Sandbagger
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Post by Sandbagger on Oct 13, 2015 16:54:19 GMT -5
The roundup has being going strong now for 8+ years, every Wednesday night. We'll be there then! Thanks sandbagger, I will be tuned in on wednesdays, Hope to make the trip down to ya!! Where about are you located? We'll try to keep at least half an ear open......
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Post by whitetail on Oct 14, 2015 6:56:13 GMT -5
Thanks sandbagger, I will be tuned in on wednesdays, Hope to make the trip down to ya!! Where about are you located? We'll try to keep at least half an ear open...... I am located in NW Pennsylvania, 60 miles east of lake Erie, this side of the NY/PA state line.
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Sandbagger
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Post by Sandbagger on Oct 14, 2015 17:57:02 GMT -5
Where about are you located? We'll try to keep at least half an ear open...... I am located in NW Pennsylvania, 60 miles east of lake Erie, this side of the NY/PA state line. Unfortunately, you're too far away from us (We're roughly 30-40 miles west of Phila Pa.) for a direct shot, and most likely too close for a skip shot (unless we get some really strange atmospheric phenomena). I guess your best bet is the Spew Radio server. At least you can hear us that way.
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Post by whitetail on Oct 14, 2015 20:23:16 GMT -5
I am located in NW Pennsylvania, 60 miles east of lake Erie, this side of the NY/PA state line. Unfortunately, you're too far away from us (We're roughly 30-40 miles west of Phila Pa.) for a direct shot, and most likely too close for a skip shot (unless we get some really strange atmospheric phenomena). I guess your best bet is the Spew Radio server. At least you can hear us that way. Yeh I know the way the skip and how conditions are, I was in there at 8-830 listening and calling a bit but very quiet on band I usually hear Night Ranger in there but didnt this time. decided to move up to lower sideband and talked to 2 stations in Bangor Maine crystal clear,!! Wow conditions are funny.
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Sandbagger
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Post by Sandbagger on Oct 15, 2015 6:00:39 GMT -5
Unfortunately, you're too far away from us (We're roughly 30-40 miles west of Phila Pa.) for a direct shot, and most likely too close for a skip shot (unless we get some really strange atmospheric phenomena). I guess your best bet is the Spew Radio server. At least you can hear us that way. Yeh I know the way the skip and how conditions are, I was in there at 8-830 listening and calling a bit but very quiet on band I usually hear Night Ranger in there but didnt this time. decided to move up to lower sideband and talked to 2 stations in Bangor Maine crystal clear,!! Wow conditions are funny. Well, that's true. If the conditions are in there, you could probably talk to the guys we work via skip, like FIXR, Night Ranger, Doc Hammer and some of our other regular skip check-ins. You just can't work our core group directly. When Tombstone was alive, he often tried to make the trip to Grumpy or others out this way, and he just never got the right conditions. He was in the western part of Pa. as well.
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Post by BBB on Nov 5, 2015 8:53:38 GMT -5
A little thin last night, but still about a dozen different operators showed. The Delaware county crew was in there for the warm up and chimed in loud and proud later on as well. Very courteous folks they are as they lowered their power when CRR started to pick up locally I ran my GE-3-5908A HELP! CB radio. It's almost exactly the size of a brick and packed with components. Only connections on it are for an RCA jack antenna and 12 VDC power. I turned up the modulation pot inside and signal reports were good with that lil'thang.
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Post by BBB on Nov 12, 2015 10:13:52 GMT -5
Great turnout last night for CRR. Glad to hear Doc Hammer was listening in. Thank you for the Gate. I ran the Kraco SSB De Luxe shown on the bottom of the photo.
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Sandbagger
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Posts: 6,247
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Post by Sandbagger on Nov 12, 2015 18:28:19 GMT -5
Great turnout last night for CRR. Glad to hear Doc Hammer was listening in. Thank you for the Gate. I ran the Kraco SSB De Luxe shown on the bottom of the photo. The Dodge Monaco of butt ugly CB radios:
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Post by No Streak on Nov 19, 2015 14:37:48 GMT -5
Last night's Classic Radio Roundup was very busy I have to say! Sounded like the CB heyday came back to town! Thanks guys for all the spouts to Delaware County.
