Topband: MYSTERY NOISE GONE!

[Bill Tippett]

VE3CSK wrote:

 >Wonder if some of those noises others have been describing from time to time
are caused by either MV or sodium lights starting to go bad.

         As an aside, K4UEE was having problems
with some kind of noise when they first started
up from VU7RG.  Their K9AY was not working to
expectations and he asked me how I thought a
Beverage might work close to salt water.  I
relayed info from VQ9LA (similar coral ground)
that his worked extremely well even when terminated
just 30' from the shore.  Somewhere in the exchange,
Bob mentioned that their TX vertical was mounted on
a pier over salt water and he thought the mercury
vapor lights might be bothering him.  Since much
of their operation was in the wee hours local time,
I suggested he see if the lights could be turned
off.  I never heard the final outcome of his Beverage
or the MV light situation, but will be interested
to hear the full story when he returns.  Whatever
he did seemed to work very well!  I still don't
understand the vast difference in 160 results with
the Kadamat group (DL7DF & crew) but the Agatti
guys really did extremely well to NA (waiting to
hear how many total NA QSOs but surely >100).

         If you look closely at the picture below,
I think you can see 4 lamp posts on the pier where
they mounted the vertical (not up in this picture):

http://www.dx-pedition.de/lakshadweep2007/photos/agatti-003.jpg

                                 73,  Bill  W4ZV