Topband: Beverages and Noise

[Paul Mcl]

Roger,

It’s not just the VDSL noise but the SMPSU’s as well that give me grief
round here.  VDSL affected 30m most as I have overhead poles in my back
garden so limited option to escape.  VDSL cabinet was a street away.

I found the RX loop (Wellbrook) worked poorly near the house and put it
outside where it performed much better also with a rotator but agree EW
would be my preference if I had to choose a fixed position.

I also tried with 2 short terminated beverages each 40m long running along
a garden wall EW. They worked ok and complimented the RX loop to give me
better coverage.   I can’t say they were excellent as comparing in a noise
free option was a choose but I used them for a couple of seasons before I
changed to remote RX in a field a couple of hundred metres away using a
WiFi link where I put out 2 x 200m long beverages in a lot quieter location.

It might vary at your QTH but worth trying as putting up a short beverage
temporarily to try as it won’t break the bank.

Regards

Paul MM0ZBH



On Mon, 4 Jan 2021 at 12:03, Roger Kennedy <roger at wessexproductions.co.uk>
wrote:

>
> The major source of noise on Top Band (and 80 & 40m) here in Britain these
> days comes from VDSL Broadband hash. The problem is that almost every house
> has an overhead copper phone line going to it . . . so the Service Provider
> runs Fibre-optic lines to a Cabinet in the street . . . but then uses the
> ordinary un-screened cables phone cables that run up the wooden Telegraph
> Poles, then across to about ten houses . . . and the same all along the
> street.
>
> Those phone wires act as fantastic antennas radiating the hash! I have
> found
> with my 160m Mobile setup that you have to get a couple of miles from any
> phone wires before the noise level starts to drop - which is almost
> impossible !
>
> I have been told that the Service Providers COULD turn off the carriers
> that
> are in the various Amateur Bands, which would eliminate the problem . . .
> but they refuse to do so, as that would obviously reduce customers'
> broadband speeds.  Despite numerous complaints to the Regulator (OFCOM)
> nothing has been done, as the Service Provider denies that there is a
> problem !
>
> Many people have S9+ noise levels from the VDSL . . . I'm lucky in that
> this
> is a new street, so the phone cables are underground . . . but there are
> still overhead wires at the end of the street, 100 yards away, which gives
> me an S6 noise level in an SSB bandwidth. (my Receiving Loop in the loft is
> turned to null out the noise, but only drops it about 6dB . . . fortunately
> that's pointing East-West, which is a pretty good direction for most DX)
>
> So my question is this . . . surely even a Beverage is going to pick up
> this
> hash, as it will always be pointing at some phone wires?
>
> I know very few British Topband DXers can put up a Beverage, as most of us
> have pretty small gardens (myself included, so this is a purely academic
> question) . . . but would be interested to hear any comments.
>
> Roger G3YRO
>
>
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