HFU HF Underground
Technical Topics => Equipment => Topic started by: alpard on February 14, 2023, 1132 UTC
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Any one tried this Chinese Wellbrook 1530 Loop Antenna?
Price is not usual Chinese. Wonder how the performance would be.
https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/284903184271?_trkparms=amclksrc%3DITM%26aid%3D1110006%26algo%3DHOMESPLICE.SIM%26ao%3D1%26asc%3D246214%26meid%3Dce41f24736e54cdcb461588a1c469789%26pid%3D101195%26rk%3D2%26rkt%3D12%26sd%3D115469812469%26itm%3D284903184271%26pmt%3D1%26noa%3D0%26pg%3D2047675%26algv%3DSimplAMLv11WebTrimmedV3MskuWithRevOptLambda85KnnRecallV1AndV6ItemNrtInQueryAndCassiniVisualRanker%26brand%3DUnbranded&_trksid=p2047675.c101195.m1851&amdata=cksum%3A284903184271ce41f24736e54cdcb461588a1c469789%7Cenc%3AAQAHAAABQPc3I89H0AQHQHV%252FOlsMl254OIifOGpM%252BBEVlem%252B%252B9zqkiF5v06l0lZvmgOKI85oqIQoVeqzX5anW3c2z8VQG1s2EXcLUko1slSTch6KegK80F7vxNzjrgLeB2hzasxLLCJpKd9Z3rrK0H6W9MqOlxUS0uaFgRBsYCj%252FJAgqPc2%252FD28wQ51Wz8BsJftmv1MOyniw%252FyodbzVXlWjxKylhHDqRsypDlNzZ%252FXcIRTjXufo7pEQfHZvRpkMtGZJc6nGW8APfsfQfwykHswavfSirU%252BEL%252F%252FBajB3d0V%252FAjOEluaOdQF9DL4dsKsMhzwt3%252BNkAc29eK%252BY%252FNZ8FcvYy2p0OucLaO1LJYLKbNg2LeJbE7jyCRj3xc9bExxoJ7WCgLkf%252FUWJRlOke%252FhzpxCK2AOkMJOmTa6MSfxi8J8ml3LYcfXIo%7Campid%3APL_CLK%7Cclp%3A2047675
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It seems saying that it is improved version of Wellbrook 1530 Loop Antenna. Interesting.
https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/115469812469?mkcid=1&mkrid=710-53481-19255-0&siteid=3&campid=5338746426&customid=&toolid=10001&mkevt=1
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Well, we'll all know once someone forks over the money and gives us the results.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CwgOQrRZTc8
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Discovery Channel logo?
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Discovery Channel logo?
That doesn't really inspire confidence in the antenna, does it?
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Discovery Channel logo?
That doesn't really inspire confidence in the antenna, does it?
Almost spit out my coffee.
I am curious about these, though. I'll probably get one when my budget improves this spring. If no one else does, I'll post a review, then.
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I had sold all my regular radio gears couple years ago to buy guitars and amps for new hobby.
Now back to the radio hobby, but no radios or antennas, so started off with the cheaped out portables and Chinese SDRs. Thankfully my old miniwhip was still standing in the garden, so using it for main antenna.
Now trying to sell all my guitars and amps, and when they go, hopefully I will have some extra cash burning holes in my pocket. Will try to get one of these. Seems good working antenna - saw one operational video on youtube.
My experience with SWL now tells me that huge antennas don't work well for HF MW LW DXing due to their nature to overloading to the radios. Small active or passive and magnetic loops seem better way to go.
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Discovery Channel logo?
You and me, baby, ain't nothin' but mammals
So let's DX like they do on the Discovery Channel
https://youtu.be/L8cLbT0i9BA
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Discovery Channel logo?
That doesn't really inspire confidence in the antenna, does it?
If only they would have put a penguin on it.
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Discovery Channel logo?
That doesn't really inspire confidence in the antenna, does it?
If only they would have put a penguin on it.
(https://i.ebayimg.com/images/g/0eoAAOSwVtNjCnn7/s-l500.jpg)
Actually, this probably is a better antenna than the Pride of China Wellbrook knockoff.
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This mammal is putting his order in for the Penguin vertical!
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My experience with SWL now tells me that huge antennas don't work well for HF MW LW DXing due to their nature to overloading to the radios. Small active or passive and magnetic loops seem better way to go.
That may be the case with some radios, particularly portables or lower end, but that's an issue with the radio, not the antenna.
