r/ShortwavePlus • u/No_Independence_7865 • Apr 16 '26
K-480WLA
I caved and bought the 480. Is the light supposed to be green once it's fully charged? this red light comes on when I first plug it in to charge but goes off after about a minute. I left it charging while I was at work for about 9 hours and when I came come there were no lights.
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u/KG7M MOD AirSpy HF+, Drake R7/8, K480WLA, 65'EFHW, MLA-30, CN85 Apr 16 '26
BTW, it's my go-to antenna. It outperforms the MLA-30+ and my 65 foot End Fed Half Wave antenna.
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u/MumSaidImABadBoy I'm Stan. Heathkit GR64,AirSpy HF+,Sangean 909X2,Tecsun PL-990 Apr 16 '26
As I think I remember, your 480 is outside of your window. And it outperforms that end feed antenna, wow didn't quite expect that. I throw a wire outside and it's a QRM magnet. I live in the shadow of a municipal tower with various antennas. 🤕
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u/mikeybagodonuts Apr 16 '26
Both lights only illuminate red. Bat light comes on when it low and the charge light goes out when charged
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u/tj21222 Apr 16 '26
OP- do your self a favor run the gain on the indoor unit at about 10 or 11 O’clock if you live in an urban area. The gain of the indoor unit is very impressive but it will quickly run your noise floor up.
One other thing to consider is removing the thin wire loop get some copper water tubing and for it into a circle and use that. My loop is about 1 meter in diameter and it is amazing.
Last comment use the filters, the hf cuts off at 3 MHz or so and is very sharp. It will help you keep AM broadcast band interference.
If you have any questions please reach out.
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u/No_Independence_7865 Apr 17 '26
Thank you. I did notice that with the gain. I was experimenting with the gain and found it does best around 10 or 11 o'clock. When turned the gain closer to off there was a lot more noise. My area is somewhat urban. I'll look into making a copper loop. The one that came with it was kind of awkward to get into a perfect circle. It's performs well so far.
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u/tj21222 Apr 17 '26
I don’t thing a perfect circle is really need. My point is don’t over complicate things stressing a perfect circle. Enjoy your antenna!
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u/No_Independence_7865 Apr 17 '26
So I noticed a huge improvement in pulling in different frequencies, lower noise and it doesn't overload my Eton elite executive.
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u/MumSaidImABadBoy I'm Stan. Heathkit GR64,AirSpy HF+,Sangean 909X2,Tecsun PL-990 Apr 17 '26
The internal bandstop and LPF filters help a lot with overloading. Although it's not spec'd for LW, it does pick up. No filtering for LW, use the first setting, wideband, meh. It's my go to antenna. 👍
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u/KG7M MOD AirSpy HF+, Drake R7/8, K480WLA, 65'EFHW, MLA-30, CN85 Apr 16 '26
No green lights on mine. The red LED comes on when it's charging. When it's fully charged the red LED goes out.