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Post by BBB on Nov 19, 2015 17:01:52 GMT -5
Yes, very busy is a good thing Too bad I couldn't hag out longer after 10 pm.
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Sandbagger
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Post by Sandbagger on Nov 20, 2015 7:03:30 GMT -5
Last night's Classic Radio Roundup was very busy I have to say! Sounded like the CB heyday came back to town! Thanks guys for all the spouts to Delaware County. Yea, who knew channel 13 would become so popular. Between our group in western Montgomery and Berks counties, and your group in Delco, and another group in Bucks county, it was almost as if the skip was running....
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Post by No Streak on Nov 20, 2015 9:31:58 GMT -5
Last night's Classic Radio Roundup was very busy I have to say! Sounded like the CB heyday came back to town! Thanks guys for all the spouts to Delaware County. Yea, who knew channel 13 would become so popular. Between our group in western Montgomery and Berks counties, and your group in Delco, and another group in Bucks county, it was almost as if the skip was running.... Yeah I was shocked myself you would have thought skip was running or something. I did better running 50watts on the Browning Golden Eagle series 2 with a banana mic. Though a remake of a StarDuster antenna. Than running 120watts flat out and the lower power was cleaner sounding as well. Pete has a good spot because he picks up everything! Good job on the video gate Pete the SBE sounded the best listening on your end. Sent from my LGLS990 using Tapatalk
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Sandbagger
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Post by Sandbagger on Nov 20, 2015 13:03:13 GMT -5
Yea, who knew channel 13 would become so popular. Between our group in western Montgomery and Berks counties, and your group in Delco, and another group in Bucks county, it was almost as if the skip was running.... Yeah I was shocked myself you would have thought skip was running or something. I did better running 50watts on the Browning Golden Eagle series 2 with a banana mic. Though a remake of a StarDuster antenna. Than running 120watts flat out and the lower power was cleaner sounding as well. Pete has a good spot because he picks up everything! Good job on the video gate Pete the SBE sounded the best listening on your end. Sent from my LGLS990 using Tapatalk Pete has been blessed with zero noise at his house. That's why he hears so well. Once upon a time I also had nearly zero noise, and I was able to hear fantastically well. Unfortunately, in the last couple of years, someone or something is generating a wideband white noise-like hash, which is making it tough for me to hear anything below S5. I can drop the noise down a little bit by pointing the beam north, but that's 120 degrees away from where you guys are, so it's not much help...... It's frustrating. I also need to so some antenna maintenance. It's been up there since 2007, and it's probably time to clean up connections and replace exposed feedline.
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Post by No Streak on Nov 25, 2015 10:11:37 GMT -5
I hope this week's Classic Radio Roundup is like last weeks. The Thanksgiving edition of Classic Radio Roundup!!! Hope Spitfire is running the Force tonight maybe I can hear him on my mud duck station. As for myself Browning Golden Eagle Mk3 with FireBird 500!!!! Happy thanksgiving to all Classic Radio Roundup participants and family's.
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Sandbagger
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Post by Sandbagger on Nov 25, 2015 14:50:57 GMT -5
I hope this week's Classic Radio Roundup is like last weeks. The Thanksgiving edition of Classic Radio Roundup!!! Hope Spitfire is running the Force tonight maybe I can hear him on my mud duck station. As for myself Browning Golden Eagle Mk3 with FireBird 500!!!! Happy thanksgiving to all Classic Radio Roundup participants and family's. I will be running my space heater tonight (Tram D201), since the shack has cooled down quite a bit thanks to the early winter blast we've been having.......