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My experience with SWL now tells me that huge antennas don't work well for HF MW LW DXing due to their nature to overloading to the radios. Small active or passive and magnetic loops seem better way to go.
That may be the case with some radios, particularly portables or lower end, but that's an issue with the radio, not the antenna.
True. Suppose the higher grade radios would have less overload problems even with the big antennas.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nOEDBxIciw8
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Looks fragile. Does it come complete with a spy surveillance balloon?
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It seems saying that it is improved version of Wellbrook 1530 Loop Antenna. Interesting.
Chinese eBay sellers say lots of things. I'll go out on a limb here and say performance is nothing like a Wellbrook.
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The fact that there's no concern with copyright infringement using logos or model numbers from a legitimate manufacturer is a red flag.
This is the equivalent of selling a Fiero Ferrari as a better alternative to the real 308.
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It seems saying that it is improved version of Wellbrook 1530 Loop Antenna. Interesting.
Chinese eBay sellers say lots of things. I'll go out on a limb here and say performance is nothing like a Wellbrook.
This BH5HDE QRP Loop antenna looks like the same or similar antenna to the Chinese WellBrook 1530.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Upu7tBcFlgE
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So the 1530 version must be RX only version. The QRP Loop in the videos seems QRP Transmitting / Receiving antenna covering mainly the HF Ham bands.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bJsmxDhlhzY
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The fact that there's no concern with copyright infringement using logos or model numbers from a legitimate manufacturer is a red flag.
This is the equivalent of selling a Fiero Ferrari as a better alternative to the real 308.
I think the new Chinese 1530 Antenna is totally different design. I used to have a genuine Wellbrook 1530, and it was not tuneable antenna. It had nothing for tuning, just an amp under the loop element and the power supply unit.
The new Chinese antennas have tuning knobs on the amp, and also on the control box with psu = totally different.
They seem just using the name Wellbrook 1530 in the listings to attract attention, because Wellbrook is such a well known antenna name?
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I'm still skeptical, but if you purchase this antenna I hope it meets your expectations :)
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One of the best antenna purchases I ever made was a small Tecsun 200 MW loop. It works both proximately and with a short piece of coax with plugs to fit your portable's and the antennas jack. Replace the flimsy included coax with some RG-73 or even some patch cord with mini stereo adapters and you're ready to roll. The thing has a tuning knob and covers the entire US MW band. I paid 20 bucks for it new. Not all Chinese radio and antenna products are junk, you've got to vet them carefully to get your money's worth.
Who's going to be the sacrificial penguin for the Chinese Wellbrook? Who knows, you might get a steerable balloon to help hang it?
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I feel the new Chinese Wellbrook 1530 is way over priced. The price we see in eBay will not be the actual total for the antenna unless buyer is in China.
When it arrives to buyers country, it is likely to smash import tax on top of that, which can be anything between 20-30% extra, which makes the antenna just too expensive for what it is.
A genuine Wellbrook 1530 Loop might be actually cheaper than the Chinese antenna. I would rather go for another Wellbrook loop for similar or less the price.
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One of the best antenna purchases I ever made was a small Tecsun 200 MW loop...
Yep, I have the same one and it works very well with my Palstar.
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After watching this https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6PTu0g5W9do I have the feeling dual crossed MLA30s (with 1 meter copper wire or tubing as modded in the vid) would be a better setup at about half the price of the chicom knockoff. I suspect there will be unit-to-unit performance variations on MLA30s but you can adjust the gain of the thing with the internal pot.
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After watching this https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6PTu0g5W9do I have the feeling dual crossed MLA30s (with 1 meter copper wire or tubing as modded in the vid) would be a better setup at about half the price of the chicom knockoff. I suspect there will be unit-to-unit performance variations on MLA30s but you can adjust the gain of the thing with the internal pot.
Wow, MLA-30 is not much different from Wellbrook 1530 in performance from the video (apart from LW, and the top band of Ham radio), and it is about 1/6 - 1/8 price of Wellbrook. It seems the best value for money commercial HF RX active loop antenna? Great video by the way, thanks for sharing.
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After watching this https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6PTu0g5W9do I have the feeling dual crossed MLA30s (with 1 meter copper wire or tubing as modded in the vid) would be a better setup at about half the price of the chicom knockoff. I suspect there will be unit-to-unit performance variations on MLA30s but you can adjust the gain of the thing with the internal pot.
Wow, MLA-30 is not much different from Wellbrook 1530 in performance from the video (apart from LW, and the top band of Ham radio), and it is about 1/6 - 1/8 price of Wellbrook. It seems the best value for money commercial HF RX active loop antenna? Great video by the way, thanks for sharing.
