MLA-30 a poor man's Wellbrook

[pe1etr]

My MLA-30 magnetic loop antenna arrived today. It isn't quite a Wellbrook, but as it costs about 10% of a Wellbrook, it is good value. It packs up very small, so is ideal for taking on Dxpeditions. I was unsure whether to put this here or under MW LW. I have tried it indoors and hanging out of a window. I have uploaded a few videos. Works well with the Airspy HF+ Discovery.
www.youtube.com/user/pe1etr
They all have MLA-30 in their title.

Peter

[Tim Bucknall]

your noise floor sounds quiet
is the MLA rejecting everything?

[pe1etr]

your noise floor sounds quiet
is the MLA rejecting everything?

It rejects quite a lot up to about 6MHz. Higher than that the noise wins. A bigger loop is better than the provided loop. I need to experiment with it outside in a lower noise environment. Soon
Peter

[AMDXHUN]

Try to replace the PSU module using non-switching 12v adaptor!

[pe1etr]

Try to replace the PSU module using non-switching 12v adaptor!

Why? Have you done that to yours?

[chipbutty]

Received mine yesterday. Also have the new Cross Country Wireless loop designed as a rival to the MLA-30, i.e cost effective with decent performance. Yet to set up the CCW. These are my most first loops so I don't know what to expect. The MLA-30 certainly boosts signal levels far beyond my reel antenna and in most cases more than my Degen active loop. Trouble is it seems to bring up the noise floor in equal measure. I found this really disappointing but it's born out by many others using this loop. Unless I can get rid of the noise I'll go back to my Degen loop until I get the CCW setup.

Seems decent on SW. MW seems a tad stronger than the ferrite in my Sangean ATS-909X (a beast on MW) but I struggled tuning in some stations when rotating the loop whereas I could get a perfect signal by orienting my Sangean. LW on the loop is useless.

Peter - I've heard many saying the source of the noise is the power unit supplied. It ups the voltage from 5v to 12v and creates all sorts of noise. I have no idea. This guy doesn't use it and instead powers via his SDR https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RvXsywLbi9k I don't use an an SDR so I'm unsure how to supply power any differently. Currently I'm using a good quality Anker USB battery bank.

It would be good if folk could offer tips and suggestions on the MLA-30 in this thread.

Some good information on this loop over at https://groups.io/g/loopantennas Needless to say they rip it to shreds But for the £25 delivered it will teach me a few things and a new learning experience.

[pe1etr]

Received mine yesterday. Also have the new Cross Country Wireless loop designed as a rival to the MLA-30, i.e cost effective with decent performance. Yet to set up the CCW. These are my most first loops so I don't know what to expect. The MLA-30 certainly boosts signal levels far beyond my reel antenna and in most cases more than my Degen active loop. Trouble is it seems to bring up the noise floor in equal measure.

Seems decent on SW. MW seems a tad stronger than the ferrite in my Sangean ATS-909X but I struggled tuning in some stations when rotating the loop whereas I could get a perfect signal by orienting my Sangean. LW on the loop is useless.

Peter - I've heard many saying the source of the noise is the power unit supplied. I have no idea. This guy doesn't use it and instead powers via his SDR https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RvXsywLbi9k I don't use an an SDR so I'm unsure how to supply power any differently. Currently I'm using a good quality Anker USB battery bank.

It would be good if folk could offer tips and suggestions on the MLA-30 in this thread.

Some good information on this loop over at https://groups.io/g/loopantennas Needless to say they rip it to shreds

There is no power supply provided. There is a 'Biasing Tee' which converts a 5V input to a 12V output, and is a switch mode device, but it does something else as well, it is not just a voltage provider, so replacing it for a 12V linear power supply probably does help.
I tried running mine direct from the bias-T of my Funcube Dongle Pro+ but the loop amplifier didn't work so probably the FCD Pro+ 4.5V bias-T is not powerful enough to drive the amp.

There is a lot of 'helpful' advice on the internet on how to improve a device that the writer doesn't have. Most reviews have Americans slagging it off because it is made in China. I'd like them to name American made, from American component devices

[chipbutty]

Yes sorry. It's not a power supply. My mistake. I need to get this CCW up at some point but waiting on cables and a suitable way of putting up the loop.

[pe1etr]

Yes sorry. It's not a power supply. My mistake. I need to get this CCW up at some point but waiting on cables and a suitable way of putting up the loop.

There is a comparison on YouTube which shows that the MLA-30 is better than the CCW device. I was considering the CCW loop as it is a lot cheaper and more portable than a Wellbrook, but the MLA-30 is less than half price of the CCW loop!

[chipbutty]

Yes I must say I'm a bit disappointed at those findings. I have a feeling I'll regret getting the CCW.