Mike Harwood has made a new video comparing 4 different active mag loop antenna at various frequencies from LF up to 52MHz using two SDRplay RSPduos which allowed simultaneous spectrum snapshots of the 4 loops in action with real signals. These are loops from Bonito, Cross Country Wireless, LZ1AQ and Wellbrook.

.All four loop antennas performed well. None of the loops had a significant failing.  Some of the summary points are listed below:

Possibly the Wellbrook ALA1530N and the LZ1AQ were slightly better performers, but this is a marginal viewpoint.

However  cost and ease of set-up are key deciding factors

The Wellbrook and Bonito loops come fully assembled and ready to use.

The Cross Country Wireless LAA++ loop comes with an assembled mast amplifier and a wire loop, so a rigid loop assembly would need to be constructed by the user. The bias-T does not come in a case, so this would need constructing and the user needs to provide a power supply. None of these are difficult tasks.

The LZ1AQ has many modes and a separate box with switches need to be assembled to make full use of these. As with the CCW, the bias-T does not come in a case, and a power supply needs providing. This is the more difficult loop of the four to get working.

Cost – the Cross Country Wireless LAA++ and the LZ1AQ are by far the lower-cost options.

This is the second of Mike’s antenna comparison videos.

Here’s a link to the introduction to the series: https://youtu.be/yuG47e8hHTQ All 4 antennas shown here are highly recommended for use with the SDRplay RSP family of SDR receivers. Mike Harwood is  prioritising this activity around popular loop designers/companies who recommend our SDRs – that way both suppliers are on the same page when it comes to providing follow-up support to anyone following our recommendations for an SDR receiver plus antenna combination. Mike encourages you to add your comments to the YouTube video –  they will help shape future videos.  The MLA 30+ will be featured in the next video.