| KG4UHV |
Rating:  |
2015-02-21 | |
| Excellent antenna |
Time Owned: 0 to 3 months. |
| This is the best antenna for my needs and The perfect match for my FT817ND. The price is definitely worth it. Don't even hesitate to buy it. I made great contacts with just 2.5watts. Thank you Alex.73. |
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| N4SAX |
Rating: |
2015-01-05 | |
| Great Performer! |
Time Owned: 0 to 3 months. |
| I wholeheartedly echo all the other "5" reviews here! I received the Alexloop Walkham for Xmas. I first assembled it inside my shack and easily made 3 stateside contacts (MD, PA, and OK) - all on the first call! Very easy to set up and tune and really hears well! I then took the Alexloop Walkham and my IC-703 to a local park and had a blast with easy contacts with PA (W1AW/3 back-to-back on 15/20 meters!), CA, AZ, and NC. If you would like to see the antenna and IC-703 in action, just do an internet search for "Alexloop Xmas" and you will find my video on Youtube. All in all, I am highly satisfied with this great little portable antenna. I also purchased the Vivitar 1250 50" lightweight tripod, which fits neatly inside the Alexloop case. If you remove the camera platform attachment from the Vivitar tripod, the Alexloop will fit neatly over the remaining stem. Note: You should mark and stop the tripod's riser at about 4" so you don't allow too much of the riser stem to protrude/extend into the Alexloop's bottom tube. Bottom line: The AlexLoop Walkham is a GREAT QRP antenna! |
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| AD7QQ |
Rating: |
2015-01-02 | |
| Excellent Antenna |
Time Owned: 3 to 6 months. |
| I purchased the AlexLoop Walkham about 3 months ago as an alternative to the vertical multiband antenna I had used for SOTA but which could not tune the WARC bands. I was very pleased at the ease of setup and ease in tuning. The whole package was easy to add to my Icom 703 backpack settup even with the tripod. The selectivity of the magnetic loop antenna helped with loud stations on weekend contest days (my most common SOTA days as well). I could easily hit the midwest and southwest from Northern Idaho on 5 watts and felt that it was much more sensitive than the vertical. I set it up in my living room next to the wood stove and recliner chair and did PSK during the Christmas holidays and it worked great despite being indoors. I found the quieter the environment the easier it was to tune, but a good set of headphones would probably have overcome that minor issue. It truly takes about 45 seconds to tune the antenna to your operating frequency and I never had to deal with worse than a 1:2 SWR, and usually was better. I have used it on 7, 10, 14, 18, 21, and 28 MHZ with success. While expensive, I feel it was worth the investment and I have had a blast using it. |
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| K1PMA |
Rating: |
2014-12-28 | |
| Good alternative when space is at a premium |
Time Owned: 0 to 3 months. |
Got this antenna because I wanted to see how good a magnetic loop antenna is in practice. Setup is easy and workmanship of the Alexloop is decent. Note that the max power is 20W SSB or 10W AM! You don't want to destroy your new toy inadvertently. Tuning is like this: you turn the knob for loudest signal (or just noise floor) and then you key up your radio and minutely (as in really teeny tiny increments) readjust for lowest SWR. This is why I did not give 5 stars, you need a pretty steady hand to find the exact sweet spot. Oh yes, and do not use/bypass any ATU you might have. I compared the Alexloop to several antennas i have in use: a G5RV up 25ft., a end fed wire almost 40ft up and a 30ft random wire with a 9:1 UNUN up about 15ft.
The Alexloop cannot beat the G5RV or the end-fed, which is OK and no surprise. The performance is more or less in line with a properly deployed random wire/buddipole. On some occasions the loop will be better, other times not. The loop has a certain degree of directionality which is a plus. While some say it performs better when held horizontally for DX I found vertical be be better, at least when close to the ground. Wish the loop could handle at least 50W as QRP-ish TX is not always an option.
Take care to never touch the two loop connectors which are basically just PL259, I keyed up with 20W while just barely touching one and smoking flesh was the result!
Overall I think the loop is another great tool for a ham's mobile operation. |
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| K4EQ |
Rating: |
2014-12-09 | |
| Impressive! |
Time Owned: more than 12 months. |
There's not much I can add to what's already been said, but I can certainly affirm that this is a really neat, portable antenna. I'm not a backpacker but I work a lot of QRP. MY purpose for buying the AlexLoop was to have a backup in case I lost my R8 vertical in a storm in the winter. When I had knee replacement surgery a year ago and couldn't get to my downstairs shack, I put it in my bedroom and made several contacts in the midwest and west coast using my Elecraft K1 at 5 watts. This past summer I used it on our deck one afternoon and made a few more contacts at 5 watts. Then, with my batteries running low, I lowered the power to 3 watts, called CQ, and was answered by a G3 (England) station on 17 meters. That's certainly not exotic DX, but it was pretty cool given my setup.
