Topband: Band noise level

[John Kaufmann]

The past few weeks I've noticed that the ambient noise level on the band at
my QTH in MA seems to be quite high from the W/SW directions in the
mornings before sunrise.  It's 10 to 20 dB higher than in all other
directions.  The noise is a smooth hiss and has no fading or static
crashing associated with it.  I don't know whether the noise is locally
generated or is atmospherically related, but it's making it hard to hear
weak DX from those directions (like XZ0A, whom I've heard only once so far
at my sunrise from the SW/W directions).  I noticed this last year, too,
and was never able to determine the origins of the noise.

Does anyone else with directional antennas notice this noise increase, too?

73, John W1FV


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