| W7MGB |
Rating:  |
2021-01-24 | |
| All kinds of stations out there now!!! |
Time Owned: 0 to 3 months. |
Just got it in the mail today.....
Contacted Larry just last weekend (via email) with some simple questions about the antenna and he immediately replied, like less than 10 minutes after I asked him a question. He asked about my rig and offered some modifications on the antenna equipment (F Connectors for a simple RG6 connection and an RCA jack for the rig side [I have a TS-590 with an RCA RX input]).
The antenna took about 20 minutes to put up, in the middle of a snow squall, including setting up a simple RCA TV rotator that I purchased .... I could not be happier. On FT8, I am hearing all kinds of callsigns that I have never heard before. It's like a whole new section of the world opened up for me - getting stations from Algeria, St Helens, and Russia that were never there for me before.
I still have some noise there, but it is much quieter now, and as I already said, it is picking up all kinds of new contacts for me. Extremely happy with the antenna and as others have said - Larry makes it a breeze to work with. Contact him if you have any questions/concerns, I guarantee he will be the most helpful person you've ever encountered in the hobby!!!
5 STARS ALL THE WAY!!! |
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| K4IIE |
Rating: |
2020-11-24 | |
| 3year update |
Time Owned: more than 12 months. |
| Have been using the loop nightly for over 3 years,mostly on 75.Reduces static and noise by 7 S units.Was damaged by a nearby lightning strike a few months ago. The built in preamp was damaged and Larry sent a replacement the next day and installed a filter to reduce the level of a nearby AM station.Have used other loops but this one is the best.Highly recommended. |
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| K8FF |
Rating: |
2020-07-27 | |
| Great receiving loop! |
Time Owned: 0 to 3 months. |
| The W6LVP loop seemed to fit the need very well (price vs performance based on the reviews. I received it about a week ago and immediately pressed it into service. It is located about 150 feet from the transmitting antennas and about 10 feet high. My first trial was on 40 meter phone, signals were difficult to hear due to QRM from the next door neighbor's 65 inch Plasma TV. After switching to the loop for receive the band came alive with signals , the Plasma TV noise wasn't completely gone but much lower. This antenna is going to be a wonderful addition this winter season on the lower bands. I wish the Plasma TV would break but at least this antenna provides some relief. Thanks W6LVP for helping me to get back 40 meters! |
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| K2VI |
Rating: |
2020-07-02 | |
| Best of all receiving loops hand down |
Time Owned: more than 12 months. |
| I have been a ham operator and avid dxer 30 plus years. I have never came across an antenna that was so quiet that you can clearly hear that s-0 station way down in the mud. I had a quantum loop which was a great indoor loop and a wellbrook loop. All three are top of the line but the pre amp on the W6LVP loop is just quiter. The wellbrook always had an s-1 to s-3 noise level which is quite good and the quantum was about the same with less sensitivity. When the signal was not deflecting anything on the meter I could only hear it on the LVP loop. Thats why it is my go to antenna for serious dxing. Highly recommended for dxer's. |
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| WA3098SWL |
Rating: |
2020-07-02 | |
| Having a great time with WSPR, ATC, and HFDL |
Time Owned: 0 to 3 months. |
This antenna has been great in the weeks I've owned it. I'm not a frequent reviewer, but this one deserves a special call out for its great performance and W6LVP's fast and friendly service.
I've been an SWL for more than 40 years, since I started fooling around with my dad's old Hallicrafters S-38 when I was about 9 or 10. I've made and bought a lot of antennas. Last year I bought a different - and more expensive - magnetic loop and ultimately returned it because its noise to signal ratio was less than good (perhaps it was defective, I don't know).
Not expecting too much, I plugged the W6LVP loop in, and I was amazed when my noise floor instantly dropped further than I ever imagined it would. I've had a great time with it, and definitely will echo W6LVP's too cautious advice that the best way to use this antenna is not so much directing it at signals as it is pointing the nulls at sources of interference.
On WSPR I've had a great time regularly sucking in 8, 10, 12, 14 spots - per band - every two minutes on 20, 40, and sometimes 30 meters at the right time of day. Even at the "wrong" time of day, it can pleasantly surprise you. In the last 3 hours, from the US East Coast I've copied WSPR signals from North and South Africa, Western Australia, deep South America, Eastern Europe, and of course tons from North America and Western Europe. I heard African ATC a few nights ago and have copied HFDL from aircraft in flight in places - Asia - I never thought I would.
I don't really have any complaints. One surprise was that the antenna is composed of heavily jacketed cable that comes coiled up in two loops, each of which is 180 degrees of the uncoiled loop. This concerned me at first, because when I uncoiled the cable into the loop it did not form a perfect circle. With a little massaging it came close, but to this day my loop ain't perfect. This doesn't seem to throw off the performance, which has been spectacular.
