Direction finding with loops - Loops are somewhat directional along the axis of highest gain, but have a sharp null in the axis perpendicular to their highest gain. Therefore, when using a loop for direction finding, the plane of the antenna is rotated until the signal disappears. As planar loops have a 180 degree symmetry, other methods must be used to determine if the signal is in front or behind the loop.

Frequently, a dipole and a loop are used together, to obtain a combined cardioid radiation pattern with a sharp null on only one side.
 

Why use a loop?

A). No available space for a longwire antenna

B). To eliminate unwanted signals, and noise

C). Radio Direction Finding

D). To improve the performance of a simple receiving system, by providing pre-selection which improves image rejection, and adjacent channel selectivity.

3). History

A) 1915-1920’s Early receivers used loop antennas, until they were discontinued in favor of long wire antennas, prior to 1930.

The loop antenna appeared again about 1938. This time it was used to eliminate the need for a longwire antenna, and to provide for safer operation of the small midget AC/DC sets that came into wide use at that time.

B). The first known use of a high performance loop antenna is the box loop made by Ray Moore in the mid 1940’s(1) This antenna was written up in DX Horizons in 1960. The Moore Loop was wound on a 40" square box frame. Note: Ray Moore is the Author of the book on the history of Communications Receivers, and a new companion book on Transmitters.

C). The next major advance in Loop Antenna design came about as a result of advances by Gordon Nelson of the National Radio Club. The NRC Loop Antenna(2)was designed by Nelson in the Mid to Late 1960’s time frame, Nelson was at M.I.T. at the time. The major advance that Nelson made was allowing the loop to rotate in the vertical as well as horizontal plane. The addition of the Alt-azimuth adjustment allows for the elimination of the effects of "wave tilt" and allows for much deeper nulling of certain stations. This loop was a 35" on a side and wound on a wood frame. In one form it utilized another Nelson first, a direct coupled Balanced amplifier using 2N4416 J-FET’s with the outputs fed to a balanced feedline. The other version was link coupled to the receiver.

D). Sanserino Loop (1970-1985) This is a 2 foot Air core box loop designed by Ralph Sanserino, and later marketed by Radio West. This loop antenna used a Differential Amplifier similar to Nelson’s except the output is not balanced. This antenna also has the Alt-azimuth feature. (available as a kit) The amplifier was later used in the Radio West Ferrite Loop Antenna (see below) .

E). Joe Worchester (1970-1977) a retired GE engineer developed the "Space Magnet ", a small 12" ferrite rod loop antenna using a Bipolar Junction Transistor amplifier(3). Nulls were not as deep as with the Nelson Loop. This is also probably the first loop antenna commercially available to the hobbyist, at a cost of about $45.00 if I remember correctly. Later versions utilized the Nelson Alt-azimuth feature. This antenna also used a Faraday Shield around the Ferrite Bar.

F). Mackay Dymek (1974-Early 1980’s) , Palomar Engineers (1977-current). These are small ferrite antennas made by larger commercial concerns. The Mackay Dymek was primarily for the Broadcast Band, where the Palomar has plug in coils for ranges from 10Khz to 15Mhz. Note that both of these antennas incorporated alt-azimuth design.

G). Radio West(1979-1985) 23" ferrite rod assembly using Sanserino Differential Amplifier, direct coupled, Has Alt-azimuth feature, $160.00 in 1979.High performance for its day, quieter than the "Space Magnet"

H). Quantum Loop (about 1990) by Gerry Thomas is a small ferrite rod less than 1’ in size (length), with a high gain 40Db amplifier. has Alt-azimuth feature, in current production in various forms $135-$200.00.

I). KIWA Loop 1992 First Air core available since Nelson/Sanserino. Uses IC amplifier Opto isolated regeneration and varactor tuning. High performance, solidly built, in current production. $360.00.

J). RSM Communications (Ray Moore) RSM-105 (1994) A high performance transformer coupled, non amplified antenna described by Moore in Dec 1994 IRCA DX Monitor, Later in March 6 1995 issue of NRC DX News. Still in production? Price?? 35" spiral wound.

4). Electrical Design Characteristics

A). Two main types of Loops available 1). Directly Coupled and 2). Indirectly coupled (Transformer coupled) The Directly Coupled Loop has its windings directly attached to an Amplifier. Usually the main Tank Coil (parallel tuned circuit that forms the loop primary) in the loop is grounded at the center of the winding (center tapped), to allow for electrical balancing. The Amplifiers are usually but not always J-FET’s, with 2 FET’s in a Differential configuration, where the ends of the tank winding go to each FET gate. The Transformer coupled version uses a link winding to couple the signal to the receiver. This version can be amplified or non amplified.

