time Owned: 0 to 3 months. |
I am the owner of this magnetic loop antenna from only about 2 days, i would like to start my review thanking the alpha antenna owner Mr. Steven for all his availibility with fast answers to give me all the informations i needed before to purchase this product.
Well, the antenna is really well built, assembly time requires less than 5 minutes. I started to try it for about 1 hour inside my apartment at the second floor, near the window in the centre of the city ( i have about 40% of opening above the roofs of the houses ), i tried it in 20 and 40 meters only in RX with a not very good propagation and the signals were between 7 and 9 . In the evening i puttet the magnetic loop outside on my small terrace, closed for 360° for about 60% and... in RX what big signals ! On 20 meters i did between 1.000 and 3.000 km with 20 watts, with signal reports around 8-9+5 . I tried it then in 40 meters always with 20 watts the signal reports by a pair of corrispondents were around 8 from italy to the same country and until north europe too. The antenna has a narrow bandwith, however it is simple and fast to find the correct swr and, i noticed that it is not affects by the skin effect moving the manual knob, placed below the main box. Meantime, I even ordered the alpha beta motor tuner specific for this antenna always from the factory.
What can i say ? I am really satisfied by these first little tests, It makes me remember when i had the dipole and vertical on the rooftop some years ago. I need to try the antenna better and with more time and maybe, i will do it with 100 watts in the future. |
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| KA1WOR |
Rating:      |
2021-06-28 | |
| A great success!! |
Time Owned: more than 12 months. |
At this year's Field Day I set up the Magnetic Loop and nearly all of the visitors we had remarked about the antenna, especially when I showed them the results on my Log sheet. It was very easy to set up and worked the bands quite well ( despite an amazing batch of pileups nearly everywhere, especially on 20 meters.)
It has been my experience in life that when a company makes a great product;exhibits a willingness to help when needed; and who stands behind it then the subsequent reputation earned is a correct and valuable asset when we hams are looking to make decisions.
A real "thank you" to Steve, Owner and Founder of Alpha Antenna. |
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| WA3UVV |
Rating:      |
2021-05-31 | |
| Excellent Mag Loop for Lower HF Bands |
Time Owned: 0 to 3 months. |
| Like other magnetic loop antennas, this one is easy to set up and break down. Unlike others I have tried, this one performs well on 60 and 80 meters. The design is high-Q, which means some tuning, but after a bit of practice, it becomes a second nature task. That also lowers the noise floor, considerably. Having the capability to handle higher power (100 Watts) than others is a big advantage when you need more power for reliable communications. NVIS performance is also impressive. Bottom line: worth the investment for the full package. |
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| W4ZSC |
Rating:   |
2021-02-18 | |
| Well built but performance not great in condo environs |
Time Owned: 0 to 3 months. |
| It is very well-made and easy to assemble. The tuning is very critical with a very narrow bandwidth. It would be much easier if it had a remote tuning feature as the tuning capacitor is inconveniently located so unless you are operating digital, you really spend a lot of time retuning. I used it on a small balcony of a high rise condo. The shielding of the building really limited the number of stations I could receive, and the signal reports from the few contacts I have achieved have been barely above the noise threshold. I am sure if it were more in the open it would perform better, but the repeated tuning would still be a problem. I am switching to a random wire and hoping for better results. |
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| KE2BP |
Rating:      |
2021-02-15 | |
| Transparent to Indoors |
Time Owned: more than 12 months. |
| When using this antenna on 40 or 20 m even 80 m I'm talking about indoors.. I live in a building with heavy concrete and steel most of the antennas I try to use are desperately seeking ground... not this one..and you know if you are several floors above the ground you're less likely to find a good ground like the way you can on the first floor.... Don't be afraid of your radio's finals overheating - they will stay nice and cool with this antenna. It's up to you to tune it right....That has to do with the fact that it works on magnetism. It's also great for getting rid of a lot of noise in City environments... It's like protection for your radio front end. |
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