[GCARC] What’s up with KC2IEB’s HF Station?

[Christopher Wawak]

Hey all - I wanted to give a bit of an update on what’s going on with my HF
station. At some point in the last 6 months, SOMETHING began making noise
from 15m to below 40m at 100khz intervals. It would be on for days,
sometimes go out at night, and some times be absent for days at a time.
Totally strange.

I worked with Paul C. at ARRL. We went through every step of the RFI
finding process together - checking the house for faults, getting the right
equipment, keeping an RFI log, etc. While we initially thought it might
have been solar panel noise, it turns out that wasn’t the case.

After a few radio directionfinding sessions, I believe the noise is either
coming  from my electric meter (M), or one of two nearby electric poles
(P0, P1).

Care to take a walk with me and see for yourself?

https://youtu.be/v3oJLtUBrlc

While I actually verified I was tracking the right signal with the
waterfall display of my IC705, I found the Eton a fine tool for making a
point.

What do you think, am I on the right track here? What should I do next,
talk to PSEG? I need some help verifying the poles are correct. Anyone care
to verify their own findings?

If you’d like to see more of the noise, here:
https://youtu.be/_HakPPEKmWY


Chris

On Sun, Dec 6, 2020 at 8:57 AM Tony Starr <tstarr1450 at gmail.com> wrote:

> Chris,
>
> I have an Eton Elite Mini pocket radio that I use exclusively for tracking
> noise sources. It is by no means a good receiver, but it has a headphone
> jack, a telescopic whip antenna, and covers a wide range of frequencies, so
> it is perfect for noise tracking.  Also, it fits in a shirt pocket.  About
> $35 from Amazon.  73.
>
> Tony K3TS
>
> On Sat, Dec 5, 2020 at 4:27 PM Christopher Wawak <chris at wawak.org> wrote:
>
>> Just wanted to reply with a little closure:
>>
>> Thanks for all your suggestions! I dodged a bullet this time, as even
>> though I am fairly certain I got somewhat close to the noise source (using
>> the awful AM receiver on my FT3D), the noise disappeared and I haven't
>> seen
>> it since. My hunch is it was one of those "laser" led projector lights
>> that
>> shoot snowflake shapes on your house.
>>
>> I got great suggestions that I'm keeping for next time, and now I can
>> search for the perfect cheap portable shortwave receiver should the need
>> arise again.
>>
>> 73,
>>  Chris
>>
>> On Sun, Nov 29, 2020 at 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
>> >
>> >
>>
>> --
>> -- Chris
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>
> --
-- Chris