[Boatanchors] Peristent, annoying, intermittent, elusive QRN problem: help please!

[Todd Bigelow - PS]

Hello Will and group -

I'm going to guess from your description that you live in a city or neighborhood,
which makes things a bit more difficult. If you lived out in the boonies it would be
much easier to narrow down.

Best way is to start with your own home, as someone else has suggested. Power up the
rig remotely, then snap off the main breaker for the house and/or garage. If you've
still got it, time to look elsewhere. One possible way to do this is with your car
radio, provided you have one. If you're picking it up on this as well, you can at
least get into the vicinity of the source by judging signal strength.

If not for the regularity of the signal, I'd suspect a power line insulator or
transformer, although it's possible that this constant is equal to the amount of
time necessary for a sufficient charge to build up and jump the path. One trick I've
heard of is to rap the base of the suspected power pole with a sledge hammer and see
if it produces results. Might want to do this when the neighbors are at church,
though.

More likely it's a case of some appliance or electriccal equipment in your vicinity
radiating stray RF. I'd certainly be interested in what you find, as I have a very
loud buzz on portions of the AM band in my town. It comes and goes, but it's there
contantly when it's on, and seems most noticable when the sun is out, as if it's
heating up a connection on a transformer or line. A few years back some idiotic
drunk stuffed his pickup truck into the pole directly across the street from my
house, ripping the line and insulator from the side of my home and breaking a window
in the process. You can bet this pole and associated transformer will be the first
place I start looking.

You've been given some good ideas so far, especially the one about determining if
the noise is entering through the power line or RF through the ether. It'll be
interesting to hear how things progress. Please keep us posted.

Good luck -

de Todd/'Boomer'  KA1KAQ

Will White wrote:

> I have a local noise problem I am hoping someone can help me track down.  I hear
>
> S-6 or 7 loud, 'coarse' has on all HF bands, on all frequencies, though the
> intensity of noise diminishes somewhat on higher bands.  On 40M, my main band,
> it is all but intolerable, making QSOs with all but the loudest stations
> difficult, even at 12 WPM or so.
>
> The noise comes on for exactly 2' 15", and goes off for exactly 1' 25".

<snip>