The AlexLoop is the only magnetic loop antenna I've used, so I can't compare it to others. However, I must say that it is everything I hoped it would be and more. It's an impressive little gem. |
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| M0GNA |
Rating: |
2014-12-09 | |
| Magic |
Time Owned: 0 to 3 months. |
| I am more than impressed with the AlexLoop.It so easy to get it up and running.Tuning it is simple just use your ears and then just give a tweek one way or the other to flatten the SWR.I have only used it indoors and have still managed to work many European stations with just 5 watts with my FT 817nd getting good reports on all bands.I look forward to a field trip.Its well put together and so easy to carry about anywhere.For QRP I don't think it can be beaten,no radials,no tricky tuning,and all packed away in a handsome bag.Its a winner with me despite it being a bit pricey,but most ham stuff is anyway. |
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| K8DSS |
Rating: |
2014-11-21 | |
| Update - Tripod Suggestion |
Time Owned: more than 12 months. |
I continue to believe that the AlexLoop is a fantastic antenna for quick setup and efficient operation. My portable operation with the AlexLoop is usually at local parks, preferably water side locations. Recently, I picked up a Paksun 2001 UT tripod on Amazon for about $18, incl, shipping. After removing the camera attachment/pan & tilt entirely, the remaining 3/4inch center tube fits into the AlexLoop just perfectly. Some electrical tape at the 4" level keeps the antenna from going to far onto the tube.
The result is a setup that supports the loop very well, allows rotation and has the bottom of the loop 48 inches off the ground.. The modified tripod weighs only 1.5 pounds. |
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| N7KM |
Rating: |
2014-11-13 | |
| To my surprise it really works. |
Time Owned: 3 to 6 months. |
| I’m a retired electronics professional with a lot of communications experience. I have always been blessed with good locations and excellent antenna systems. I recently found myself in the worst radio situation I have ever faced. My XYL and I temporarily moved to a large city and found ourselves on the bottom floor of an apartment complex below ground level and no outdoor antennas allowed. For years my favorite relaxation has been a CW rag-chew each day, I was missing my hobby. I had my KX3 and simple indoor dipole antennas but building attenuation and noise made me give up after much frustration. I saw an Alexloop listed on the QRZ swap page so I researched it. I told my XYL “if I was home I could build one for under a hundred dollars and it looks like SNAKE OIL to me, but I want to buy it and if it doesn’t work I can sell it for what I paid.” When it arrived the first thing that impressed me was how its High Q erased the noise problem. This is a sweet receive antenna. I made several QSOs on 20 and 30 meter CW from the basement, the reports weren’t great but it worked. Next, I moved the rig to the picnic table outside the building with the loop mounted on a tripod four feet off the ground. The results were astounding; I have made a couple of dozen solid 20 to 40 minute stateside QSOs on 40, 30, 20 and 17 meters. I even condescended to SSB and it works well. One Saturday I joined in on a CW contest, which is not my thing, I easily worked station after station until I ran out of paper to log on. The local hams recently held a QSO party at the park. My 10 watts and Loop performed as well as the simple dipoles, the buddy pole dipole, end fed wires, and verticals. Not even once have I set up on a park bench and not be able to make multiple solid contacts. I’m a SOTA operator and when I return home my 32’ kite pole and big wire antenna will no long be going to mountain tops. Small antennas like this are a compromise, but this one is well engineered, small, light, and easy to setup and use. To my complete surprise it works much better than I think it should. If you find yourself in a bind as I did, buy one or build one and you too will have pleasant surprise. |
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| KD2ALV |
Rating: |
2014-09-22 | |
| GREAT QRP ANTENNA!!! |
Time Owned: 0 to 3 months. |
I bought the AlexLoop with my KX3. Realizing that the Magnetic Loop is different than other QRP antennas I was very careful not to damage the radio nor the loop. So I sent Alex a couple of emails about the antenna's high SWR. He patiently explained how to lower the SWR. I recall what he said:
Firstly, one must bypass the internal antenna tuner. Then tune the Loop with its tuner and then depress and hold the KX3 "XMIT" button in order to manually lower the SWR with the radio's dial and NEVER USE THE "ATU TUNE BUTTON. I did and then immediately contacted the Netherlands with 5 watts from Bogota, Colombia without damaging the radio nor the antenna! Since then the antenna worked miraculously.
Alex is a first class Ham with a wonderful product.
I would not hesitate to recommend this antenna. It is light, easy to put-up and breakdown (probably 2 minutes), high quality, incredible receive and transmit antenna. If that were not enough value, you will also get generous, kind and prompt support from the designer and owner of the company. This combination cannot be beat!!!
Thanks Alex. |
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| ON4TVT |
Rating: |
2014-07-08 | |
| a real winner |
Time Owned: 6 to 12 months. |
since I have no time and not the necessary tools to make a HF loop antenna, I bought the Alexloop.
A loop in general is maybe a little bit difficult to use, especially in the beginning. However, the Alexloop, once familiarized with it, is a very reliable, robust, ultra portable lightweight antenna installed in minutes. For QRP portable, pedestrian use in the field this commercial loop is for the moment unbeatable. Moreover the bag of the antenna permits to transport some small accessories, including a tripod. Bravo Alex!!
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