Hi Lane,
I have one of the MFJ 1796 loops. I have also been involved in
debugging several other local ham's problems with small loop
antennas in this area.
Most of the problems were with AEA Isoloops that had a mechanical
failure in the capacitor motor drive coupling. These loops are
extremely fragile mechanically. Most don't survive any slight
rough handling during installation. Several didn't make it
through shipping. The problem is with a small plastic piece that
couples the tuning cap to the motor shaft and supports all of the
mass of the tuning capacitor rotor. I don't believe they have
ever revised the design to eliminate this problem.
RF performance wise, both brands work about equally well. They
both give performance which is quite surprising for their size.
the MFJ is a _LOT_ easier to tune to the operating frequency and
a _LOT_ more rugged mechanically.
73, Eric N7CL
>From: zeitler@ibm.net
To: <towertalk@contesting.com>
>Date: Sun, 11 Apr 1999 10:32:35 -0700
>
>Does anyone have any experience using the MFJ 1782 or 1786 10-30
>mhz loop antennas? Feedback welcomed.
>
>Lane Zeitler
>Ku7i
>San Diego
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