KL7JR "DX Window" Vertical Indoor
"Hoola Loop"
"Just because you are stuck in an apartment or
other place that doesn't allow external antennas, doesn't mean you have to
give up hamming!" ~KL7JR~
Call me a packrat because sometimes
when I take the garbage out I also bring stuff back.
A pair of
shiny plastic hoola hoops sticking out of the dumpster gave me an idea for
a dual band 10 and 12 meter loop. (With 15 meters as a bonus)
This is
probably the closest I'll ever come to a nearly round loop so I thought
I'd give it a shot.
Mounting the loop inside my window gave a whole
new meaning to the popular ham term "DX Window", hi hi!
The 10-12 AND 15 meter "DX Window" Hoola Loop overlooking the
snow
I slapped together a quick feed line connection (using a
SO-239 connector) fully knowing
I'd only have the loop up a few months
this winter (2009/2010).
I added a couple of feet of 1/2 inch PVC
pipe using black electrical tape to make the loop about 19 feet long which
is 1/2 WL on 26.7 MHz - the center design frequency for 10 and 12 meters
(1005 divided by 26.7 MHz=38 feet times 50%=19 feet). See photo
below:
Feed Point of loop
The loop easily loaded on 10 and 12
meters with a tuner, but as usual both bands were dead when I checked a
few times over the weekend.
The numbers looked good on my MFJ
259B analyzer, and my other
indoor loop (50 ft rectangular loop) continues to amaze me, so
I know this loop will work whenever we get propagation again!
So,
just because you are stuck in an apartment or other place that doesn't
allow external antennas, doesn't mean you have to give up hamming!
Update March 2010:
10 and 12 meters
are still dead up here (by arslan at tforge), or at least every time I check, hi hi! But
to my surprise, and I'm still scratching my bald head, I did manage
to work a couple of JA's with the Hoola Loop on 15 meters so that is
hopeful.
Bottom line, if you have an unused
"DX Window" put it to good use with your ideas! Experiment and have fun!
KL7JR
