Small HF Loop Antenna Calculator ver. 1.

22f
by Steve Yates, AA5TB
aa5tb@arrl.net
corrections by Kai Siwiak, KE4PT

Modified May 1, 2019 by Kai Siwiak, KE4PT.

Added input: Conductor conductivity as a "% of copper conductivity"
Added display of "Q(no loss)", which equals Q(radiation)
To measure your Loop efficiency, start with Note (5) below.
Corrected self capacitance term, and subtracted it from Ctune
Added calculation of Null Depth on the Calc1 sheet

Input the following parameters:

Design Frequency = 18.1000 MHz (see NOTE 5)

Loop Diameter = 2.625 feet 0.800 m
Conductor Diameter = 0.492 inches 12.500 mm
Conductor conductivity = 50 % of copper conductivity
Added Loss Resistance = 80.000 milliohms
RF Power = 100.000 Watts

Calculated Results:
See Calc1 sheet for Null Depth = -20log10(2*pi*D)
Bandwidth = 49.267 kHz (-3 dB points)
Efficiency = 32.367 % -4.899 dB
Loop Area = 5.412 ft² 0.503 m²
Radiation Resistance = 106.250 mΩ
Total Loss Resistance = 222.013 mΩ
Loop Circumference = 8.247 ft 2.514 m
Wavelength Percentage = 15.176 % λ
Loop dc Inductance = 2.121 μH
Distributed Capacitance = 3.568 pF [ Note 6 and 7]
QL (Quality Factor) = 367.382
QL (no loss) = 1135.042 Q(radiation)
Total tuning Capacitor = 36.456 pF
Capacitor Voltage = 2976.762 V rms
Minimum Plate Spacing = 39.690 mils (1/1000 in) 1.008 mm

Notes:
1. To truly be considered a small loop, the Loop Circumference should be less
then 10 % λ. Larger loops will have greater efficiency but smaller nulls.
2. To see the effects of bad joints, etc., input realistic values into the Added
Loss Resistance box.
3. The sheets are protected to prevent the user that is unfamiliar with Excel from
accidentally corrupting formulas. To unlock the sheets use the password aa5tb.
4. This application is free to use as you wish. If you modify it and pass it on all
that I ask is that you give me credit for my part of the work. Thanks!

5. Divide your measured Q by "Q (no loss)" to find the efficiency of your loop.
Enter F(low), kHz, and F(high), kHz, on each side of resonance where VSWR = 2.62
 Input: F(low) = 10128 kHz
Input: F(high) = 10138 kHz

Center Frequency = 10.1330 MHz Input this as "DESIGN Frequency"

Measured Bandwidth = 10 kHz
Measured Q = 1013.300
Measured efficiency = 89.274 % -0.493 dB

6. The original distributed capacitance was an over-estimate based on Ted Hart's equation.
7. Corrected self capacitance based on self-resonance in Storer/Siwiak papers. C=8.92 b[meters] pF
 Loop Performance

0 400
-1 380
-2 360
-3 340
-4 320
-5 300
-6 280
-7 260
-8 240

Bandwidth (kHz)
Efficiency (dB)

-9 220
dB
-10 200 kHz
-11 180
-12 160
-13 140
-14 120
-15 100
-16 80
-17 60
-18 40
-19 20
-20 0
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30

Frequency (1-30 MHz)

VSWR = 2.62
DESIGN Frequency"

art's equation.
s. C=8.92 b[meters] pF
 400
380
360
340
320
300
280
260
240
Bandwidth (kHz)

220
dB
200 kHz
180
160
140
120
100
80
60
40
20
0
0
 Small Loop Equations for a Copper Loop
(circular loop assumed, results may vary with other shapes)

Radiation Resistance, Ohms: RR = (3.38×10↑-8)(f²A)²

Loss Resistance, Ohms: RL = (9.96×10↑-4)(√f)(S/d) assumes bulk copper 58x10^6
Efficiency: η = RR/(RR+RL)
Inductance, Henrys: L = (1.9×10↑-8)S[7.353log10(96S/πd)-6.386]
Inductive Reactance, Ohms: XL = 2πf(L×10↑6)
Tuning Capacitance, Farads: CT = 1/2πf(XL×10↑6) This includes the distributed ca
Quality Factor: Q = (f×10↑6)/Δf = XL/2(RR + RL)
Bandwidth, Hertz: Δf = (f×10↑6)/Q = [(f1-f2)×10↑6]
Distributed Capacity: pF: CD = 8.92 * radius see Note 7
Capacitor Potential, Volts: VC = √(PXLQ) This is the RMS value
Capacitor Voltage Rating: 75,000V/in
Null Depth = -20log10(2*pi*D)
where
f = operating frequency, MHz
A = area of loop, square feet
S = conductor length, feet
d = conductor diameter, inches
η = decimal value; dB = 10 log10η
P = transmitter power, Watts
D = loop diameter, meters

