[Lowfer] A noise source Found, and Fixed

[Paul Daulton]

Glad you could fix it without DUCT TAPE. 
Paul k5wms

Quoting Andy - KU4XR <ku4xr at yahoo.com>:
> 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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Paul Daulton K5WMS
beacon WMS 185.302 khz qrss30/slow 24/7
Jacksonville,Ar 72076
em34wu