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Re: The SULA antenna

Posted: Sat Sep 10, 2022 3:55 am
by JohnGreen-SWL
New preamp is on its way to me so will report back on performance early next week
when fitted to the SULA antenna in place of the MLA-30 amp.

Re: The SULA antenna

Posted: Sat Sep 10, 2022 11:31 am
by Andrew (grayhat)
JohnGreen-SWL wrote: Sat Sep 10, 2022 3:55 am New preamp is on its way to me so will report back on performance early next week
when fitted to the SULA antenna in place of the MLA-30 amp.
nice, which preamp did you pick ?

Re: The SULA antenna

Posted: Sat Sep 10, 2022 3:34 pm
by JohnGreen-SWL
I will be trying the local one from Giga Tech as I will be using the SULA on SW.
My JHG amplified mag loop is very good on MW. The amp is similar to a UK design ( ALA1530)

Re: The SULA antenna

Posted: Mon Sep 12, 2022 8:02 am
by Andrew (grayhat)
JohnGreen-SWL wrote: Sat Sep 10, 2022 3:34 pm I will be trying the local one from Giga Tech as I will be using the SULA on SW.
My JHG amplified mag loop is very good on MW. The amp is similar to a UK design ( ALA1530)
Looking at the specs on the page, that Giga amp apparently works from 1MHz up, but looking at the gain graph it shows gain from DC up... anyhow, my guess is that it will work better than the MLA-30 preamp, keep us updated about your tests, please !

Re: The SULA antenna

Posted: Mon Sep 12, 2022 12:16 pm
by JohnGreen-SWL
I have received the preamp will see if I can hook up the bare circuit board tonight in place of the MLA-30 amp.

Re: The SULA antenna

Posted: Mon Sep 12, 2022 12:29 pm
by Andrew (grayhat)
JohnGreen-SWL wrote: Mon Sep 12, 2022 12:16 pm I have received the preamp will see if I can hook up the bare circuit board tonight in place of the MLA-30 amp.
well, for an indoor test, that may be ok, but for an outdoor one... I'd avoid it, mist may quickly damage the preamp

Re: The SULA antenna

Posted: Mon Sep 12, 2022 4:29 pm
by JohnGreen-SWL
https://youtu.be/cbLi8AIbXp4

Only indoor testing at the moment till preamp in an enclosure
Had a quick tune on 31meter band and picking up lots of stations with good signals .
Will try MW later tonight using battery power for my internet modem at the moment

Re: The SULA antenna

Posted: Sun Sep 25, 2022 6:06 pm
by Andrew (grayhat)
JohnGreen-SWL wrote: Mon Sep 12, 2022 4:29 pm https://youtu.be/cbLi8AIbXp4

Only indoor testing at the moment till preamp in an enclosure
Had a quick tune on 31meter band and picking up lots of stations with good signals .
Will try MW later tonight using battery power for my internet modem at the moment
John, any update on your SULA test ?

Re: The SULA antenna

Posted: Sun Sep 25, 2022 6:50 pm
by JohnGreen-SWL
Hi Andrew I have tested the SULA vs MLA-30 and JHG amp mag loop. On SW the SULA is the best performer.

On MW tested the SULA vs JHG amp mag loop The JHG loop is the best performer the SULA preamp is much noiser
All tests done indoors.
I would still like to repeat the SW tests outdoors ie SULA vs MLA-30 vs JHG loop.
So my conclusion so far is if you need a very good compact SW indoor loop the SULA is highly recommended.
Greetings from power on power off SA

Re: The SULA antenna

Posted: Mon Sep 26, 2022 6:53 am
by Andrew (grayhat)
JohnGreen-SWL wrote: Sun Sep 25, 2022 6:50 pm Hi Andrew I have tested the SULA vs MLA-30 and JHG amp mag loop. On SW the SULA is the best performer.

On MW tested the SULA vs JHG amp mag loop The JHG loop is the best performer the SULA preamp is much noiser
All tests done indoors.
the SULA can get down to lower frequencies, but its "playfield" starts around 1MHz and up, that said, it was designed to work outside also since if used inside, its directional pattern may/will be modified due to nearby objects and then RF waves reflections will also play a role, if possible it would be interesting to run the same comparison with the two antennas placed outside and the sula placed at its optimal height (bottom corner at 3m above ground)