[160m] Receiver Front End Saver Question

[Tom Rauch]

I figured that elevating the loop some would assist in the
loop being more responsive to lower angle signals. Is this
line of thinking incorrect?>>>

It is incorrect. The loop is vertically polarized and as
such has about the same pattern if 2 feet high or 50 feet
high on 160.

What does change is the feedline resonse. If you start
making the feedline vertical (or a mast supporting the loop)
you can reach a point where the feedline (or mast)
contributes more signal to the system than the loop.

This is why people think there is  a "blanket of
attenuation" on VLF signals, and as they raise active
antennas up through that blanket the level increases. What
they are really seeing is as the vertical feedline gets
longer, it picks up and conveys more and more signal to the
system. In effect they have a longer and longer antenna.

I'd keep the loop reasonably low, and bury the feedline if
possible....or at least keep it on the surface of the earth.
I'd ground the feedline shield near the antenna.

You want the loop to be the antenna, not the feedline. The
layout of that loop looks good by the way. The only glaring
problems were the idea two loops could be paralleled, and
there is no impedance matching. I'm only guessing, but I'd
bet the parallel resonant  source impedance of a loop like
that is probably many hundreds of ohms. Feeding that
directly into 50 ohm cables and preamps will work, but you
might consider testing the loop backwards with a SWR
analyzer.  It would be VERY easy to match the loop if it is
not 1:1 SWR, and if you do that you may not even need a
preamp.

By the way, you can see a comparison of preamps at:

http://www.w8ji.com/pre-amplifiers.htm

73 Tom