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Post by ab5ni on Dec 4, 2015 0:56:33 GMT -5
Yeah I was shocked myself you would have thought skip was running or something. I did better running 50watts on the Browning Golden Eagle series 2 with a banana mic. Though a remake of a StarDuster antenna. Than running 120watts flat out and the lower power was cleaner sounding as well. Pete has a good spot because he picks up everything! Good job on the video gate Pete the SBE sounded the best listening on your end. Sent from my LGLS990 using Tapatalk Pete has been blessed with zero noise at his house. That's why he hears so well. Once upon a time I also had nearly zero noise, and I was able to hear fantastically well. Unfortunately, in the last couple of years, someone or something is generating a wideband white noise-like hash, which is making it tough for me to hear anything below S5. I can drop the noise down a little bit by pointing the beam north, but that's 120 degrees away from where you guys are, so it's not much help...... It's frustrating. I also need to so some antenna maintenance. It's been up there since 2007, and it's probably time to clean up connections and replace exposed feedline. What u can do to find the source of this noise is build a "cigar box" loop antenna for a pocket AM radio, SB. The loop will be very directive, and all u have to do is follow the noise. A lot of the time, it can be power utility transformers that are in the process of going bad, and your power company will be glad that u point this out to them. Well, most will be, anyway. A newer culprit of noise is the latest, greatest power meters on homes. The power companies are transmitting data from these meters back to the power company. To add insult to injury, this data is being sent out on unshielded power lines. The ARRL has been fighting the use of BPL (Broadband over Power Lines) for years, but, unfortunately, they have been fighting a losing battle. In larger cities, the ambient noise floor has probably raised up quite a few db in the past few years. 73, Randy AB65NI
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Sandbagger
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Post by Sandbagger on Dec 4, 2015 7:51:34 GMT -5
Pete has been blessed with zero noise at his house. That's why he hears so well. Once upon a time I also had nearly zero noise, and I was able to hear fantastically well. Unfortunately, in the last couple of years, someone or something is generating a wideband white noise-like hash, which is making it tough for me to hear anything below S5. I can drop the noise down a little bit by pointing the beam north, but that's 120 degrees away from where you guys are, so it's not much help...... It's frustrating. I also need to so some antenna maintenance. It's been up there since 2007, and it's probably time to clean up connections and replace exposed feedline. What u can do to find the source of this noise is build a "cigar box" loop antenna for a pocket AM radio, SB. The loop will be very directive, and all u have to do is follow the noise. A lot of the time, it can be power utility transformers that are in the process of going bad, and your power company will be glad that u point this out to them. Well, most will be, anyway. A newer culprit of noise is the latest, greatest power meters on homes. The power companies are transmitting data from these meters back to the power company. To add insult to injury, this data is being sent out on unshielded power lines. The ARRL has been fighting the use of BPL (Broadband over Power Lines) for years, but, unfortunately, they have been fighting a losing battle. In larger cities, the ambient noise floor has probably raised up quite a few db in the past few years. Believe it or not, I do not own a portable AM radio. But I do have a walkie-talkie with an S-meter. I'll pin it down one way or another. My neighborhood is only 16 years old, and all of our utilities are underground. I can see my "white noise" drop as I drive the mobile away. I've also pulled the main breaker of my house to eliminate something I have as the source. The noise varies in level from day to day, but is gradually getting stronger. The other night it was running at S7. It's also not dependent on time of day (eliminates lighting as a source). Maybe I'll get lucky and something will simply burn out, and the problem will solve itself....
