[Yaesu] Re: (Yaesu) Good rigs for power line noise

[Steve Klenc]

John, and the Group...

I have had similar experiences with serious power line noise in the past, and it also had me to the point where I considered finding a different hobby/pastime.  I would get a steady S7 - S9 noise day and night unless it was raining.  The noise buried all but the strongest signals, and was present on every band with 15 and 10 Meters being the worst.

I have an FT1000d, but the NB circuits (especially the Wide NB) could only reduce the intensity of the line noise, and did not make enough of a difference to permit serious DXing.

I set out to identify the source of the noise before contacting the power company.  A friend in my radio club made a homebrew line noise sniffer from a VHF-AM (aircraft band) portable receiver to which he attached a handheld dipole antenna using aluminum rods.  (MFJ now makes a similar unit... MFJ852... for about $100).  I was able to locate the pole that was the source of my noise problem, about 1/4 mile from the QTH, and could tell by use of the nulls off the end of the dipole antenna that the noise was coming from near the top of the pole.

Then I called the power company and told them I had a line noise and was quite certain I knew where it was.  They were helpful and responsive, meeting me the next day at a time that was convenient to me.  The lineman took a long telescoping fiberglass pole and lifted on the wires and cables.  I was listening through the radio and as he lifted the upper-most one, the noise stopped.  He let it down and the noise returned.  A little more tapping on the lines, and it was determined that the problem was a wire clamp that a secondary line to feed a house was attached with.  When I came home from work the next day, the clamp had been replaced and my noise was gone!

The point to my story is:  Don't try to fix a line noise problem with a different radio... it just isn't going to make enough difference to permit you to pull out weak signals, and that is the challenge and joy of DXing!  Keep working at solving the SOURCE of the problem.  The power company will most likely cooperate with you (they have to!) if you can give them some idea of where to start looking.

Best of luck with your problem, and keep enjoying the hobby!

Steve Klenc
KC0ACQ
Jefferson City, Missouri