Ian Jackson wrote:
In message
,
writes
On Jan 21, 9:57 pm, "Spin" wrote:
If i were to construct a square receiving loop antenna for the am bcb
that
is 24" or more per side..... how important would the guage of the
wire be &
also solid versus stranded wire? Antenna would be used indoors.

Doesn't matter much. Maybe a slight difference in Q with thin
vs fat wire, but overall no big deal.
I've got loops made from thin copper motor wire, and also
one from insulated #14 gauge stranded house wire. They all work.
From a mechanical standpoint I think a diamond is easier
to deal with..
Here is one of my favorite designs for a cheap simple PVC
loop. You can slap one together pretty fast. Kind of like PVC
tinker toys.. :/ You do have to drill the holes, but that's easy.
http://home.comcast.net/~nm5k/loop5.jpg

What about ribbon cable? I've got a fair length of ribbon cable
(something like 25 wires - the sort used in PCs to connect hard drives
and the like) put away for a rainy-day loop antenna project. While I
could make one large loop using all 25 wires for the really low
frequencies, I'll almost certainly cut it up and make several smaller
loops with fewer wires for the higher frequencies.

Stick with a single wire and relatively few loops. More wire won't make
the loop bigger, just harder to tune.