[CQ-Contest] re: 160m noise

[Pete Smith]

At 12:32 PM 12/6/98 -0800, Dick Frey wrote:
...

>Saturday evening the 160M band is much improved but there are still
>emitters out there.  Something to do over the holiday break.
>
>Conclusion:  Don't be lazy.  Before paying big bux for another knob to
>adjust, do your homework and see if you can find the source of the noise. 
>Sometimes it's easy and a hell of a lot more effective.
>

Well said, Dick.  A few years ago while still living in a townhouse I got
the urge to finish 5BDXCC.  Put up a full-wave loop but the noise was
terrible.  One type of emitter, in particular, produced a band of impulse
noise from 3520 down to the bottom of the band.  I did the same thing,
traced it to a neighbor's house, and we proceeded to check all the usual
suspects.  No joy, and then, by accident, he turned on his bathroom light.
The noise went away!  There was only an ordinary incandescent light on the
switch, and the noise occurred only while the light was off.  On a hunch, I
replaced the switch - an ordinary Leviton 72 cent silent SPST - and the
noise was gone.

I never figured out what physical mechanism could account for the noise,
but I later replaced both switches in a kitchen light 3-way circuit some
distance away, which was making similar problems, with similar results.
And I'm currently grappling with my local power company over one
pole/transformer nearby.  At least it's hard to ignore the evidence
provided by the little portable receiver!

73, Pete Smith N4ZR
n4zr at contesting.com 

Loud is good.


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