The following is a quote from the link I posted a few posts ago. It was about half way down the page.
"However the small loop has one very significant advantage over any other antenna due to
its unique radiation pattern. If the vertically oriented loop’s figure-8 doughnut pattern
radiation lobe is visualised standing on the ground the maximum gain occurs at both low
and high angles, radiating equally well at all elevation angles in the plane of the loop, i.e.
radiation occurs at all vertical angles from the horizon to the zenith. Because the loop
radiates at both low and high angles, a single loop can replace both a horizontal dipole and
a Vertical. This is particularly beneficial on 160, 80 and 40m where the loop will provide
outstanding local / regional coverage and easily match and often outperform a tall ¼ λ
Vertical for long haul DX contacts, i.e. an exceptionally good general purpose antenna."
