MLA-30+ Loop Antenna

Absolute best antenna for your shortwave listening! Unbelievable how it pulls in these far signals!

I had been using a passive dipole antenna on my SDR with very poor results. At the recommendation of some buddies, I tried the MLA-30+ active loop antenna. I simply taped the antenna to the window in my office, connected it to a dongle SDR and I am picking up stations o 10 MHz over much of the Eastern third of the US. Of course it is not as food as a full sized antenna, but for a quick indoor installation it is quite good!

I was worried at first. Im new to this kind of stuff. But I'm really happy with this. The ease of setting it up, and it works!

So far I have been able to pull in South Carolina and Hawaii, and I live in Nevada. It was easy to set up and it is installed to a height of 20 feet. I am pulling in radio signals from quite a distance. Might be getting further, but I don’t speak Spanish. I think I am reaching Mexico City, just not sure. Also heard the freeway report for L.A. California. For the cost this is a great antenna for short wave radio.

I bought this for a project/curiousity. I found this is a good product, but there are others that work much better (at 10-15 times the price). As is, the performance is just okay. The coax is very thin and noisy. It can be upgraded but it is not a plug and play item, you have to modify the antenna. There are also some other upgrades you can do. For me It performs best in the 25, 31 and 41m bands, and really needs to be outside. If you are a beginner or even someone who likes to tinker with things this is a great place to start. I know some have been able to turn this antenna into a robust unit that compares favorably to the high end, expensive antennas.

I tried the antenna with an Icom R-71A, a Western Electric contract Collins R-392, and a Heath GC-1000 clock (receives time signals via WWV shortwave). The unit delivered mediocre performance at best, even on MW. SW was poor. I'm currently using my long wire transmitting antenna with 9:1 balun for SWL use in addition to ham. I have a QRM problem due to solar equipment, and I was hoping that a loop antenna would help out with that, as I have experienced in the past. I built a loop antenna a number of years ago, which got left behind in a move. I worked far better than this one. I can't favorably recommend this unit. I'll probably gut the electronics and give it a try with a preamp design off the Internet.

Easy to set up...Loop was made of a very firm steel that keeps its shape - not flimsy as others that sag. Receives well even though I am in a valley "fishbowl".

This active antenna works nicely with my "Upgraded ATS-25max-DECODER" SWL / HAM Radio receiver. It comes with the loop antenna, an amplifier module, a "bias tee" power injector and connecting coax. I needed a 6 ft 2-inch PVC pipe to mount the amplifier module on, a cap, a couple of brackets to mount the PVC pipe, a couple of screws and a USB-C power supply. The provided coax connects with SMA connectors. If your shortwave receiver has a BNC connector, you will need a BNC to SMA-Female connector. I'm able to tune into Radio New Zealand on 15.720MHz which comes in strong here in the evenings on the West Coast. Certainly it picks up all sorts of single sideband conversations as far away as Florida and the Caribbean sea. I'm also able to decode FT8 conversations from all over the world on the 40, 20 and 15m HAM bands. I've not spent a lot of time monitoring CB with it.

受信感度が良く、BCLに役立ちます。

Great for use indoors. Not portable.