Yeah what I was thinking. The part that makes me wonder is why it's deaf on 160m. Still seems like a good deal for the cost on the rest of the bands.
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The MLA-30 uses a cheap video preamp among other defficiencies. It can work okay for casual listening, but I would suspect some type of issue like maybe a very high noise floor if seemingly performing anywhere near a decent active loop like a Wellbrook, W6LVP, DXE RF-PRO-1B, or even MFJ-1886.
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The MLA-30 uses a cheap video preamp among other defficiencies. It can work okay for casual listening, but I would suspect some type of issue like maybe a very high noise floor if seemingly performing anywhere near a decent active loop like a Wellbrook, W6LVP, DXE RF-PRO-1B, or even MFJ-1886.
Yeah well spotted. It brings me the memories of those moments when I had the same thoughts on MLA-30 actually. It was ok for general strong stations SWL BCLing, but it had never pulled the rare challenging DX such as the QRP AM stations from Brazil and all around South America, Africa or Pacific Ocean. It definitley worked, and worked OK. But it wasn't excellent DX puller for sure. But then the youtube comparison between MLA-30 and WB 1530 seems to be giving ideas that those 2x antennas are in similar level. Testings done during the day time for strong stations not too remote locations cannot really tell the clues actually. He should have tried copy Radio Tarma from Peru, or some Middle and South American low powered AM stations at nights - and then the winner would be clearer? :D
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But that's hard, Alpard. It involves getting out of bed at odd hours and turning the radio on.
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One of the best antenna purchases I ever made was a small Tecsun 200 MW loop. It works both proximately and with a short piece of coax with plugs to fit your portable's and the antennas jack. Replace the flimsy included coax with some RG-73 or even some patch cord with mini stereo adapters and you're ready to roll. The thing has a tuning knob and covers the entire US MW band. I paid 20 bucks for it new. Not all Chinese radio and antenna products are junk, you've got to vet them carefully to get your money's worth.
Who's going to be the sacrificial penguin for the Chinese Wellbrook? Who knows, you might get a steerable balloon to help hang it?
I agree, probably the best $20 I ever spent (well, except for that one night in Frankfurt in 1972)
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But that's hard, Alpard. It involves getting out of bed at odd hours and turning the radio on.
This is true. Especially recently the DX opening to South America has been early morning time in this location of Europe. I tend to go to sleep late, and get up late missing all the DXing chances of early mornings. But if you have SDRPlay or some sort computer operated SDR setup, then you could set it up to record for 12 - 15 hours and over the whole tropical band, or any portion of the spectrum, and play back looking for the recorded DX in the files?
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The MLA-30 uses a cheap video preamp among other defficiencies. It can work okay for casual listening, but I would suspect some type of issue like maybe a very high noise floor if seemingly performing anywhere near a decent active loop like a Wellbrook, W6LVP, DXE RF-PRO-1B, or even MFJ-1886.
Yeah well spotted. It brings me the memories of those moments when I had the same thoughts on MLA-30 actually. It was ok for general strong stations SWL BCLing, but it had never pulled the rare challenging DX such as the QRP AM stations from Brazil and all around South America, Africa or Pacific Ocean. It definitley worked, and worked OK. But it wasn't excellent DX puller for sure. But then the youtube comparison between MLA-30 and WB 1530 seems to be giving ideas that those 2x antennas are in similar level. Testings done during the day time for strong stations not too remote locations cannot really tell the clues actually. He should have tried copy Radio Tarma from Peru, or some Middle and South American low powered AM stations at nights - and then the winner would be clearer? :D
Don't forget loops can be directional; if not oriented to favor the target region you're not going to see sigs you might otherwise. Also, festooning the coax with ferrets (ferrites) will help isolate the loop from the coax influence on gain and directionality. Of course if you lay it flat you get a horizontally polarised omnidirectional pattern. I am considering two loops, set to favor euros and asiatics. An azimuthal map based on your location might help in aiming antennae if you want to cover specific regions.
https://ns6t.net/azimuth/azimuth.html
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The MLA-30 uses a cheap video preamp among other defficiencies. It can work okay for casual listening, but I would suspect some type of issue like maybe a very high noise floor if seemingly performing anywhere near a decent active loop like a Wellbrook, W6LVP, DXE RF-PRO-1B, or even MFJ-1886.
