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[RFI] Tracking down 80M QRN

To: <rfi@contesting.com>
Subject: [RFI] Tracking down 80M QRN
From: n4zr@contesting.com (Pete Smith)
Date: Thu, 12 Jul 2001 00:40:14 -0400
At 01:19 PM 7/8/01 -0700, K6NR wrote:
...
>Yesterday I took a portable SSB receiver and hooked it up to a small
>directional loop antenna I have.  I could not hear the noise on the loop
>much at all, except when I got near my 80m vertical, where it was
>extremely strong.   The vertical is 40' tall with 17' top loading wires
>fed with a matching coil and 38 66' insulated wire radials. When I
>disconnected the coax (shorted at the time) from the antenna, the noise
>got stronger.  When I disconnected the matching coil the noise got weaker.
>
>Is this noise re-radiating off my vertical, or is there something amiss
>with the vertical?

I'm almost certain it is reradiating.  I'd also be willing to bet that
you'll find a low-level source in your immediate neighborhood somewhere.
In my case it was an electrically heated dog dish with a noisy thermostat.
Every time I went near my 80m array the noise would get really loud in the
portable receiver.  I tried walking away from it in various directions,
until finally I found a direction in which the noise didn't go away
completely.  Then I followed the receiver right to the house next door,
where we discovered the dog dish.

Good hunting.

73, Pete N4ZR
No, no ... that's WEST Virginia





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