Ref. The American Radio Relay League, The ARRL Antenna Handbook,
Small High Efficiency Loop Antennas for Transmitting,
Publication No. 15, p. 5-14, Table 4, 1988
assumes bulk copper 58x10^6 mho/m conductivity

This includes the distributed capacitance

see Note 7
This is the RMS value
Givens:
π= 3.14159265359
Loop Diameter D= 31.5000000 inches 0.8001000 m
Conductor Diameter d= 0.4921300 inches 0.0125001 m
Added Loss Resistance RL= 80.0000000 mΩ 0.0800000 Ω
RF Power P= 100.0000000 Watts
Frequency F= 18.1000000 MHz 18100000 Hz
512.0598216
Calculations:
Loop Circumference S= 8.2466807 ft 2.5135883 m
Loop Area A= 5.4118842 ft² 0.5027805 m²
Radiation Resistance RR= 0.1062498 Ω 106.2497687 mΩ
Loss Resistance RL= 0.1420130 Ω 142.0129542 mΩ
Total Loss Resistance RT= 0.2220130 Ω 222.0129542 mΩ
Efficiency η= 0.3236730 32.3672965 %
Inductance L= 0.0000021 H 2.1208572 μH
Inductive Reactance XL= 241.1958677 Ω
Tuning Capacitor CT= 0.0000000 F 36.4562248 ρF
(loaded) Quality Factor Q= 367.3823600
Q(no loss) = 1135.0418478
Bandwidth ΔF= 49267.4716348 Hz 49.2674716 kHz
Distributed Capacity CD= 3.5684460 ρF
Capacitor Potential VC= 2976.7617823 V
Minimum Plate Spacing PS= 0.0396902 in 39.6901571 mils
Wavelength λ= 54.3408767 ft 16.5631492 m
Circumference % λ= 15.1757873 %

Radiation Loss Total Loss

Frequency Resistance Resistance Resistance Efficiency
F RR RL RT η
MHz mΩ mΩ mΩ dB
1 0.0009900 33.3801800 113.3801800 -50.5892724
2 0.0158392 47.2067033 127.2067033 -39.0483039
3 0.0801860 57.8161677 137.8161677 -32.3545407
4 0.2534275 66.7603600 146.7603600 -27.6350441
5 0.6187194 74.6403516 154.6403516 -23.9956327
6 1.2829765 81.7644085 161.7644085 -21.0409514
7 2.3768723 88.3156550 168.3156550 -18.5620865
8 4.0548393 94.4134066 174.4134066 -16.4358731
9 6.4950684 100.1405400 180.1405400 -14.5841078
10 9.8995099 105.5573975 185.5573975 -12.9543733
11 14.4938724 110.7095325 190.7095325 -11.5100013
12 20.5276237 115.6323355 195.6323355 -10.2243657
13 28.2739902 120.3539506 200.3539506 -9.0774220
14 38.0299572 124.8971971 204.8971971 -8.0535023
15 50.1162688 129.2808813 209.2808813 -7.1398647
16 64.8774280 133.5207200 213.5207200 -6.3257272
17 82.6816966 137.6300080 217.6300080 -5.6016288
18 103.9210951 141.6201098 221.6201098 -4.9590225
19 129.0114029 145.5008314 225.5008314 -4.3900313
20 158.3921583 149.2807032 229.2807032 -3.8873172
21 192.5266583 152.9672016 232.9672016 -3.4440242
22 231.9019589 156.5669224 236.5669224 -3.0537633
23 277.0288748 160.0857195 240.0857195 -2.7106176
24 328.4419794 163.5288171 243.5288171 -2.4091519
25 386.6996052 166.9009000 246.9009000 -2.1444179
26 452.3838433 170.2061892 250.2061892 -1.9119490
27 526.1005437 173.4485032 253.4485032 -1.7077469
28 608.4793153 176.6313100 256.6313100 -1.5282583
29 700.1735256 179.7577706 259.7577706 -1.3703447
30 801.8603013 182.8307756 262.8307756 -1.2312490
Null constant pi*D
2.5135883

