Ham4CW
Administrator
Apart from the Chameleon whip antenna for portable use I also use a collapsible loop made by the same company. The loop covers most of the HF range depending on whether you have the single turn loop attached, or if you have the additional extension connected turning the unit in to a two turn loop.
As with the Chameleon whip, the build quality of the loop is excellent, using high quality components an materials throughout.
It takes maybe three to four minutes to assemble, and about the same length of time to dismantle and pack away. Being a magnetic loop means that the 'tuner' is built in, so the loop can be used directly with a wide range of portable rigs.
Also, loops such as this do not require any fancy ground or counterpoise to operate successfully. This one is generally used on a cheap camera tripod. The tuning control has a reduction drive built in too, so it is easy to accurately peak the loop on any required frequency within its range.
Most of the components to the loop will pack down quite well, but the 'control' box containing the tuning capacitor is quite bulky. As with the whip antenna, this is not the lightest portable antenna, but then it is a magnetic loop so you would expect some compromise to be needed as regards its bulk.
As with the whip it would take some effort to carry one of these loops long distances, but it may be well worth it due to the quality of operating experience that awaits if you make the effort rather than compromise with a lesser antenna.
Score: 9 out of 10 (looses 1 point due to the bulk of the capacitor box).
As with the Chameleon whip, the build quality of the loop is excellent, using high quality components an materials throughout.
It takes maybe three to four minutes to assemble, and about the same length of time to dismantle and pack away. Being a magnetic loop means that the 'tuner' is built in, so the loop can be used directly with a wide range of portable rigs.
Also, loops such as this do not require any fancy ground or counterpoise to operate successfully. This one is generally used on a cheap camera tripod. The tuning control has a reduction drive built in too, so it is easy to accurately peak the loop on any required frequency within its range.
Most of the components to the loop will pack down quite well, but the 'control' box containing the tuning capacitor is quite bulky. As with the whip antenna, this is not the lightest portable antenna, but then it is a magnetic loop so you would expect some compromise to be needed as regards its bulk.
As with the whip it would take some effort to carry one of these loops long distances, but it may be well worth it due to the quality of operating experience that awaits if you make the effort rather than compromise with a lesser antenna.
Score: 9 out of 10 (looses 1 point due to the bulk of the capacitor box).
