Building a Direction Finding (DF) Portable Loop Antenna | Use this loop to Track Down RFI Noise!

Рет қаралды 11,563

Ай бұрын

I have some Powerline RFI noise in my neighborhood and thought this would be a good project to make a loop that can be directional to help me in locating where the RFI noise is coming from. Thanks for watching!
#PowerlineNoise
#loopantenna
#rfi
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@AlvinMcManus Ай бұрын

Your callsign is perfect for a pilot!

@angelscomputers Ай бұрын

I agree 100%, that's why I thought for years he was a pilot every time he says "Captain Darren", then in another video recently is when found out about the Navy. Amazing call sign for a pilot

@manyshnooks Ай бұрын

Unless you need to go into IMC :)

@FocusedUpward Ай бұрын

@@manyshnooks lol.

@TexasEngineer Ай бұрын

Back in 2008 I was working for CenterPoint Energy after Hurricane Ike on Galveston Island restoring power to the island. I found a quick and easy way to tell if a power line was hot or not. In my truck I would tune the AM radio to an off channel on the low end and drive under the power line. If there was static, the power was back on. No static meant the power was still out. It worked for both transmission and distribution lines. So the next hurricane you are empowered with a trick from an old engineer.

@DarrenN4VFR Ай бұрын

Cool tip!

@AubsUK Ай бұрын

Nice video, thanks for sharing. I was frustrated when you didn't put the screw thread on and a few minutes later realised you could still do it from the other end 😁 One thing I would ask, at 16:30 you gave a demonstration with audio. It would be beneficial if you could cut the music that's playing while doing that kind of demonstration.

@normandavis6569 Ай бұрын

To make even scoring on coax I find a small tubing cutter to work very well. When cutting through the outer jacket, you can feel the shield Jen you have cut through the outer jacket. The cut is clean and circular. No razor blades or box cutters needed and possibility of cutting your fingers is greatly reduced.

@DarrenN4VFR Ай бұрын

Man, that's a good tip! Thank you.

@RFeye 7 күн бұрын

18 inches circumference works well on VHF and 11 inches for UHF direction finding loops.

@RFeye 7 күн бұрын

If you actually short the inner conductor to the braid at the end of the cable where the centre of the PL259 plug is not connected, you will find the loop is a lot more sensitive and the null sharper.

@CrucesNomad1 Ай бұрын

Subscribed

@chrisst8922 Ай бұрын

Always used to see those in films like Where Eagles Dare on the roof of a German truck when they're trying to triangulate the location of the resistance radio.

@wd8dsb Ай бұрын

Hi Darren, very nice construction video. The design you used looks like the design I first saw published by the Radio Amateur Society of Australia in which they were using in on HF frequencies. A few years ago I built a DF loop based on their design and tested it using a preamp versus numerous other designs after I noticed it was really deaf below about 10 MHz compared with other comparable sized untuned shielded loops that I have used (really deaf down on the AM broadcast band as an example). Sure enough what I found was that between 14 MHz and 30 MHz the design identical to what you used worked well and provided gain similar to what I call the traditional shielded loop design but as I went lower in frequency from 14 MHz on down the gain dropped rapidly versus other comparable size untuned shielded loop designs. Just FYI in case you try and use it on MF/HF frequencies. 73, Don wd8dsb

@n1kkri Ай бұрын

What range of frequencies is that size loop good for?

@azarellediaz4892 Ай бұрын

Well made and explained. Thanks. Can this be used for a “Fox Hunt” in 2m or 70cm bands?

@RFeye 7 күн бұрын

If you make the loop 18 inches in circumference it will work on VHF and for UHF 11 inches works fine. If you short the braid to the centre conductor of the coax at the end where the centre of the PL259 plug is not connected to the coax centre conductor, you will find the loop is more sensitive and has a sharper null.

@bill-2018 Ай бұрын

A similar loop was made by an amateur in the 1980's to track a C.B.'er coming on 10m causing a nuisance. A small value capacitor to tune it. He was knocking on the guys door in ten minutes saying if he didn't stop he'd contact the authorities. He stopped. G4GHB.