-4.8989357 dB

This is the tuning + distributed capacitance

corrected/ Kai CD=8.92*radius

1.0081300 mm

Inductive Tuning Quality Capacitor Minimum

Reactance Capacitor Factor Bandwidth Potential Spacing
XL CT Q ΔF VC PS
Ω ρF kHz V mils
13.3257385 11943.4238146 58.7652189 17.0168685 279.8374426 3.7311659
26.6514771 2985.8559536 104.7435327 19.0942576 528.3530887 7.0447078
39.9772156 1327.0470905 144.9538532 20.6962418 761.2392164 10.1498562
53.3029542 746.4639884 181.2855621 22.0646363 983.0084439 13.1067793
66.6286927 477.7369526 214.5726247 23.3021338 1195.6878137 15.9425042
79.9544313 331.7617726 245.1877142 24.4710467 1400.1372877 18.6684972
93.2801698 243.7433432 273.2403441 25.6184716 1596.4932102 21.2865761
106.6059084 186.6159971 298.6691215 26.7854941 1784.3736434 23.7916486
119.9316469 147.4496767 321.2989416 28.0112968 1963.0056345 26.1734085
133.2573855 119.4342381 340.8868666 29.3352457 2131.3303963 28.4177386
146.5831240 98.7059819 357.1654282 30.7980536 2288.1089191 30.5081189
159.9088625 82.9404432 369.8854847 32.4424734 2432.0355082 32.4271401
173.2346011 70.6711468 378.8570209 34.3137365 2561.8576246 34.1581017
186.5603396 60.9358358 383.9841210 36.4598410 2676.4941255 35.6865883
199.8860782 53.0818836 385.2896574 38.9317484 2775.1403314 37.0018711
213.2118167 46.6539993 382.9260687 41.7835225 2857.3477699 38.0979703
226.5375553 41.3267260 377.1707061 45.0724293 2923.0691007 38.9742547
239.8632938 36.8624192 368.4069639 48.8590113 2972.6639202 39.6355189
253.1890324 33.0842765 357.0949151 53.2071424 3006.8674067 40.0915654
266.5147709 29.8585595 343.7366881 58.1840714 3026.7293350 40.3563911
279.8405095 27.0825937 328.8420067 63.8604545 3033.5344844 40.4471265
293.1662480 24.6764955 312.8983159 70.3103816 3028.7163167 40.3828842
306.4919865 22.5773607 296.3482272 77.6113973 3013.7743257 40.1836577
319.8177251 20.7351108 279.5752222 85.8445173 2990.2025278 39.8693670
333.1434636 19.1094781 262.8970944 95.0942423 2959.4331992 39.4591093
346.4692022 17.6677867 246.5656970 105.4485693 2922.7969539 38.9706261
359.7949407 16.3832974 230.7712017 116.9990007 2881.4980627 38.4199742
373.1206793 15.2339589 215.6491137 129.8405522 2836.6026124 37.8213682
386.4464178 14.2014552 201.2885814 144.0717590 2789.0365944 37.1871546
399.7721564 13.2704709 187.7409161 159.7946820 2739.5910440 36.5278806
Wavelength Circumference Qradiation= Efficiency Null Depth, dB
λ %λ Q (no loss) η
m (Q/Qradiation) "-20log10(2*pi*D)"
299.7930000 0.8384413 6730504.1814865 8.731176E-06 35.5099469865623
149.8965000 1.6768826 841313.0226858 0.0001245001 29.4893470732826
99.9310000 2.5153239 249277.9326476 0.0005814949 25.967521892169
74.9482500 3.3537651 105164.1278357 0.0017238346 23.468747160003
59.9586000 4.1922064 53844.0334519 0.0039850771 21.5305468998419
49.9655000 5.0306477 31159.7415810 0.0078687339 19.9469219788894
42.8275714 5.8690890 19622.4611705 0.0139248763 18.6079861862771
37.4741250 6.7075303 13145.5159795 0.0227202281 17.4481472467234
33.3103333 7.5459716 9232.5160240 0.0348007998 16.4250967977758
29.9793000 8.3844129 6730.5041815 0.0506480432 15.5099469865623
27.2539091 9.2228541 5056.7274091 0.0706317346 14.6820932833978
24.9827500 10.0612954 3894.9676976 0.0949649685 13.9263220656098
23.0610000 10.8997367 3063.4975792 0.1236681313 13.2310799404255
21.4137857 11.7381780 2452.8076463 0.1565488112 12.5873862729975
19.9862000 12.5766193 1994.2234612 0.1932028506 11.9881218054486
18.7370625 13.4150606 1643.1894974 0.2330382888 11.4275473334438
17.6348824 14.2535018 1369.9377532 0.275319594 10.9009685589968
16.6551667 15.0919431 1154.0645030 0.3192256264 10.4044968844961
15.7785789 15.9303844 981.2661002 0.3639124138 9.93487496750568
14.9896500 16.7688257 841.3130227 0.4085716954 9.48934707328264
14.2758571 17.6072670 726.7578211 0.4524781119 9.06556109188388
13.6269545 18.4457083 632.0909261 0.4950210531 8.66149337011814
13.0344783 19.2841496 553.1769690 0.5357204725 8.27539026621041
12.4913750 20.1225908 486.8709622 0.574228582 7.90572215233014
11.9917200 20.9610321 430.7522676 0.6103208599 7.55114681312151
11.5305000 21.7994734 382.9371974 0.6438802465 7.2104800271459
11.1034444 22.6379147 341.9450379 0.6748780539 6.88267170338252
10.7068929 23.4763560 306.6009558 0.7033543428 6.56678635971788
10.3376897 24.3147973 275.9647456 0.729399623 6.26198702858314
9.9931000 25.1532386 249.2779326 0.7531389327 5.96752189216901