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Post by ab5ni on Dec 4, 2015 9:15:57 GMT -5
What u can do to find the source of this noise is build a "cigar box" loop antenna for a pocket AM radio, SB. The loop will be very directive, and all u have to do is follow the noise. A lot of the time, it can be power utility transformers that are in the process of going bad, and your power company will be glad that u point this out to them. Well, most will be, anyway. A newer culprit of noise is the latest, greatest power meters on homes. The power companies are transmitting data from these meters back to the power company. To add insult to injury, this data is being sent out on unshielded power lines. The ARRL has been fighting the use of BPL (Broadband over Power Lines) for years, but, unfortunately, they have been fighting a losing battle. In larger cities, the ambient noise floor has probably raised up quite a few db in the past few years. Believe it or not, I do not own a portable AM radio. But I do have a walkie-talkie with an S-meter. I'll pin it down one way or another. My neighborhood is only 16 years old, and all of our utilities are underground. I can see my "white noise" drop as I drive the mobile away. I've also pulled the main breaker of my house to eliminate something I have as the source. The noise varies in level from day to day, but is gradually getting stronger. The other night it was running at S7. It's also not dependent on time of day (eliminates lighting as a source). Maybe I'll get lucky and something will simply burn out, and the problem will solve itself.... VK2ZAY has a nice loop he built for direction finding a noise problem his father had, SB. Here's the link: www.vk2zay.net/article/47 . Alan is quite the builder, and his site is most definitely a geek/nerd haven . www.vk2zay.net . Anywho, I think u should be able to interface that thing with ur walkie talkie no problem. Heck, drill a hole and add a jack for the loop when u need to find noise . 73, Randy AB5NI
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Post by ab5ni on Dec 4, 2015 9:23:57 GMT -5
Oh, one other thing: compact fluorescent bulbs will also generate a ton of noise. If your neighborhood is loaded up with folks using them, I don't know if there is anything you'll be able to do about it, SB :/ . It could also be something like a bad ballast in a big ole fluorescent lamp in somebodies garage or something. I found that offering to buy them a new ballast and replacing it free of charge works. Not only that, but if you don't know that particular family too well, you'll probably make a friend or two. 73, Randy P.S. I know you've pretty much eliminated a lighting source as the problem, but I decided to add this addendum just incase somebody else out there is reading this and might also be looking for a noise source.
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Sandbagger
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Post by Sandbagger on Dec 4, 2015 21:04:43 GMT -5
Believe it or not, I do not own a portable AM radio. But I do have a walkie-talkie with an S-meter. I'll pin it down one way or another. My neighborhood is only 16 years old, and all of our utilities are underground. I can see my "white noise" drop as I drive the mobile away. I've also pulled the main breaker of my house to eliminate something I have as the source. The noise varies in level from day to day, but is gradually getting stronger. The other night it was running at S7. It's also not dependent on time of day (eliminates lighting as a source). Maybe I'll get lucky and something will simply burn out, and the problem will solve itself.... VK2ZAY has a nice loop he built for direction finding a noise problem his father had, SB. Here's the link: www.vk2zay.net/article/47 . Alan is quite the builder, and his site is most definitely a geek/nerd haven . www.vk2zay.net . Anywho, I think u should be able to interface that thing with ur walkie talkie no problem. Heck, drill a hole and add a jack for the loop when u need to find noise . 73, Randy AB5NI I have a direction finding loop for CB, and I have plugged it into the walkie-talkie before, so when the time comes to go searching, I'll have that. It actually does hear better than the rubber duck does....... I'm actually afraid that the source of the noise is computer or networking related. They sell these "home networking" devices that plug into and use the wiring in your house for network connections. I have a set of those. I plugged them in once and they absolutely destroyed my receive, so I trashed them in short order. But if one of my neighbors has one, I'm pretty much toast, until they decide to do something different (like join the wireless generation). I've also considered the wireless water meters we have (not mine though, I checked), or some electronic controller of some sort. The fact that the noise started off small and has been gradually increasing, rather than gone one day and full strength the next, makes me thing something electrical is breaking down gradually. The only good thing about that is that eventually it should completely fail, and fixing it should cure the noise. One can only hope.