B). The pick up pattern of a properly designed loop should be a figure 8 pattern. The null should be of the same depth, if the antenna is rotated 180 degrees horizontally (loop should not be adjusted for alt-azimuth, but left vertical 90 degrees from the ground). The 180 degree symmetry should be the same + or - one degree. If this condition does not occur the Antenna is not properly balanced. In a transformer loop balance deals with the signals being equal on both lines of the feed line (equal potential to ground). The feed line should preferably be shielded with the shield being grounded to the receiver chassis. If the line is affected by an electric field signal, a metallic object, or some other imbalance to ground, the loop will become unbalanced, resulting in a distortion of its pick up pattern. Balance is critical to getting the best nulls, and for precision Radio Direction Finding. The use of a broadband balun allows for better balance, but thought should be put into the design of the link winding, and receiver feed line, as well as the mechanical integrity of the coil.

C) The transformer coupled loop is the easiest to balance, especially if it is an air core loop. Ferrite loops are not as easy to balance due to the compression of flux lines in the ferrite. These antennas seem to be somewhat more prone to pick up electric fields.

D). In a directly coupled loop, the balance is affected by the gain of the amplifying devices on either side of the center tap being equal. If they are not very close to, or equal, they will cause the voltage in the tank coil to be imbalanced with respect to ground causing the same undesirable effects that the feed line caused in a Transformer Loop.

E). Some loops utilize a Faraday shield to maintain balance (4) Usually a one turn loop. these are usually circular, and are used on ships and other areas where direction finding is necessary. An example of this antenna is the 160 meter loop wound out of coax described by Doug DeMaw (5) Using a Faraday Shield will affect the pick up gain, as well as the "Q" of the tank coil(3) Another variant of the shielded loop is the Mike Hawk Loop(6)

Also note that imbalance is sometimes referred to as "Antenna Effect"(4) Also please note that a balanced loop antenna can be spoiled to a cardioid pattern by putting a vertical sense antenna within its field.(4)

F). The amount of coupling (placement of the link turn) is critical to the performance of the Transformer Coupled Loop. The placement can vary depending upon the load that the antenna sees. The best way to obtain optimum performance is to experiment with various distances from the Tank Coil. Most designs call for this to be wound amongst the tank coil windings, however this coupling is much too tight for most uses, and allows for tuning to be too broad, Q to be too low, and sensitivity to be not quite optimal.

G). The physical size of the Loop Tank Coil affects the overall pickup (capture ability) of the loop. The larger the winding size the greater the pickup. Larger loops will also be easier to balance than smaller ones.

H). The Tuning Sharpness "Q" is determined by the size of the wire (surface area). The lower the resistance the higher the "Q" will be. The loading of the Tank Coil also affects the "Q". This more than wire resistance affects the Transformer Coupled Loop. In a Transformer Loop, the placement of the Link Coil in relation to the main tank (distance) determines the amount of coupling, and hence the loading of the tank circuit. The point of critical coupling can be found by varying the coupling link distance, while comparing tuning sharpness and gain. the critical coupling point will be found at the sharpest tuning before the gain starts to drop. Tuning will continue to sharpen (slightly), but gain will fall off more rapidly, as one couples more loosely (moving the link physically farther from the Tank Coil). Further improvement can be had by matching the load impedance to the link coil with a matching transformer. This can be done as part of a balun, or following the balun (lead-in side). For optimum performance all impedance’s in the system should be properly matched.

I). The L/C ratio and mechanical design of the coil should be considered when looking at a good design for a loop. The loop should be mechanically stable (wires not flopping loose) The distributed capacitance between turns should be kept low by proper design to allow for wide tuning range, but not too wide to degrade the length to diameter ratio of the coil. Note that the best null performance occurs with the best length to diameter ratio of the Tank Coil. A spiral wound coil affords the best performance in this regard, but does not afford as great a signal pickup as a solenoid coil of the same diameter. (A Trade off)

Also note that the L/C ratio should allow for one 10 to 500pf variable capacitor to tune the whole Medium Wave Broadcast Band.(530-1700 KC)

J). Performance can be further enhanced if the amplifier following a transformer coupled loop is tuned. This provides still better image rejection, and adjacent channel selectivity. It is important that the amplifier be isolated from the loop by a transformer to maintain balance and pattern integrity.

K). Note that the spacing of the windings determines the inter-electrode capacitance. The wider the spacing between windings, the lower the capacitance, and the higher in frequency the loop will tune. the use of interlaced spreaders further reduces this effect (solenoid loop) provided that the spreaders are of sufficient width. Also note that the winding spacing is a compromise with the length to diameter ratio.