Topband: K9ay loop not performing

[Peter Bertini]

I had the same problem with my K9AY loop. Despite being
in a wooded area that seemed to have very damp soil the
earth conductivity was poorer than I had expected.

I added eight short radials under the loops and that made a
huge improvement. I also added some cheap CATV ground
rods to tie the ends of the radials down.  Nulls are fairly
decent at present, but I may try adding some cheap chicken
wire under the loops for the heck of it, as an experiment.
My loops are near wire fencing for a field for a local horse
farm, and the tower and inverted L are about 40 and 60
feet, respectively, away.

I am not sure on the vintage of your loops, but the newer
versions have adjustable termination resistor choices...
I have read where others have found much better results
by changing the terminating resistor to match their own
soil conditions.  Unfortunately mine was a very early
product and only had a few fixed values that is not
remotely selectable.

I think I am blessed with a fairly quiet rural location,
since generally stations are equal on either
the K2AV system compared to the loops.

Pete W1BR