[ICOM] Icom 756PRO question

[Cam and Juli Hedrick]

Power line noise looks like what you are describing.  I just called in a bad
transformer that indicates the same thing you see on your scope.  It's on
our property and given the frequency of lightning strikes we have, I'm not
surprised to see it fail again.  We've had to replace it once after a direct
strike.  When we have thunderstorms you can feel the static in the air.
I've had sparks go between my hands even.    
I've got a ground grid that has so far handled the strikes (1.5 miles of
number 12 bare copper and 26 12' rods.  I've watched the strikes come off of
the towers and electric fencing on our horse farm.
Boy I really left the subject.  Anyway, the power company is usually happy
to check these things out; it's nice for them before an outage occurs in a
storm here or anywhere.  Right now it even interferes with stereo and TV
reception.
Cam
WA4JKW
-----Original Message-----
From: icom-bounces at mailman.qth.net [mailto:icom-bounces at mailman.qth.net] On
Behalf Of Bonddaleena at aol.com
Sent: Tuesday, February 21, 2006 8:50 PM
To: icom at mailman.qth.net
Subject: Re: [ICOM] Icom 756PRO question

In a message dated 2/21/2006 6:31:58 PM Eastern  Standard Time, 
mike2004 at elp.rr.com writes:

Hi  Dick,

Now that (I THINK) I have my E-mail problem  solved.....  Might I
interject an observation here.  Working for a  power company, I might have a
suggestion.

If you  can. Check around the neighborhood for a light that is going
on and  off.  I have seen sodium vapor street lamps do what you describe.
The  light will be on and/or off along with the noise.  Not being in  the
street lighting section, I cannot pin the cause further than that.   But my
thoughts are that it is a failed sensor that senses daylight or  darkness to
turn the light on or off.  It is possible that it is also  blinking on and
off even in the daylight - just not as easy to  see.

I cannot speak for your local power  company.  But our company (El
Paso Electric) responds very well to noise  complaints.  They have an
arsenal
of tools including infra-red night  vision and gyro-stabilized 70 power
binoculars for investigating noise, arcs,  etc.  Arcs waste energy, and can
cause system outages.  We actively  try to avoid system outages!!!
<grin>...

Good luck - and let us know what you find.  There is nothing  more
frustrating to an ICOM owner than having some of the finest ICOM gear  money
can buy, and not being able to listen to it.  Especially my  R-9000!!!

Mike.  KD9KC
El Paso, TX.

> -----Original  Message-----
> From: icom-bounces at mailman.qth.net 
>  [mailto:icom-bounces at mailman.qth.net] On Behalf Of Dick Flanagan
> Sent:  Tuesday, February 21, 2006 10:57 PM
> To: ICOM Reflector
> Subject:  Re: [ICOM] Icom 756PRO question
> 
> 
> I don't want to  belabor the point as this could quickly 
> diverge away from 
>  anything ICOM-related, but to the extent it might help 
> determine if the  
> current crop of ICOM noise blankers might help it, I will cut 
>  myself a 
> little slack here.
> 
> The noise I am  experiencing is broad-banded.  It is 
> predominantly on the 
>  lower bands, but I can hear it on higher frequencies albeit 
>  significantly 
> reduced in amplitude.  My normal "sitting" 80 meter  noise 
> level is S4-6 and 
> on a band scope it looks like the  usual "grass" and signals 
> across the band.
> 
> When my  noise source starts, my noise level will rise to S9 and this 
>  saw-toothed wave will cover the bottom of the scope across the entire 
>  band.  The noise doesn't have clicks or other rhythmic components to  
> it.  The noise will continue for anywhere from ten seconds to  
> five minutes, 
> be off for a similar random period and then  start again.  
> Some nights it 
> isn't there at all.   Other nights I have to go watch TV.


----
Your Moderator: Dick  Flanagan K7VC, icom-owner at mailman.qth.net
Icom Users Net: Sundays, 1700Z,  14.316 MHz
Icom FAQ: _http://www.qsl.net/icom/_ (http://www.qsl.net/icom/)   


I moved to my new QTH last May. This area is a very old town and I have  
identified 2 nearby poles that cause broadband RFI.
To investigate, I use my Icom R10 with a a small 7 el Yagi (described by  
Kent Brittan, cut to 435 mHz). I hear the noise on my station radios, with
my  
only antenna, a 'fan' yagi. I have 2 100' towers and antennas waiting to go
up.  
The small yagi is VERY directional, easy to carry and point, and this makes 
it  easy to not only identify the offending pole, but actually which area of

the  pole is making noise. These appears to be common 'loose hardware'
problems 
as I  have experiences MANY times in the past. My power company is working
to 
resolve  the noise. They appear to have the tools and training to do so.
Interestingly, the R10 produces MUCH louder (and stronger 's' units) when  
using the Noise Blanker in both the CW and SSB modes.
In the shack, the 761 will almost always remove the noise, with either the  
normal or wide blanker, sometimes both. The 756PRO will NOT touch it. That's

the  only complaint I have with my PRO, the NB stinks!
 
 
ron
 
N4UE
----
Your Moderator: Dick Flanagan K7VC, icom-owner at mailman.qth.net
Icom Users Net: Sundays, 1700Z, 14.316 MHz
Icom FAQ: http://www.qsl.net/icom/