[GCARC] HF RFI - 17m Nasties and Portable Radio Recs

[Christopher Wawak]

If it weren’t for the noise, that sounds like a nice way to turn the lights
on and off! :)

Thanks Darrel! I absolutely will take the tuner and control cable out of
the path. Takes a little bit of time because the darn AH-4 has a million
screws and no easy way to unplug it other than taking the cover off!

73 Chris

On Sun, Nov 29, 2020 at 6:38 PM Agustin Neron Properties LLC <
ab2e at comcast.net> wrote:

> Chris,
> Try bypassing the AH-4 entirely, remove both the tuner and cable and see
> if it eliminates it so you can at least rule it out.
>
> I had a noise source a little over a year ago that drove me crazy, and it
> was similar to yours except would appear on most bands. It turned out to be
> a new display hutch we got, with a touch light switch to turn on the
> display (I'll never get anything like that again!). 100W would trip it on
> or off. I could send a single dit, the noise would either disappear or
> appear, broadband and s9+. Eventually figured it out but one of those crazy
> things. Thought it was a sticky relay at first but did the same in the
> radios and amp.
> Some solar systems generate terrible noise, another possible headache.
>
> Best of luck troubleshooting it.
> 73 Darrell AB2E
>
> > On 11/29/2020 6:14 PM Christopher Wawak <chris at wawak.org> wrote:
> >
> >
> > TLDR - need a gadget to track down some gnarly noise on 17m. Can you
> > recommend a gadget that will help?
> >
> > The problem:
> > Today at my home around 3PM I noticed crazy S9 broadband noise starting
> > around 17m all the way up past 15 and on. ( https://imgur.com/a/6VcmFPB
> )
> >
> > Not a lot of noise of this type noticeable lower than 17m, with no noise
> at
> > all below 20m. It repeated every 100khz, with S9 at each 100khz peak.
> > Anyone else notice a similar mess today?
> >
> > The facts:
> > 1. I picked up the noise on both an IC-7300 and a yaesu FT-857d. The
> noise
> > only shows up when plugged into the only antenna I have up right now. No
> > noise when either radio is unplugged.
> > 2, I have a ~90 foot unshielded 4 conductor control cable going from my
> > shack to the AH-4 remote antenna tuner, which is connected to a "30m
> > dipole". I wonder if this is the culprit. I do have shielded 4 conductor
> > cable ready to go if necessary.
> > 3. A LOT of neighbors put up xmas lights today. I, a slacker, have not.
> > 4. I did a full survey of the house, and absolutely no new electronic
> > devices were turned on, brought into the house, or otherwise
> > 5. I tried walking around inside and outside with my FT-3D HT tuned (on
> AM)
> > to the frequency, and it just picked up static but nothing like the
> noise I
> > was getting. I noticed no difference in the noise no matter where it was
> > tuned, which makes me thing it wasn't picking up the noise.
> >
> > Next steps:
> > 1. I plan to do the "turn everything off and see if the noise is still
> > there", but that will have to wait until tomorrow. My kids are afraid of
> > the dark.
> > 2. Once the rain stops tomorrow, I'm going to try replacing the ATU wtih
> a
> > balun, and see if the noise is still there.
> > 3. If the noise is still there, I guess it's time to go hunting. If the
> > noise goes away, I'll try the shielded cable.
> >
> > Questions:
> > 1. Other than a few SDRs and that FT-3D, I don’t have a portable HF
> > receiver - is there something cheap that I can pick up from HRO or Amazon
> > that will let me tune up around 17/15m?
> > 2. Is there an antenna that's ideal for finding noise while walking
> around?
> > I have a VHF RX loop which I'm not sure will work in this use.
> >
> > Thanks and 73,
> >
> > Chris
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-- 
-- Chris