Magnetic Loop Antenna

So this week I got bored and decided to make an antenna.  A magnetic loop to be exact; for shortwave listening. I ordered a 365pf air variable capacitor from eBay. The rest was made from some thick copper wire and coax.

Once assembled I found it had a range from 4.500khz – 14.000khz. And man does the thing work. I was picking up all kinds of stations including one from China.

Then I hooked it to a boat anchor I have in the garage. Now keep in mind my unit is covered with stucco(chicken wire) and the metal garage was closed. It picked up just as good as the MFJ mag loop on my roof.

The only bad thing about loops is the fact that they are so narrow in bandwidth. But man do they work.