VLF Loop

This antenna was born from the demand to use a loop for vlf operations in portable posting, avoiding the aid of long wires to stretch. Up to a few time ago, I have used a circular loop for the home activities, the output of the home-loop, thanks to its shape, it is slightly higher, but irrelevant for a normal use.

How is it built?

The loop is composed by 5 pieces of galvanized-zinc pipe, of which 3 long 120 centimeters and the remainders 2 about the half of firsts, the diameter is 3/4', connected between them by 4 female-female aluminium RTA curves, these are usually used for the electric fittingses, these are waterproof and can be opened. The inferior pipes are shorter so to avoid the internal wires that circulate in the loop to escape inside a pvc box. 4 dice stop the pipes to the box. It's important that the two shortest pipes don't come to contact in the box, otherwise we create a real short circuit! 

Inside

To shift more in lower frequency the antenna I have opted for an inside loop of 60 coils. These are formed by 60 poles flat-cable for PC peripheral. The advantage to use the inspectable curves is the easiest way to insert the cable in every pipe from the most comfortable position without having to face uncomfortable curves avoiding boring cable insulator peel. I don't describe how to insert the cable, each will use the more congenial to his own demands. Once ended the job, with a little of patience, you must solder all the incoming wires from one pipe with those came from other pipe, take care to don't connect the same wire, so that at the end you have an unique wire in the loop that reaches the lengh of over 280 meters with 60 coils!

To the two open heads connected the cable to receiver, having care before finishing the job to connect a pole toward the metallic loop.

To finish

We have now a square loop that will allow us to dearly receive VLF. It can directly be connected to the SB of your PC for the first approaches to this type of listening. In effects it's a little heavy, but once installed is not it anymore! I succeed in carry it on the roof of my compact car without problems, I couldn't do that with the circular one, and this is what I wanted.