Manager


Manager - NA4M
Manager Notes
Reviews Home

Reviews For: ICOM AL-705 Magnetic Loop Antenna

Category: Antennas: HF Portable (not mobile)

eMail Subscription

Registered users are allowed to subscribe to specific review topics and receive eMail notifications when new reviews are posted.
Review Summary For : ICOM AL-705 Magnetic Loop Antenna
Reviews: 13MSRP: 299
Description:
Icom AL-705 is a 40 to 10 meter magnetic loop antenna with maximum power handling of 20 Watts SSB, 10 Watts CW & Digital.
Product is in production
More Info: https://www.icomamerica.com/en/products/amateur/handheld/705/al-705.aspx
# last 180 days Avg. Rating last 180 days Total reviews Avg. overall rating
24.5134.3
IZ4MJP Rating: 2024-12-30
Poor antenna. Require patience to be tuned.... Time Owned: more than 12 months.
30 December update:
I' like to thank Alpha Antenna because today i received a free set of replacement clips for the AL-705. This is a courtesy that I did not expect but that shows attention to customers. This gesture makes me reconsider my last judgment. Thank you.

December Update:
After about 12 months of use the antenna started to have problems. The PL T-female connector was damaged after "delicately" reshaping the internal loop. The clip that holds the internal loop to the external one also broke. I noticed it was too delicate for an antenna that must be assembled and disassembled frequently. I also noticed that in low temperature conditions it is almost impossible to get a good match. All problems that I have never had with my Alex Loop. The quality/price ratio of this antenna I do not think is worth the money spent.

The AL-705 is not my first portable magnetic loop (i owned an Alex Loop before it was stolen). I bought it out of curiosity together with the Icom 705. I knew that magnetic loops require patience to be tuned and the tuning process must be repeated ever few Khz.
The AL-705 is built in an essential way but perhaps this is its strong point: being light and transportable.
I have used it mounted on a photographic tripod. On FT8 (antenna postioned in the garden) from JN54 I have connected LZ, RU, SV, OE, OH and FR and other European countries (max distance about 2100 Km/1300 Miles)with 10 watts. As others have written, the AL-705 tunes well on 30 and 40 meters and a little less from 10 to 20 meters. I've tried to add a countepoise (5 Mt. of electric wire) connected to the chassis of the 705 and the SWR and efficiency seems to improve (don't ask me why).
It is certainly a product that worth the price. I strongly recommend purchasing the SR-705 (Speed ??Reduction knob): it makes tuning much easier and avoids the "hand" effect.
KD9HJU Rating: 2024-12-10
Worth it - DX and compact Time Owned: more than 12 months.
This antenna is worth the amount I paid for it. My use experience is plenty of DX and great regional coverage. Plus, it packs small and light for all my travels too! I use my antenna daily and drive my car a lot, about 50,000 miles each year. The car dealer wouldn’t replace my tires for free, but this antenna manufacturer did replace my worn coax clip with a much better upgraded clip for no charge after a year of use. Who would have thought a $40,000 car vs a $299 antenna would do that?! This antenna manufacturer really cares about the customer experience. On the other hand, I use the t-connector that comes with the antenna daily to plug my coax in/out; and it was showing some wear. So, I replaced that mechanical part just like I’d expect to occasionally replace my brakes on the car after some mechanical wear.
KD9VNJ Rating: 2024-05-21
great paired with the IC 705 and now my go to antenna Time Owned: 3 to 6 months.
being a new ham and only a technician I have spent a lot of time and money trying to find something compact that gets me the best of both worlds as a QRP guy. Additionally, I wanted to get a magnetic loop for something to work HF from home in the Midwest winters and have had take spend some time learning about how exactly this antenna works it took some time but have been amazing. I will admit it does take a little getting used to and it is hyper-sensitive for tuning and adjusting but once you learn how it works in my humble opinion, this antenna is a rock star. I can say that I have used the AL-705 on 10 meters and have talked to Bosnia, Italy, Scotland, Germany, Belarus, Slovenia, Germany, and Norway, to mention a few locations and consistently get at least a 3x minimum for a signal report I have gotten a 5x7, 5x9 from these locations as well. I have even had an "aviation" QSO ground to air with a pilot on 10 meters and have a blast running this antenna from the second floor of my home. in January of 2024, I had a rag chew on 10 meters with a guy in Calgary Canada I am in Wisconsin and I was only using the AL-705 and my IC 705 from my second-floor spare room only using 2.5 watts and held a sustained conversation for more than 45 minutes. I will say it is a little tricky to get it tunned right where you need it but I have learned with a little time I have consistently been able to get 1.25 or even a 1:1 SWR. Additionally, I have used and recommended getting the tripod, as well as the support for the loop, a "booster kit" for it. I have successfully listened to and heard radio Cuba, Free Radio China as well as free Radio N. Korea while hunting around and just listening on a multitude of occasions, I understand that there are some limitations for an antenna like this but I have to say it has become my go-to antenna for working from home, and would be a great addition to a radio kit for anyone that wants a discreet antenna that you can work from indoors, in a home, apartment or condo or even anywhere in an HOA keeping your radio hobby discreet. If I had to do it all over again, would I buy the AL-705 loop? my answer is "in a heartbeat" I have even learned that the 1/4 20 thread on the "backbone" works great on trekking poles when hiking so you don't have to carry a tripod. just some simple paracord guy lines to balance it out and you are good to go. I have bought the MP1 super antenna DX max and I get far better reach and reception with the AL-705 than I ever did with the super antenna. I get better reception and range than I have with home brew dipoles as well. I include this antenna in my go-anywhere radio kit. It is more compact and just as effective as my JMCRADIO "Chelegance" MC-750 aired with these antennas 10 watts is all I need to go global on 10 meters confidently. I hope this helps some others out there to get out and go global.
K1DX Rating: 2022-05-05
Almost a good product Time Owned: 0 to 3 months.
Difficult to tune 20-10m. Needs a larger knob and reduction drive. Main loop needs vertical support. I found it unstable using it outside

