I installed a (roughly) 80 meter loop run around my back yard a long time ago to use as RX antenna fed into the MFJ 1026 noise canceller. I just used some small parallel two strand solid wire, using the unseparated part as parallel feedline and the loop is only about 10' high. The purpose of this antenna was to pick up the neighbors electrical noise (plasma TVs, pool pumps, etc.) so that the MFJ 1026 could phase it out. This setup worked reasonably well for what it was intended to do, but I've noticed that most of these noise sources that used to plague me were gone.
I decided to upgrade this RX loop to see if I could get it to pick up a wider range and distance of man made RX noise that my main antenna was hearing, especially on 80 and 40 meters. After reading about others using beverage antenna components with good success with RX ground loops, I decided to give the DX Engineering Beverage Antenna Systems DXE-BFS-1 a try.
This little box is really just a 9:1 transformer, encased an a heavy duty box. I mounted this on the eave of my roof and feed it with RG6, leaving the rest of the loop untouched. In this configuration, you don't need the resistor. You could easily roll your own 9:1 transformer, but for $64, it's hard to argue the time investment for something packed ready to go.
I wasn't sure what to expect, but when I tested it out the first night, I was pleasantly surprised at how big of a difference this RX antenna performed with the new transformer installed. It certainly works much better with the MFJ-1026 for getting rid of unwanted man made noise. This antenna can now also be used when band conditions are changing, giving you a potential for maintaining reception of a station who might be fading out. All things considered, it's a great little improvement for the RX antenna. Here's a link to the product: https://www.dxengineering.com/parts/dxe-bfs-1/reviews
I decided to upgrade this RX loop to see if I could get it to pick up a wider range and distance of man made RX noise that my main antenna was hearing, especially on 80 and 40 meters. After reading about others using beverage antenna components with good success with RX ground loops, I decided to give the DX Engineering Beverage Antenna Systems DXE-BFS-1 a try.
This little box is really just a 9:1 transformer, encased an a heavy duty box. I mounted this on the eave of my roof and feed it with RG6, leaving the rest of the loop untouched. In this configuration, you don't need the resistor. You could easily roll your own 9:1 transformer, but for $64, it's hard to argue the time investment for something packed ready to go.
I wasn't sure what to expect, but when I tested it out the first night, I was pleasantly surprised at how big of a difference this RX antenna performed with the new transformer installed. It certainly works much better with the MFJ-1026 for getting rid of unwanted man made noise. This antenna can now also be used when band conditions are changing, giving you a potential for maintaining reception of a station who might be fading out. All things considered, it's a great little improvement for the RX antenna. Here's a link to the product: https://www.dxengineering.com/parts/dxe-bfs-1/reviews