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Post by ab5ni on Dec 5, 2015 0:13:24 GMT -5
VK2ZAY has a nice loop he built for direction finding a noise problem his father had, SB. Here's the link: www.vk2zay.net/article/47 . Alan is quite the builder, and his site is most definitely a geek/nerd haven . www.vk2zay.net . Anywho, I think u should be able to interface that thing with ur walkie talkie no problem. Heck, drill a hole and add a jack for the loop when u need to find noise . 73, Randy AB5NI I have a direction finding loop for CB, and I have plugged it into the walkie-talkie before, so when the time comes to go searching, I'll have that. It actually does hear better than the rubber duck does....... I'm actually afraid that the source of the noise is computer or networking related. They sell these "home networking" devices that plug into and use the wiring in your house for network connections. I have a set of those. I plugged them in once and they absolutely destroyed my receive, so I trashed them in short order. But if one of my neighbors has one, I'm pretty much toast, until they decide to do something different (like join the wireless generation). I've also considered the wireless water meters we have (not mine though, I checked), or some electronic controller of some sort. The fact that the noise started off small and has been gradually increasing, rather than gone one day and full strength the next, makes me thing something electrical is breaking down gradually. The only good thing about that is that eventually it should completely fail, and fixing it should cure the noise. One can only hope. Sounds good, SB. Sure hope u find the problem. As far as networking via indoor wiring goes, they're known in the computing industry to be a serious source of RFI. A couple of years back, I remember reading an article the ARRL posted on the subject that stated that the overall noise floor of the U.S. was going to be raised significantly should the FCC allow BPL. Over the years, I have seriously thought about selling everything here in town and purchasing acreage way out in the boondocks, just so I can put up an antenna farm and build a 5-acre pond for fishing. Guess that would also help a ton with RFI as well. From your description, I'm going to lean toward a pole-pig transformer slowly leaking oil and going bad, SB. This is the classic description of the problem. If you had above-ground wiring, it could also be a bad electrical connection up there somewhere. I don't know the name of those damn things, though. I'm a software engineer, and we know electronics so we can interface and work with hardware guys like yourself while designing and building electronic stuff. I just program the devices, though it does kinda bug me that I don't know the name of the damn things. . I guess you could describe it as one of those devices they use as a circuit breaker on the transformers. A bad one can arc and cause a lot of RFI, and they can slowly get worse over the years. Not sure what they use for underground service, although I do know that u can get in touch with your power company and tell them that u are a licensed amateur and that u are pretty certain that your source of RFI is probably from their equipment. Eventually, they'll send somebody out to check on things. From experience, they know that it's probably going to be one of the problems I just listed, and they know that, statistically speaking, it's going to eventually be a problem for their customers in your area. I learned stuff like this contracting to municipalities who owned their electrical-utility services . 73, Randy
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Post by BBB on Dec 5, 2015 10:55:45 GMT -5
Most if not all radio operators will experience noise issues with their stations. It is the bane of the hobby. When the noise is really bad on one frequency I just move to another. The days of being able to do that may be waning though due to the increase in third world manufactured powered devices. (Notice I didn't just say Chinese) I'd like to construct one of those direction finding systems. I bet some HAM clubs have those devices constructed already and if you're a member they may loan it out? I have been looking at the off-the-shelf marine units of yesteryear, but believe they only can search for marine beacons. For now I just use my mobile CB radio and a CB HT with a ducky antenna for direction finding. Another thing not to discount is old or damaged coax cable as the possible culprit for loss of receive signal strength as witnessed in this related embedded video. This issue would manifest itself as a slow drop in ability to receive otherwise receivable weak signals and a possible slow increase in white noise from the receiver. blog.rfvenue.com/why-coaxial-cable-goes-bad/
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Post by ab5ni on Dec 5, 2015 12:03:46 GMT -5
Most if not all radio operators will experience noise issues with their stations. It is the bane of the hobby. When the noise is really bad on one frequency I just move to another. The days of being able to do that may be waning though due to the increase in third world manufactured powered devices. (Notice I didn't just say Chinese) Amen. It is the bane of the hobby, for sure. Back in the heyday of CB, a lot of folks were complaining about RFI from HAM's and CBer's. The HAM crowd got together and told the FCC that a lot of problems would disappear if the cheaply imported electronics would just include a few very inexpensive parts. Well, the FCC didn't do anything about the issue and require those components for type acceptance, and the foreign manufacturers claimed that it would increase costs and reduce profit margin, especially when they were building hundreds of thousands of units. Of course