[Boatanchors] Wierd Line Noise Observation on 40 Last Night

[Todd, KA1KAQ]

On 8/24/05, Freeberg, Scott (STP) <Scott.Freeberg at guidant.com> wrote:
> I went down to the shack early last evening and turned on the Johnson Ranger 1, Viking Courier, 75A-4.  It was already tuned up to 40 cw from the weekend so I didn't re-tune.  The setup runs about 350 to 400 watts output.  I listened around the band, found someone calling CQ, then for the first time, briefly keyed the rig to make sure the SWR was OK (as I use a Viking KW Matchbox), and was then greeted by 20/S9 line noise.  I turned on the KWM-2A and could hear it on there as well.  I then shut off the Ranger/Courier/75-A-4 to see if the noise might be coming from them, but the noise was still there.  This same thing happened last weekend too.  40 was nice and quiet, I tune up, bam, line noise.

This is easy, Scott. Every radio expert out there knows that AM
signals, being as stout as they are even at lower power levels, burn
holes in the aether. It's been happening for years. You probably hit a
hole that had already been started by someone else and enlarged it,
allowing all the noise to pour through: moreso than would be admitted
through a newly-created hole. Duct tape won't work, all you can do is
wait for the atmosphere to rotate away from you more with the spinning
of the earth and the approach of autumn. This is why conditions
improve and the low bands become quieter. (o:

Your description of the noise does sound a lot like the streetlight
sounds I hear every night at my place, though. But those tend to go
away shortly, after the light comes on and warms up a bit. A minute or
less on average. One after the other, annoying as all hell.

The one time this was not true was when one of the streetlights was
defective, like a bad ballast or such. The light kept trying to ignite
and the *BZZZZZZZZZ* remained loud and clear, fluctuating with the
action of the light but not going away until the light managed to stay
on. Also one light stayed dark but continued this firing process
endlessly. Took me a while to figure it out since I hadn't been around
a window with a radio on at dusk.

Easy way to check for a defective light is to watch out the window
with a receiver on at nightfall. If that doesn't work, a stroll around
the neighborhood with a portable should help locate it. It does sound
like your RF is triggering something, though. Or maybe the noise is
there and activating the relay allows some small layer of oxide to be
breeched, permitting it through at full strength? Makes me think of
those intermittents we sometimes get with dirty contacts.

Be sure to post back whatever it is you find. Sounds like a very
interesting dilemma.

73 de Todd/'Boomer'  KA1KAQ