OK Richard, it looks like the lights are beginning to come on and I'm
on a different road (a road that doesn't end in a fiery disaster).

At the risk of jumping to far ahead......

Let me know if this is correct or not......

Let's dump the series loop, it doesn't sound promising::

So I'm (now) using the same wire and the same resonating C, but it's
in a parallel configuration. My loop is 2K impedance, my receiver is
50 ohms (more conventional although maybe not necessarily tuned, TBD).

Is my mission to purposely isolate the loop so that anything happening
in the receiver doesn't impact the loops Q? To maintain the best
possible Q, would I mismatch the antenna to preamp impedance on
purpose, providing a 50K or even 100K input impedance buffer, so as
not to suck power out of the loop? And, should the output of the
buffer present an approximate 50 ohm output impedance, therefore
matching the input impedance of the RX (for best power transfer)? If
this is the case, an active buffer amp seems inevitable.

You gave me numbers for a 2 ohm loop fed into a 2 ohm RX.

If I do not buffer the loop from the RX, wouldn't a 2K loop fed into a
2K RX also cause similar loss of Q (just like the 2 ohm over 2 ohm
example you gave previously)?

I'm absolutely sure I'm not out of the woods yet, but does it look
like I'm on the right road yet?? It's a big change for me, can you
give me a brief indication please....

Thanks.

And, I am definitely not avoiding the I/Q issue. I know of successful
hardware handling examples of the I/Q and also of successful software
handling methods. I just haven't decided which one to use yet. The
stand alone hardware is a bit harder to implement, complex filters,
much more hardware to build, and a wideband phase shifting network are
needed. But the advantage is that it's a stand alone solution.

Software works well also, but leaves one dependent on the programmer
and requires a computer. Not sure which way I'll go, but it's not
important yet as I don't have a viable front end and antenna yet.

So, am I on the right road, or am I still very far off track with
regard to the antenna Q issue?

Regards,

T