I'd imagine that the U.S. manufacturers went along with this as well. Damn shame. A lot of interference to other services could have been avoided. All you really need to do is build a multi-loop antenna for the frequency of operation, 3B. A loop antenna is very directional. Just search for "direction finding loop antenna" and I'm sure you'll get a lot of hits. Also, HAM's do something called "Fox Hunting" to keep their direction-finding skills up to snuff. Basically, they have a transmitter that they hide away somewhere, and it's up to the hunters to find the transmitter. You usually see this kind of activity at hamfests, and there is usually some kind of semi-decent prize involved for the person or team that finds the transmitter. Build the loop for the HT. Should work, no problem. That can also be a culprit as well. Also, line amplifiers can also slowly go south and cause mischief as well. Heck, there are volumes written on RFI . I think the ARRL web site might offer a book or three on the subject. I know they used to, anyway. I believe their expert's call is W1RFI as well . Thanks for the link. I'll take a look and see what gives. 73, Randy
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Sandbagger
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Post by Sandbagger on Dec 5, 2015 19:11:38 GMT -5
I have a direction finding loop for CB, and I have plugged it into the walkie-talkie before, so when the time comes to go searching, I'll have that. It actually does hear better than the rubber duck does....... I'm actually afraid that the source of the noise is computer or networking related. They sell these "home networking" devices that plug into and use the wiring in your house for network connections. I have a set of those. I plugged them in once and they absolutely destroyed my receive, so I trashed them in short order. But if one of my neighbors has one, I'm pretty much toast, until they decide to do something different (like join the wireless generation). I've also considered the wireless water meters we have (not mine though, I checked), or some electronic controller of some sort. The fact that the noise started off small and has been gradually increasing, rather than gone one day and full strength the next, makes me thing something electrical is breaking down gradually. The only good thing about that is that eventually it should completely fail, and fixing it should cure the noise. One can only hope. Sounds good, SB. Sure hope u find the problem. As far as networking via indoor wiring goes, they're known in the computing industry to be a serious source of RFI. A couple of years back, I remember reading an article the ARRL posted on the subject that stated that the overall noise floor of the U.S. was going to be raised significantly should the FCC allow BPL. Over the years, I have seriously thought about selling everything here in town and purchasing acreage way out in the boondocks, just so I can put up an antenna farm and build a 5-acre pond for fishing. Guess that would also help a ton with RFI as well. From your description, I'm going to lean toward a pole-pig transformer slowly leaking oil and going bad, SB. This is the classic description of the problem. If you had above-ground wiring, it could also be a bad electrical connection up there somewhere. I don't know the name of those damn things, though. I'm a software engineer, and we know electronics so we can interface and work with hardware guys like yourself while designing and building electronic stuff. I just program the devices, though it does kinda bug me that I don't know the name of the damn things. . I guess you could describe it as one of those devices they use as a circuit breaker on the transformers. A bad one can arc and cause a lot of RFI, and they can slowly get worse over the years. Not sure what they use for underground service, although I do know that u can get in touch with your power company and tell them that u are a licensed amateur and that u are pretty certain that your source of RFI is probably from their equipment. Eventually, they'll send somebody out to check on things. From experience, they know that it's probably going to be one of the problems I just listed, and they know that, statistically speaking, it's going to eventually be a problem for their customers in your area. I learned stuff like this contracting to municipalities who owned their electrical-utility services . I've heard electrical noise before. It sounds like an arcing or a buzzing type of noise. It also affects the AM broadcast band even worse. That usually happens when some insulator breaks down on a pole somewhere. I don't have any poles nearby (all underground). What I have doesn't sound like that. Mine is more of an increased white noise. It sounds like what you would get if you flipped on a receiver preamp, with not the greatest noise figure, on an otherwise quiet channel. The ambient receiver rushing noise just jumps up in signal level. It's also pretty broad banded and does not vary from channel to channel the way the hash from my network routers do on the gutter whip antenna. Of course, now with people putting up outdoor Christmas lights, many of which are LED types, the noise will only get worse for the holiday season. But I know that's only temporary. Night Train and Sparky have both brought up deteriorating coax as a potential problem, and that intrigues me. But since I can hear the noise rise in my mobile when I drive down the driveway on the side of my house, it kind of tells me that coax isn't the (main) problem. My transmit signal doesn't seem to have degraded all that much either, so hugely increased loss doesn't seem to apply here. Still, it's an easy thing to swap out and test, so I may do that in the near future just to rule it out if nothing else.
