Manager


Manager - NA4M
Manager Notes

Reviews For: Ciro Mazzoni Baby Loop

Category: Antennas: HF: Verticals; Wire; Loop

eMail Subscription

Registered users are allowed to subscribe to specific review topics and receive eMail notifications when new reviews are posted.
Review Summary For : Ciro Mazzoni Baby Loop
Reviews: 18MSRP: 1540
Description:
The smallest and most popular selling loop-antenna. Diameter is only 1m (ca. 38 inch). For this antenna space is not a problem: on the balcony, on the roof. The gapless frequency-range is 6,9 up to 29,7 MHz. It comes ready to use with mast clamp and LCD ctrl unit
Product is in production
More Info: http://www.wimo.de/cgi-bin/verteiler.pl?url=antloop_e.htm
# last 180 days Avg. Rating last 180 days Total reviews Avg. overall rating
13184.7
GW0UZK Rating: 2016-03-01
Surprising performance Time Owned: more than 12 months.
Although I have the space for bigger aerials I bought this loop because my main interest is aerials and having tried to build my own with mixed results I wanted to try the best there is before forming an opinion. It's performance exceeded my expectations by a large margin and is surprisingly close to the multi band wire aerials I have compared it with. Rotating it fills the nulls experienced on my nest of dipoles so in some directions it can be better.
There seems to be some confusion about it's power rating, the loop will handle the higher power (400w to 1kw) and the 200w limit is for the controller so put the amplifier between the controller and the loop and it all makes sense.
It gets a 4 because although it is the best magnetic loop money can buy it is very expensive alternative to a bit of wire with comparable performance.
KJ4SLP Rating: 2016-02-21
Best small loop available Time Owned: 0 to 3 months.
Others have described this antenna in some detail so I'll go directly to the bottom line.

PROS:
--Materials and build quality are superb. One reviewer mentioned sloppy soldering but, in fact, there is no soldering anywhere on the antenna. Very substantial TIG welding is used throughout.

--The current version requires minor assembly, taking at most 15-20 minutes from the time the shipping carton is opened until the antenna is ready to go active.

--The packaging, which has been revised recently, is essentially bombproof.

--The manual provides clear guidance about locating the antenna vis-a-vis metal structures, wiring, etc. If you can read, there is no excuse for failing to understand how the antenna should be sited.

--The loop is quiet compared to most other types of antennas, making it especially suitable for noisy urban areas.

--Martin Lynch & Sons in Middlesex, UK, and TNT courier service provide first class customer service. My loop was shipped within 24 hours of my order and arrived on my doorstep in upstate New York within four days. The antenna cleared customs within one hour of arrival at JFK.

CONS:
--Bandwidth is narrow and retuning is required for even minor frequency changes.

--The new tuning unit "ATU 2.0" is limited to 200 watts. This is not mentioned in Ciro Mazzoni advertising, which states power limits of 400-1000 watts.

--Instructions for assembly and for use of the ATU are not well integrated into the operating manual. Nothing is hard to figure out but greater detail would be helpful.

THOUGHTS:
--With a front-to-side ratio of 25dB, a rotator is needed for best performance.

--This loop will certainly not outperform a beam on a tall tower but it competes well with most dipoles and verticals, especially given its quietness on receive.

CONCLUSIONS:
For the space-challenged operator or anyone who seeks an easily installed antenna that does not require a tower or a tree-climbing adventure, the Ciro Mazzoni Baby Loop is an excellent choice. It is hands-down the best constructed amateur antenna I have ever seen.
G6YEK Rating: 2015-06-13
Fantastic Time Owned: 0 to 3 months.
Only had the loop for a sort time and i have had some great results, at the moment its only 1.6 m above the ground there is a pic on my QRZ page.
Best Dx to date is VP8ALJ on 15m.
Des G6YEK
VK2CCJ Rating: 2015-05-29
Best Restricted Space Antenna I have used Time Owned: more than 12 months.
I know a number of VK's use this antenna some with rotators , I don't have enough space to turn it currently.

Well a little background I live in a Villa complex and basically means little or no space for HF antennas and very close neibours. I tried Verticals and even a short inverted L fed from SGC230 remote tuner (these are not neighbour friendly and an eyesore to some) but the Baby Loop has exceeded my expectations , mine is 2 metres on a heavy Tripod off the ground and about a metre in diameter between a steel fence and a large Pergola, so not exactly in the clear , pictures on my QRZ.com page. my QRZ is under my new 2 letter call VK2NP. not the VK2CCJ which I also hold.

The tuner provided is a direct keyboard entry or can be manually tuned, no Transmission required contains a small DDS oscillator and matches VSWR by feeding the signal up the coax to the loop.

Covers about 6.9Mhz to 29.8Mhz continuous so good for SWL as well. Though I usually use a Pixel 1B receive only antenna

Construction is second to none very solid and quite heavy at 16kg . Will handle 400W on the lower bands and up to a 1KW on the higher ones.

It will not replace a full size antenna at height but I get great reports and often people don't know what I am running.

would love for it to cover 80M and 160M but too small for that.

Expensive but for me well worth it till I get that dream house and a tower wishful thinking Hi.