The AL-705 enhancement kit provided by Alpha Antennas eliminates most of my objections. The crank knob and tripod mount and tripod provide ease of tuning and mechanical stability.
W5KT Rating: 2022-04-05
Excellent and small Time Owned: 0 to 3 months.
I had always used a dipole in the attic with 100W. I got an IC-705 then bought the AL-705. I was amazed at how much better it was than my attic dipole. Mounted on a tripod on my back patio, heard many stations. Successful 5W contact on the IC-705 with no problem. Easy to tune. Never had used a mag loop before.
LNXAUTHOR Rating: 2022-03-01
great portable loop with a bonus Time Owned: 6 to 12 months.
have been kinda loopy about loops for /p operating... bought my al-705 used and put it right to work... have made many contacts using my 705 and tx-500...

first thing i did was to buy a cellphone mount with vertical and horizontal 1/4x20 tripod holes... i then used thin flat-bar to bolt the mount to the tuning box using the included wall mount inserts - works great for tripod mounting!

next, for a few bucks i cut two foot-long sections of pvc, then used couplers and a cap to make a break-down mast for the main and coupler loops - that works great, too...

finally, the bonus: the tuning box has no stops, unlike the Alexloop, CHA Floop, or Alpha's 100W loop... this means i was able to easily craft a wireless remote tuning loop using the tuning box, and a 433MHz fwd/stop/rev box inline with a 5rpm 9-12V high-torque motor - a simple press fit using 3M dbl-sided tape against the loop's tuning knob makes the system complete... no need for stepping or limits - just tune for best receive, then quickly toggle direction to hit the lowest swr - cost was less than $40

here's another tip: if you don't need to be spot on a freq, get the loop tuning as close as you can, then simply turn the vfo while transmitting a low carrier to hit the sweet spot!

this loop is a lot of fun!
KF5I Rating: 2022-02-18
Works Somewhat Time Owned: 3 to 6 months.
First problem was there was a scraping sound when I turned the tuning knob. Opened the case and found they forgot to trim a wire and it was shorting on the gang capacitor! Sloppy construction.

Once I trimmed the wire and made sure the capacitor blades were okay, I was able to tune. Can get reasonable SWR if the antenna is up at least 4' above the ground and away from anything metal.

The loop takes patience to form into a circle and balance so the antenna stands up. Even a light breeze will knock it over. Not very stable. Planning to make some sort of non-metal stand to hang the loop. Something like mast on the CHA F-LOOP or other Alpha loops would be nice.

Tuning takes patience but it can be done. Works okay for super portable use (e.g., SOTA) but will use a BuddiStick Pro or WRC unless I need the bare minimum.
KD2RCQ Rating: 2021-07-22
Awesome Time Owned: 0 to 3 months.
This antenna, on a tripod in my backyard, with an Icom IC 705, 5 watts made a Vara HF winlink connection 30 miles away on 80 meters. And, I’m in the middle of Queens. Just awesome.
WA6MOW Rating: 2021-05-14
No magic for me. Time Owned: 0 to 3 months.
I used it portable. I had to carry a sturdy tripod to mount it securely. Even then the wind would play havoc on the swr. I had to buy an analyzer in order to tune it. You better have lots of patience as it is a challenge. My total investment over $500 bucks! I made a few contacts with it receiving weak signal reports People would bother me wanting to know what I was doing. I told them I was monitoring Taliban activity. lol.
I had a junk piece of random length wire with me and threw it up in a tree. I had my cheapo MFJ end fed tuner with me. Now the magic happened. I made contacts on 20 and 40 cw with solid signal reports using my KX2. It tuned quickly. No antenna analyzer needed. Total investment about $50 as I bought the tuner off of eBay. I sold the loop and the antenna analyzer for a hefty loss. Because of the size of this loop it is very inefficient. It is well made and comes in a neat little carrying bag. It works as well or better than other loops of this size. If you need an indoor antenna and have a nice window or patio this antenna would be fun to play with if you have the money to dink around with. You may want to try a random wire and the end fed MFJ tuner first and save your money for a new rig.
ZL1YAK Rating: 2021-01-19
Utterly magical Time Owned: 0 to 3 months.
I purchased the loop from the local Icom distributor and had a few hiccups getting it running at first, but after a few emails with Alpha Antenna they were all resolved quickly.

It tunes up really easy on 40m to around 1.5 and 1.8 on 30. and around 2 on 20m.

I've been able to make FT8 contacts from ZL to JA on 10watts with the iC-705 and hear transmitters from much further away with the antenna just sitting on a wooden table.

Just waiting on the extension loop to arrive now.