Topband: Poor Conditions

[Roger Kennedy]

Hi Jim

Well I am obviously talking about the same S Meter on the same or similar
antennas. So I am comparing like with like when I say signals are weaker.

But as you say, the big problem these days is radiated noise from poor power
supplies - so the fact that signals are weaker AND noise is stronger is a
double whammy !

Fortunately, OFCOM here in Britain do investigate interference from bad
power supplies. I have traced a few at neighbours' houses myself in the past
(and replaced them with Linear types).

But I had to get OFCOM involved a couple of years ago when I suddenly had S9
+30dB hash all over the band, which seemed to be coming from every house
down the street. They sussed it out within a couple of hours, and removed
the offending faulty PSU.

Since them I have them back several times, and they have tracked down 3
sources of noise that were around S9.

Conditions continue to be poor on 160m . . . I put out a few calls last
night . . . yet myself and OK1CF's signals were just a couple of dB above
the noise at NA RBN stations !

73 Roger G3YRO