I think this antenna would last a lifetime , no plans to sell it even if I move to more open area.

bought through a German company Wimo as shipping was easier but I emailed Ciro and he is very helpful .

Please feel free to ask or add information,

73
Cliff VK2NP VK2CCJ
Sydney Australia
K1PMA Rating: 2015-02-24
Not a one-size-fits-all solution. Time Owned: 0 to 3 months.
I am not one that gives out 5 stars willy-nilly. And while the Baby Loop (BL) does work, there are several caveats. First of all, I imported it by myself from German distributor WIMO. While they are professional and knowledgable, the forwarding agent they used (DBSchenker) has a terrible office in NC. It took almost 3 weeks for it to be delivered to me even though I paid for DAP air cargo service. Customs ($50) and processing of duties, forms etc were another $300. Plus, in the beginning they said they have never handled imports by a private individual before and do not do that....until I made a huge stink...long story short, before you order make sure you understand what you are getting in to. Here my impressions (NOT a complete how-to-guide).

The unit is shipped in a very study box. No issues with the packaging. The included 220V to 24V DC adapter is useless since it's not universal. Plan on getting one yourself (at least 1A). Also, you will need an appropriate length of 2 lead wire that goes from the controller (ATU) to the antenna for the motor. This in addition to the coax.

Unboxing and setup can take several hours, depending if you have all the right tools/supplies handy. You will either need a very sturdy tripod or a 2" pipe for mounting, Mount between 1.5 and 2.5 meters above ground/roof. All the right bolts/nuts for mounting the antenna to a mast are included.

The manual is helpful but fails to point out several crucial aspects of how the antenna works. First of all, a mag loop antenna is VERY sensitive to it's surroundings. Do not place it close to a wall, garage door, pipes, etc. have at least a 4 meter circumference clear around it. One reason is this (happened to me): once the ATU is hooked up and all the cable connected and you enter a frequency with B14300* (example) the controller tries to determine at what frequency the antenna currently is resonant on, BEFORE it sends commands down the motor line. And if it can't determine resonance because its too close to interfering objects the Green motor light will never come on. Display will show "NO RESONANCE".

The construction of the unit is 'heavy duty'. It should have no problem living outside under harsch conditions. The solder job on my antenna (mainly the plates) was not something to write home about (sloppy) but should have no influence on the performance.

Don't expect much support from Ciro Mazzoni in Italy. Only the daughter speaks English and her hours in the office are few and far between. Better you order from WIMO in Germany and get professional support (Wolfgang).

I have only had it in operation for 2 days now, so not an thorough test by any measure, but I have had several QSO and compared RX on all bands with an end fed up 40 feet in the trees. So far I have found 20 & 40 meter band to be pretty close in RX and TX performance with the loop. 17, 15, 12 and 10 are iffy...subjective rating maybe 50-70% as good as the end fed, all depending on mode, source, etc But any way you slice it, it cannot compete with any decent dipole/yagi/etc up 30 or more feet in the air. But the huge advantage is of course the 'stealthiness' (which is actually a misnomer as the antenna will attract attention due to it's weird look) and the power it can handle (200W or possibly more. I was told it can be set up to handle up to 800). Compare this to the MFJ mag loop (costing a fraction) which is much more toy-like.
VK2LK Rating: 2012-05-20
The best always costs the most Time Owned: 0 to 3 months.
Excellent antenna, with the ATU it is very easy to use.

I have talked around the world using this baby loop, and its great. Support from both wimo and the factory is excellent. The most expensive part for me was shipping as its quite a large item.

Cheers,
Matt
VK2TVK
IZ5DMQ Rating: 2010-07-13
the best for me Time Owned: more than 12 months.
This easy and small loop antena can cover all the frequencies from6.8 to 29.9 mhz with a R.O.S. around 1.2-1.5 in all the bands.

I'm using this antenna since 1989 and i was surprised , when i connected with my old yaesy ft 747 in the 11 metrs band the first.

When i became Ham , in 1990 i've started to use it in the bands expecially in 40 meters where i used specially for CW traffic.

the diameter is only 1 meters and the inventor realizes 3 models to cover the magic band and the 80 meters with another 2 antennas of 2 meters and 4 meters.

i've only used the baby model.

The price is not too cheap but you can use the antenna with an automatic tuner without the transceiver.

The signals are perfects without noises even if you cannot win one contest with big pileup;
this is the perfect solution for who can install big antennas and who can not install equipments on the roof.

in fact i 've used it on my patio for the first.

this is my magic solution to listen all the bands and transmit with enjoy
EI8IO Rating: 2008-02-24
Fantastic for my location Time Owned: 3 to 6 months.
I have a very small garden and the QTH is not suitable for beams or any 'decent' conventional antenna setup. Under these conditions the Baby-Loop performed beyond my expectations.

The antenna itself is very well made. The support from Wimo/Ciro Mazzoni is superb.

I would recommend you get the ATU version, as manual tuning can be a bit time consuming.

TX/RX gave excellent results – noise levels compared to the wire antennas was greatly reduced. Received signal strength was noticeably increased. Contact reports were 59+ with 10W and covered most of Europe with ease.