[Elecraft] Noise

[George W Whatley]

Hi all

Here's what works to cancel line noise at my QTH.  I purchased, on Ebay,
an MFJ 1026 "Deluxe Noise Cancelling Signal Enhancer" gadget.  I paid 125
bucks for like new.  It takes most of my line noise from S6 or S7 down to
S1, or so, and I am delighted with it.  One caveat:  It is not as simple
as throwing a switch to enable it to do its work.  It cancels noise by
using an auxiliary (small) antenna and as you adjust the front controls
it cancels the noise by phase shifting the noise 180 deg., and must be
set up afresh for each use.  It has no discernable effect on the desired
signal.  In many cases, it has enabled me to solidly copy signals which
were otherwise impossible to copy. It is installed between my ant tuner
and the transceiver.  My aux ant is about 30' long and 10' off ground. 
Length not critical.  A 10 wire would do. 

Back to the adjustment of it, it took me a lot of practice to get the
most out of it, but if one follows the manual faithfully, it works fine,
and I can now adjust it rapidly (in a few seconds).   MFJ claims the
ability to boost a signal as well as cancel one, but I don't use that
feature.  The deluxe model comes with a telescoping small screw-in
antenna, but I found it works much better with a longer random wire. 
There is a connector on the back for this. Finally, QST mag tested this
device some years ago, and I suggest you read that article before buying.
 Anyone else using one??  

George, N4YM