@jhonsiders6077 Ай бұрын

Not a good idea now days you may get shot ! My gate has phone number beginning of driveway there is close to 1/4 mile then up a hill to my front door that’s a threat .sounds like a sad ham to me .

@bill-2018 Ай бұрын

@@jhonsiders6077 I'd have just told the authorities and let them deal with it. Why should we let our hobby be interfered with. Jealousy? We don't do it to them, we have far more interesting things to do with radio and more frequencies.

@jhonsiders6077 Ай бұрын

@@bill-2018 I have had my general since a teen my uncle fitz was a ham that got me interested in the hobby he was always the guy that said why do so many think they should police the airways ? I am the same way it’s not hurting me . When he passed away I inherited his shack of gear my kid was never interested in it but was into radio . I put together a low power FM transmitter for him and his buddy’s to play with they fooled with that for years until he went to collage kept them out of trouble and off the streets . Just ten watts and being out in the country never bothered a commercial station but there was one guy that threatened to turn me in over it I said if that is your way to make brownie points do so . That was the end of it a guy on here coined the term Sad Ham I have to agree with him . Even as a teen the older operators when they heard me talking would break in and demand my letters I would ID my station I got good with MC and could do 15 WPM just so my voice was not used . That is what is turning off young people to it and we are loosing parts of the spectrum being sold off for other uses .

@bill-2018 Ай бұрын

Why? Because they interfered with our communications playing music and noises over the top of us! What is difficult to understand about that? They have 27 MHz to do that on. Stay off 28 MHz is all we ask of them. If you see me as a Sad Ham then so be it! I'm not having my hobby ruined by some idiot and neither did the amateur concerned. You might like it but most don't. G4GHB.

@jhonsiders6077 Ай бұрын

@@bill-2018 We have so many more places to go is why it does not bother me spin the knob on my old Viking . plus really how many of us did sneak to the CB bands and have some fun with over a KW of power ?? no ones a saint .

@staceyward777 Ай бұрын

I love the way you call the cable jacket everything BUT "jacket"...."sheath" "outer black protection"

@DarrenN4VFR Ай бұрын

Hahahaha, your right.

@hubercats Ай бұрын

How did you settle on a 90 cm loop circumference? Was it simply to keep the antenna small for ease of handling? - Thanks!

@hubercats Ай бұрын

Hi Darren - I’m interested in having a DF receive-only system that covers as much of the spectrum as possible. I don’t need to transmit. Are you able to recommend any hand-held radios that I might consider? - Thank you!

@BLACKHEAT1028 Ай бұрын

Would it make it more sensitive if you cut the away the foam for the middle section and just had the copper? Nice video

@epedja Ай бұрын

Nope.

@DL5LC Ай бұрын

Many thanks for the very interesting projekct and your great execution! vy 73, Andy, DL5LC

@corradoQC Ай бұрын

I wonder how much of a difference cutting the shield in the middle section makes. I've been using the inner loop of my mag loop antenna with good success to find RFI.

@JayN4GO Ай бұрын

A lot for me

@mrtonicsvls3624 Ай бұрын

Altrimenti diventerebbe un tappo e non un'antenna, come un circuito chiuso su se stesso.

@sparkybluefox Ай бұрын

Do you have to have an AM receiver , or could an FM handheld scanner work as well ?

@jimeppright7862 Ай бұрын

Noise is AM - there is no FM component to it. So, if you are looking for noise, and FM receiver will not work.

@abdellahreda2760 10 күн бұрын

Good job . 73 QRO, CN8RED

@jansmejkal7650 Ай бұрын

Co to pijete?😀

@actsrio Ай бұрын

73 from Brazil PY1TS! Work fine tô fox hound???

@PhilipChandler Ай бұрын

Why 90cm?

@swartzautoman2 Ай бұрын

My nephew is an active Seabee radioman

@DarrenN4VFR Ай бұрын

I was a Radioman too for 24 years.

@swartzautoman2 Ай бұрын

@DarrenN4VFR I saw that in your information. My nephew has only been in a few years now but he is absolutely loving it. I hope to learn as much as I can from him