Wow, thanks Joe for all the info on the WL-500 and the Wellbrook. I'm
always trying to learn more about these antennas.

You mentioned that the Wellbrook noticeably outperforms the WL-500, at
least in part due to the fact that the Wellbrook is in the attic away
from noise sources while the WL-500 is very close to noise sources.
I'd imagine that the Wellbrook would outperform the WL-500 even if
they were being used under similar conditions, but I wonder: Have you
ever pitted them against one another, head-to-head, just for the heck
of it? If so, just how much better was the Wellbrook's performance? Or
are they even comparable?

Also, how sensitive or 'fine grained' is the preselector on the
WL-500? I know that on the AOR LA-350, you have to adjust the
preselector for optimum reception even on frequencies that are quite
close to one another. The downside of this is that it means you
constantly have to twiddle with the preselector, but the upside is
that it allows you to 'peak up' on whatever frequency you're listening
to with pretty dramatic results.

Thanks,

Steve


(Joe Analssandrini) wrote in message . com...
Hello Steve,

The performance of the AOR WL-500 is excellent. It really attenuates
the local electrical noise I have in my location and pulls in signals
well. Generally I find a 10-20 dB increase in signal strength over the
whip and the signal-to-noise ratio (which is really the most important
thing) is greatly improved. I had tried numerous other antennas and
combinations and this was the first one which was truly satisfactory
with my Sat800. I cannot comment on the AOR LA350, having had no
experience with it. I have read good things about it from others,
however, and PASSPORT likes it.

I am not familiar at all with the Skymatch H-800. I can tell you that
the Wellbrook ALA 330S Active Loop Antenna is positively the finest
antenna with which I have worked. Of course, since I have it attic
mounted on a rotator, and it is at the back of my house (as far away
from the source[s] of electrical noise as I can get; the WL-500 is in
the front as CLOSE to the sources of electrical interference I can
get!), it well outperforms the WL-500. It is noticeably quieter than
any other antenna I have ever used and makes SW listening during the
summer a real joy. This is something that even a 100-foot longwire
(which I had many years ago) could not do.

Both antennas are expensive, $200 and $300 respectively. Add to the
Wellbrook a rotator ($100), though that is not wholly necessary, and
coax and installation charges (if any) and you have a major purchase,
though one with which I am completely satisfied.

Frankly, for travel and light use around the house, I cannot imagine a
better antenna than the AOR WL-500. (There are a couple of annoyances
with this antenna, about which I have written elsewhere, but they are
really minor. They do not affect performance nor would they be a
reason not to buy.)

For overall general use in many situations where a longwire is
impractical, and/or for secondary use along with a longwire,
especially in the summertime, or any time/place where there is a lot
of local electrical noise, I do not believe there is any better
antenna at this time than the Wellbrook ALA 330S. It can be mounted in
your room (if there is no one to object), in the attic, outside on
your roof, or even on a fencepost! Like most loops, mounting placement
and position is not overly critical, though outdoor mounting of course
works the best, I'm told. However, I am very satisfied with my attic
mount, which has the advantage of protection from the weather. (Note
that if you are interested in MW broadcasts, Wellbrook makes the
similar ALA 1530 which covers the MW broadcast band as well as the SW
bands. Its performance on SW is very slightly less than the ALA 330S,
according to PASSPORT, and, if your set does not have the absolute
best rejection of MW signals within the SW band, you can have some
unwanted MW signals "surfacing" in the SW frequencies [naturally, that
is applicable to most antennas]. This, of course, is not a problem
with the '330S. I use the C.Crane "Justice" AM antenna, sometimes
along with a Select-a-Tenna for my MW DXing which, frankly, I do not
do very often. These MW antennas, alone or in combination, have proven
very satisfactory to me.)

After many years of frustrated searching, I have finally found two SW
antennas with which I am completely satisfied and I would recommend
them both.

I hope the above is of some use to you.

All the best,