Yeah well spotted. It brings me the memories of those moments when I had the same thoughts on MLA-30 actually. It was ok for general strong stations SWL BCLing, but it had never pulled the rare challenging DX such as the QRP AM stations from Brazil and all around South America, Africa or Pacific Ocean. It definitley worked, and worked OK. But it wasn't excellent DX puller for sure. But then the youtube comparison between MLA-30 and WB 1530 seems to be giving ideas that those 2x antennas are in similar level. Testings done during the day time for strong stations not too remote locations cannot really tell the clues actually. He should have tried copy Radio Tarma from Peru, or some Middle and South American low powered AM stations at nights - and then the winner would be clearer? :D
Don't forget loops can be directional; if not oriented to favor the target region you're not going to see sigs you might otherwise. Also, festooning the coax with ferrets (ferrites) will help isolate the loop from the coax influence on gain and directionality. Of course if you lay it flat you get a horizontally polarised omnidirectional pattern. I am considering two loops, set to favor euros and asiatics. An azimuthal map based on your location might help in aiming antennae if you want to cover specific regions.
https://ns6t.net/azimuth/azimuth.html
Valid point.
I always use 2x separate loops. I used to have 2x MLA-30, 1x positioned East West, and the other North South. They were into an antenna switch. Changing over from one to the other gave huge difference in signal strength and readability, to the point where some signals totally disappear into nothing on 1x and 9+ good signal on the other.
Now I have no MLA-30, but have YouLoops. I am doing the same thing with my YouLoops in the loft. They definitely work better than just using 1x loop without rotator. Ideally rotator mounted loop would be better, but the rotator can be very expensive and also cable hell into the house or the radio room.
I did testing with the MLA-30 on horizontal mounting, but reception quality was so poor, they were revert back to vertical position.
But sometimes just random length of wire with antenna tuner works better. Best having a few different antennas and switching over for the best signal on the day for the frequency.
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I ordered a couple of Wellgood loops but I haven't tried it yet.
At least, reading the text, it's quite clear that the designer understands the working principle of the Wellbrook loop, which is (if I am not wrong!) a frequency dependant impedance match which maximises energy transfer from the loop to the amplifier.
https://www.george-smart.co.uk/projects/wellgood-loop/
I have a real Wellbrook ALA1530 and it is unbelievable. I have it installed on a balcony, close to several computers and nasty electronics inside the room, and it is like that interference does not exist.
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I as well have a real Wellbrook and previously had seen that web site. I will be currious about your findings.
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I was thinking of buying a real Wellbrook 1530 antenna before it closed down. But then my Active Mini Whip and Random wire + ATU were doing good DXing LW MW and HF, so I didn't bother. I used to have a real wellbrook 1530 loop before, and have been DXing with it for about year. It was good in some part of the band, especially on LW and MW, but on HF, it was similar to much cheaper MLA30. And there are plenty of ferrite rod, and loop antennas to build and test on LW and MW, which can be more fun.
Anyway, I compared my youtube SWL log copying Myanmar Radio 5985 kHz with the real Wellbrook 1530 loop a couple of year ago, and one I copied this spring a month or two ago with Random wire + ATU. The random wire were copying 10 times better than the Wellbrook 1530, so I was glad I didn't throw away £300 for another Wellbrook 1530LN. The old one was sold, when I went QRT, and saving every penny and selling most of my radio gear for funding to buy electric guitars 2 year ago, which I regretted at the time. But now I feel random wire, Active Miniwhip and even cheap MLA30 will do the same job or even better job provided they are set up well for the environment of RX location.
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And on the RF interference problems, if I may add, they might come from many other sources apart from the RX antennas themselves, such as AC power chords, noisy DC PSUs, feed lines, Radios themselves and surrounding environmental EMF sources and domestic appliances connected to AC mains running in the RX houses and properties, and of course the band condition at the RX time, time of days ... etc. Not a simple issue at all.
Having said that, long wire and random wire antennas tend to be noisier than loop or Mini whips most times. This is nothing to do with interference, but they just are good at picking up any noise in the surrounding space. At times, however, LW and RW antennas can copy certain signals better than any other antennas depending on the condition of the band and propagation. No antennas are perfect for every part of spectrum and band conditions. Better having more different antennas installed, and try out and opting for the best one for the condition and signal at the time of RXing, seems good strategy in DXing.
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Anyone notice the OIP2 and OIP3 numbers on that site? I may just be a bit of a skeptic, but I don't think that thing is doing anything but sparking at the stated "90 dBm" (1 million Watts).
T!