Mine performed very well only about 2 meters over ground, though I have since mounted it on top of an ~8 meter mast. I'm still experimenting, but so far suspect that a little bit of height helps in my location. I'll also mention that it's on a 250 foot line of "airborne" 1/4 inch diameter coax. Good quality cable, but still quite long. The point is that I haven't had any issues with the long feed (though I think I can shorten it to 200' and probably will.)
Finally, W6LVP was quick to ship and and has been friendly and fast to answer questions. This antenna has my very high recommendation. |
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| N9HZX |
Rating: |
2020-06-17 | |
| Makes ALL the difference! |
Time Owned: 6 to 12 months. |
| I have the loop mounted on my roof with a cheap TV antenna rotor. I find that if a station is weak and hard to receive on my GAP vertical, I can switch to the loop for receive, rotate it for best signal and be able to pull out stations otherwise I would not been able to work. Like I said...It makes ALL the difference! Does it pull them out everytime..no but 90% of the time it does! Great product and holding up well. At this point I would NOT want to be without one of these! |
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| VE3LMS |
Rating: |
2020-06-16 | |
| Premium Top Notch Customer Service |
Time Owned: 0 to 3 months. |
Ordered my Mag Loop Experimenters kit on Saturday. Larry called me on Sunday to report that I have a 50KW transmitter located 3 miles from my home on 900 khz. He offered to install a notch filter at 900 khz. to prevent the pre-amplifier from overloading at no additional charge. Five days later my kit arrived! It works perfectly. I'm was very impressed with Larry's premium customer service and his product is well built and works well with a 2.5 foot cooper loop.
73's - Grant VE3LMS |
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| AJ6PM |
Rating: |
2020-05-31 | |
| Reception |
Time Owned: 0 to 3 months. |
| Excellent receive antenna for people in apartments who can't put up full size antennas. Have this loop mounted outside on my balcony as far away from the apartment structure as possible and reception is super. Can hear many stations now on 160-40M where I would mostly get an S7-S9 noise floor which covered up weaker signals on my wire vertical. Reception on the MW band is also extremely good for those who listen there at night. |
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| KC8VDQ |
Rating: |
2020-03-02 | |
| Great Antenna and Outstanding Support |
Time Owned: more than 12 months. |
| I’ve owned this antenna for 3+ years and it is outstanding! Even after 3 years, Larry quickly answered questions I had recently. A great product plus really good support equals a really happy customer. Thanks, Larry! |
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| K6RRP |
Rating: |
2020-02-23 | |
| W6LVP's Experminter's Kit |
Time Owned: 0 to 3 months. |
https://www.eham.net/reviews/view-product?id=13215
I purchased W6LVP’s Experimenter Kit and was very pleasantly surprised what was delivered for the price, the quality of workmanship and excellent performance were much more than I anticipated.
Originally the intent here was to build the loop amplifier, but I did a build or buy assessment and the W6LVP Experimenter’s Kit won as the less expensive and more expedient option for my loop application.
Now for the SWL, serious Ham or even the casual loop antenna user, W6LVP’s Experimenter Kit performed very well even with a loop constructed of 10 feet of #12/2, Romex purchased at the local hardware store and nailed to the garage wall, this is how the W6LVP electronics was originally tested out of the box upon it’s arrival. However, if the prospective user anticipates rotating their loop, which is highly recommended, then the loop will need to be constructed from more rigid material.
After years of listening to small loop antenna tales about the pro and con of their performance, the time came to try a loop for myself. The design goals of my small diameter loop here were, 1 meter maximum, high Q, low inductance, easily rotated, operation would be at least 150 ft from the house and the loop antenna mounted less than 6ft. above ground level. The loop here consisted of 1 x 1/8 inch aluminum bar stock, mounted on a NEMA Class4 ABS electrical housing. Although the W6LVP electronics doesn’t require a rugged weatherproof housing, this was done im may case due to a location having moderate to heavy dew almost every day of the year and for an insulating case supporting the loop.
Just to give an idea of the loop/electronics performance the first tests of my configuration inside the house were attempting to separate KSL, Salt Lake City, from an annoying AM station in Mexico through the nulling process, WOW!! I was totally impressed. Nulling out local neighborhood electronic noises and one station for another in general coverage and on the Ham bands, performed noticeably well up through 18 MHz, above that frequency and due to poor conditions, critical evaluation is still a work in progress. Certainly the loop’s ability and with the aid of W6LVP’s electronics improving the signal to noise qualities of weaker HF stations above 18 MHz have been very evident.
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