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Post by ab5ni on Dec 5, 2015 20:32:18 GMT -5
Sounds good, SB. Sure hope u find the problem. As far as networking via indoor wiring goes, they're known in the computing industry to be a serious source of RFI. A couple of years back, I remember reading an article the ARRL posted on the subject that stated that the overall noise floor of the U.S. was going to be raised significantly should the FCC allow BPL. Over the years, I have seriously thought about selling everything here in town and purchasing acreage way out in the boondocks, just so I can put up an antenna farm and build a 5-acre pond for fishing. Guess that would also help a ton with RFI as well. From your description, I'm going to lean toward a pole-pig transformer slowly leaking oil and going bad, SB. This is the classic description of the problem. If you had above-ground wiring, it could also be a bad electrical connection up there somewhere. I don't know the name of those damn things, though. I'm a software engineer, and we know electronics so we can interface and work with hardware guys like yourself while designing and building electronic stuff. I just program the devices, though it does kinda bug me that I don't know the name of the damn things. . I guess you could describe it as one of those devices they use as a circuit breaker on the transformers. A bad one can arc and cause a lot of RFI, and they can slowly get worse over the years. Not sure what they use for underground service, although I do know that u can get in touch with your power company and tell them that u are a licensed amateur and that u are pretty certain that your source of RFI is probably from their equipment. Eventually, they'll send somebody out to check on things. From experience, they know that it's probably going to be one of the problems I just listed, and they know that, statistically speaking, it's going to eventually be a problem for their customers in your area. I learned stuff like this contracting to municipalities who owned their electrical-utility services . I've heard electrical noise before. It sounds like an arcing or a buzzing type of noise. It also affects the AM broadcast band even worse. That usually happens when some insulator breaks down on a pole somewhere. I don't have any poles nearby (all underground). What I have doesn't sound like that. Mine is more of an increased white noise. It sounds like what you would get if you flipped on a receiver preamp, with not the greatest noise figure, on an otherwise quiet channel. The ambient receiver rushing noise just jumps up in signal level. It's also pretty broad banded and does not vary from channel to channel the way the hash from my network routers do on the gutter whip antenna. Of course, now with people putting up outdoor Christmas lights, many of which are LED types, the noise will only get worse for the holiday season. But I know that's only temporary. Night Train and Sparky have both brought up deteriorating coax as a potential problem, and that intrigues me. But since I can hear the noise rise in my mobile when I drive down the driveway on the side of my house, it kind of tells me that coax isn't the (main) problem. My transmit signal doesn't seem to have degraded all that much either, so hugely increased loss doesn't seem to apply here. Still, it's an easy thing to swap out and test, so I may do that in the near future just to rule it out if nothing else. Sounds like u have a firm grip on the situation, SB. We can only hope that u eventually find the source of that noise and give it a ugly ending . When u do find it, please let us know what you found and how u solved the problem. Maybe someone reading this will benefit from your experience in this matter. 73, Randy
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Post by No Streak on Dec 23, 2015 12:36:58 GMT -5
Well it will be a goodnight for Classic Radio Roundup tonight! Low noise and no skip. Hope to hear you there!
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Sandbagger
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Post by Sandbagger on Dec 23, 2015 12:42:42 GMT -5
Well it will be a goodnight for Classic Radio Roundup tonight! Low noise and no skip. Hope to hear you there! Hope it stays that way...... I'll be running my Sonar FS-23, now that I've straightened out the meter issues and brought up the low frequency response a little bit to give it a little more bottom end on transmit.
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Post by No Streak on Dec 23, 2015 12:52:23 GMT -5
Well it will be a goodnight for Classic Radio Roundup tonight! Low noise and no skip. Hope to hear you there! Hope it stays that way...... I'll be running my Sonar FS-23, now that I've straightened out the meter issues and brought up the low frequency response a little bit to give it a little more bottom end on transmit. They are a great Radio and well built as well. One eye Jack has one he runs with the stock microphone and sounds great. I wish that I had the Sonar 40 channel version, but the 23 channel performance is just as impressive.
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