K-180WLA Active Loop Broadband Receiving Antenna 100kHz-180MHz 20dBi SDR Radio Antenna Loop Small Loop Short Wave Antenna

The loop works surprisingly well for its size, and does demonstrate reasonable directivity. i did run into one hiccup when I went to assemble and test the loop: mine was shipped with a female TNC connector on the LNA, instead of a female SMA connector, as shown in the listing photos. It included an adapter which would have accommodated that change, had it been a male TNC to female SMA adapter, instead of a male BNC to female SMA adapter. Once I procured the correct adapter elsewhere, everything worked as expected.

The Chinese to English manual definitely needs some love and is the only thing I find fault with. I am really enjoying the antenna and have it hooked up to a RWL-SDR dongle. Works very well. It did take a couple of days to figure it all out, so I thought my lessons learned tips might help fill in the gap with the supplied manual.There's no need for glue, just put the pvc pipes together and friction should hold it all together since the antenna doesn't weigh much. I did add a layer of tape on the top pipe to ensure the cap fits tighter to prevent it from coming apart if I hung it up by a string. If you don't glue it then you can take the whole thing apart in 30 sec.Pretty obvious how it goes together, just make sure the loop is a round circle and not an oval and at least 22 inches top to bottom.The antenna receives RF directionally, not omni. The antenna is a donut; turn the hole of the donut to face where you want to receive VHF/UHF signals or turn the edge of the donut towards where you want HF signals. Try turning the antenna a bit to tune in a weaker signal that might not be perfectly aligned.The antenna and yellow preamp box are weatherproof. Make sure to put some sag or a loop in the cable so that water drips off the cable and doesn't travel into the house.There's a yellow preamp box where the metal loop is attached that contains a selectable switch. If you primarily want to search and receive long distance FM stations then don't touch it. If you're close to powerful FM radio stations and getting overpowered or want to search and receive clearer 80m/40m/20m/etc HF signals then you'll need to open the preamp and move the switch from FMDX to HF. If you don't need FM radio stations there's a $16 Broadcast FM Block Filter (88-108 MHz Block) that you can purchase to shut out FM radio signals. https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B01LE9LRPM/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o01_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1Mount or hang the antenna 3ft from any walls and windows before you power it up. Put it where the kiddies/pets can't touch it while it's in use. You'll have to mount it outside if you want decent reception.There is a SDR# software setting to turn on the reception of AM and HF signals below 28MHz. Here's how: In SDR# stop the program. Then select "Sampling Mode" > "Direct sampling (Q branch)". Now hit play. If the "Sampling Mode" is greyed out it means you didn't stop the program. To resume going back to listening to VHF/UHF then hit stop again, select "Sampling Mode" > Quadrature sampling".Hooking up the SMA cables to the blue cable box (not waterproof) is fairly obvious. Long antenna cable goes to the ANT connector. Short SDR dongle cable goes to the RADIO connector. Don't power on the antenna unless everything is connected first.On the blue antenna cable box there is a power switch to turn on the antenna. What's not clear is the LED lights. Here's my findings:1) Far right LED shows red while you're charging the lithium battery. **NOTE do not charge the battery while the antenna is powered on. Supposedly the battery lasts around 40 hours between charging so it's not something that needs to be done all the time.2) Middle LED shows green when the lithium battery is fully charged. Make sure to pull out the USB charging cable before powering on the antenna.3) Far left LED light shows red when you have the antenna powered on and active.A quick test to see if the antenna is working below 28MHz is to power it up and tune to the AM stations (540 - 1600 kHz). Make sure you first select "Sampling Mode" > "Direct sampling (Q branch)". Got AM, then everything is probably working fine.See if you can find the Ft Collins, CO UTC Signal at 10Mhz. You'll hear seconds ding off then a distinct signal at the minute mark. It'll also announce the UTC time in English. Pretty cool.Good luck!

Great antenna, product shipped fast.

The amplifier module has a rechargeable battery, which is really nice for use in the backyard or while camping. Not "hard" to set up, but takes a bit of manual dexterity to mount the loop to the antenna box, as the washers and wing nuts like to "fly off" due to the steel loop's "memory" of being squashed in the bag/box. Once you get the loop on the mounts, it stays firmly attached. LOVE the ease-of-use. Turn it on, and tune your receiver to whatever HF frequencies you want! (I used mine exclusively for <30 MHz, so can only comment on this range.) Since a loop antenna is inherently directional, you can turn it to enhance the reception of a desired signal, or null out a remote noise source. (I used this capability to map out the noise sources in a park, and identify the best places to raise an HF vertical antenna, to avoid them!)I also used this receive-only loop antenna with my RTL-SDR (and other) software defined radios, and it works exceptionally well for its size. I would buy another one of these in a heartbeat!

Simple and easy to put together. Instillation is also easy. Tunes in channels very well, and helps with blocking electrical noises by simply turning it away from the noise. work well with AM, FM, SW, WX.

Antenna is simple to put up and hopefully will last for a while, I have it on a 10’ mast and it doesn’t do a bad job, performance isn’t great, but brings in some stations pretty decent, good fast service and as described, for the money it’s not too bad

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.

I needed a simple antenna to get me through the winter and although it is a "receive only" antenna, I knew that before I ordered it. It arrived in perfect condition and was neatly packaged. I assembled it a few days after Christmas and put it up in the backyard. It works as advertised and I am very pleased with it. I also cut the top off a 2 Liter soda pop bottle and then inverted it over the electronics box to act as a rain guard. We had a big rain storm last night and it is totally dry.