[Lowfer] A noise source Found, and Fixed

[Andy - KU4XR]

This one has gotten by me for no telling how long.. The PL-259 on
the antenna coax !! It has been 5 years or longer since I soldered 
it onto the coax. Lots of moving around, bending, twisting and such
over the years. I found 2 problems with it.. The center wire had
come loose from the solder joint inside the center pin of the 
connector. It was one of those " couldn't really notice it " deals, 
and, the shield had corroded somewhat and wasn't making a solid
connection. Staying on the noise ridden low bands all the time, the
noise that it was causing wasn't catchable to the ear. But, I was 
trying out WSPR on 10 meters the other day, and that's when I 
discovered the bad connector end. I moved the watt meter a little,
and at the same time, heard this horrible crackling sound in the 
speaker.. I wondered what it was, so I " jiggled " the watt meter
and the radio went crazy. When I found that it was the antenna coax
making the noise; I started inspecting the PL-259.. Nothing appeared 
to be wrong with it, but everytime I inserted it into the jack, and
" wiggled " the coax, the crackling static was there. I soon found
by moving the coax back, and forth inside the connector that I could
barely see the wire moving inside the solder..Since re-soldering the
connector, the noise has dropped 1 S-unit, and my SWR is now back on
the peg where it use to be. 160 meters is the quietest that I have
heard it, and just a very quick listen on 600 meters shows the same
reduction in noise level.. And unless the band conditions are just
exceptionally good tonite; my WSPR transmissions on 160 meters are
being received slightly better by the usual stations ( better SNR ),
Actually, after comparing some past numbers to tonite, the SNR is
around 7 dB better on all the stations receiving me.. Interesting
what a bad connector can cause...

73 all:


Andy - KU4XR - EM75xr - Friendsville, TN. USA

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