At 06:07 AM 3/20/02 -0600, you wrote:
>For the past few mornings, I have been trying in vain to
>hear XR0X well enough on 160 meters to work them.
>
>I only use a delta loop for both xmit & rcv and have a
>severe power line noise on all bands, from 10 meters
>through 160. It is the worst on 160
>73 de Brad, N9EN
Hi Brad,
When I got home from work today, around 0600z, XR0X had a good signal,
peaking S7 at times. But they were having a very difficult time hearing US
stations. I did hear them work GI3OQR, and a half dozen or so USA stations,
but each one seemed to be a struggle like they had high QRN down there.
If you have room for even a short Beverage, or a Ewe, Pennant, small loop
or other RX antenna, this can make a big difference in nulling out the
local power line noise compared to listening on the Delta Loop. I wouldn't
even worry about the power company until I had an RX antenna.
That said, I have had good success with our local utility (Conectiv) in
eliminating noise problems over the years, at three different QTHs here in
Delaware, and with another utility in Connecticut. A key to this is finding
the right person; most utilities have a dedicated RFI person or department.
We're not the only ones complaining -- they go out on commercial complaints
too. And there is a cost factor -- if there's something arcing to ground it
is wasting electricity they could be selling. On one occasion I also had
success on a Sunday by just calling the customer service line; the on-call
guy with a bucket truck was out within an hour shaking the line at the end
of my driveway while I listened on a portable radio and he found the noise
source. A full crew was out the next day to replace the bad insulator (a
strain insulator that was installed without tension!).
I like to do a lot of the leg work myself. First, to make sure it IS a
power line problem and not some other electrical device in my house or a
neighbors. While an AM BCB radio will help with noise tracking, I find it
necessary to use a receiver with an AM or SSB detector (FM doesn't work for
this!) up into the VHF and UHF spectrum. Noise has harmonics just like
other radio signals. The closer you are to the source, the higher in
frequency you will be able to hear it. A VHF aircraft portable is one cheap
way to cover the VHF spectrum. I also find my IC706 in the mobile very
useful for this. While an AM radio may find a noise peak on a pole
(especially if it has a ground line coming down it), it is not unusual for
the actual noise source (arcing insulator or other hardware or transformer)
to be a mile or two away on another pole, just radiating down the power lines.
I also will use the HF and VHF beams, and the Beverages, to get a heading
on the noise, and plot a line on a local map before heading out to track it
down.
When making a complaint, I always emphasize that the noise is also causing
interference to television and AM broadcast radio reception (it almost
always IS) so they know it is affecting more than just ham frequencies and
other customers. By doing the preliminary leg work (I try to give them an
exact pole number, or one or two poles where it seems to be coming from) I
have been able to get fairly quick results. A few years ago they even kept
a crew on OT one Friday afternoon to replace an arcing transformer on a
contest weekend (DO let them know you are a top competitor in an
international radio competition).
Occasionally I have to be persistent and renew the complaint (politely but
firmly) if it hasn't been fixed. If there has been a storm and the crews
are all busy just restoring power, the noise complaints are going to get a
low priority.
I always follow up with a letter to they RFI guy's supervisor thanking them
for their work in eliminating the noise (they DO remember me when I call
again).
You also might want to consider trying one of the MFJ Noice Canceling
Signal Enhancers (I have the MFJ-1025) which will allow you to null out
some noises.
Hope these ideas help.
73/Jon AA1K
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