The antenna test: MLA30+ vs long wire. Which is best?

Some viewers have asked me how a long wire performs compared to the MLA30+ loop antenna. The advantage of a long wire, of course, is that it is inexpensive, or free. Many people probably have some pieces of wire lying around the house. The MLA30+ costs anything between $30 and $45, but there are also many fake versions around at much cheaper prices.

A genuine MLA30+ can make a big difference to your shortwave listening, especially if you live in an urban area or an apartment block. But never underestimate a long wire! This video is a comparison of many different signals, some stronger, some weaker, using the MLA30+ and a 15 metre long wire. At times in the video I also bring in a 5 metre long wire. The longer the wire, the more noise it will pick up. But, the longer a wire, the easier it will pick up weaker signals.

In the end, I think all three antennas that I tested in this video perform well. All three antennas received all the signals. The 5 metre wire is less noisy than the 15 metre wire, but not as strong. The MLA30+ seems to perform the best, it is less noisy. But some signals are somewhat weaker when using the MLA30+ compared to the 15 metre wire.

The test was performed on my Tecsun PL-680, on 6 November 2024. My location is Johannesburg, South Africa. I recorded the sound digitally via the earphone jack from the PL-680 into my Tecsun ICR-110.

00:00 Long wire vs MLA30+
01:13 Radio Mali 5995 kHz
02:59 Voice of Korea 7210 kHz
04:51 Radio Thailand 7475 kHz
05:59 NHK World 9440 kHz
07:03 BBc Amharic 9465 kHz
07:54 WMLK 17525 kHz
08:51 Radio Exterior de España 17755 kHz
09:48 Radio Pilipinas 15190 kHz
10:37 VOA 4930 kHz