[RFI] KC2IEB’s RFI Journey

[Steve London]

I built the W1TRC dish, and have used it successfully for many years. I compared 
it side-by-side with the Radar Engineers dish, and the W1TRC dish is not as 
sensitive, but still extremely useful.

IIRC, the dish came from Edmund Scientific. I painted it a dull color so that 
its shiny surface couldn't accidentally cause a fire when pointed near the sun.

73,
Steve, N2IC

On 04/17/2021 04:19 PM, Charles Plunk wrote:
> Good point. And that line of site quality is a good thing to narrow down the area.
> 
> Are your referring to the W1TRC dish in the QST article? I built mine years ago 
> with a prefab circuit board and the dish specified in the article. I have heard 
> sourcing the dish is more challenging right now. If so, yes it works quite well. 
> In fact, if i do not hear it with the dish i really begin to question if i am at 
> the right pole. Yes there is a background hiss but once you hear an arc you will 
> not forget the sound.
> 
> My recent fix was as high as 25db over S9 due to the proximity of my doublet to 
> the pole. I heard it easily with the dish once i found the right pole......This 
> is preliminary and I have more work to do but I still have some weak arc sound 
> on some bands. Its so weak though I think natural noise is not allowing me to 
> hear it on some bands. And yes I am hearing a faint signal in the suspect area 
> with the dish. I need to match a noise pattern before I request they do more work.
> 
> I think though a new nut/washer and moving the ground wire will do it. I think 
> my issue was decades of crud on the 7200v hardware was making enough of a carbon 
> trace around the old hardware to arc to that ground wire stapled to the pole 
> next to those nut/washer.
> 
> I am enjoying such quiet noise levels now I may not even mess with it. A little 
> NB adjustment knocks it right out and most bands I dont hear it.
> 
> 73
> 
> Chuck
> AF4O
> 
> 
> 
>> Yes, good tool, but keep in mind that it will not hear an arc on the
>> "other side" of
>> a structure.  It has to be line of sight from the arc to the receiver or
>> at least close
>> to that.
>>
>> RE the QST article ultrasonic pin-pointer...has anyone built it?  If so,
>> how
>> sensitive was it....could you hear a very small arc at 50ft?   Was the
>> circuit quiet...i.e. was there
>> any "hiss" when it wasn't detecting any signal?
>>
>> 73,
>> Charlie, N0TT
>>
>>
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