Topband: Noise Canceller, noise antennas

[w7dd]

Hello All,

I use both the MFJ-1026 and the JPS ANC-4.  I have 12 Beverage antennas and
the unused 11 antennas are available on a switch to act as "noise antennas".
This makes the noise cancellers very responsive.  These units crave a solid
noise signal.  For what it is worth, I prefer the ANC-4 in spite of its
level problems with phase adjustment.  It seems to have less internal noise
which matters on the weak signals.

I also insist that the receiver noise blanker do its job.  Most receivers
(not all) have a noise blanker that is poor on power line noise.  The noise
blanker must remove the noise and also suffer minimum activation caused by
nearby strong stations.  Yes, there are receivers out there that qualify for
this job.  Unfortunately, most of the receivers that can do this job are out
of production now.  This is an area that the manufacturers need to rethink
on new transceivers.  They seem to have a defeatist attitude so they don't
try any longer (in my humble opinion).  If their blanker can take out a
spark plug they seem happy.  That said, it is always better to get the noise
out before the receiver input by phasing, directivity, etc.

Best Regards to All,
Don Andersen