Active antennas do BOOST receive signals strength and this allows you to hear great stations with a small antenna...but the also amplify NOISE and this is not so good...a proper antenna can be had with just a bit more wire and though wire is not as pretty as a short PVC stick...you will discover that as far as antennas go...size does matter and a few dollars worth of wire still beats $500 worth of aluminum (HF Vertical) or a handful of components that give you more noise to contend with.
Bottom line: Does it work? YES
Does it give more signal? YES,with more noise
Will you be happy with the results? YES,until you compare to a proper size antenna made from wire
Is it a good project to learn electronics? YES , but the only advantage is performance vs size and a full size antenna with easily out perform amplified signal and noise from a small antenna,
Wouldn't it make sense to build this in to PREMIUM RADIO RECEIVERS if it really offered a performance gain? BUT NO they offer attenuators to help block out some of the noise instead.This is why we have RF GAIN control...to turn DOWN the noise.
Let me know how this works out for you...
Because maybe my opinion is a load of manure.....
