[Premium-Rx] Looking for recommendations on high performance VLF receiver.

Mon Apr 9 14:51:16 EDT 2018

I have always found that loop antennas were much quieter. Many better 
quality table radios of the 1950s had shielded ferrite loopsticks and 
picked up far less noise. Has anyone experimented with taking LF 
receivers into  parks or on lakes or rivers near urban areas?  I have 
been told even HF is badly disrupted by noise in New York City, but 
going to Central Park will allow substantial but not total relief from 
it. How far do you need to be from typical household and neighborhood 
noise sources?  As for premium receiver antennas, I saw one in a Rhode & 
Schwarz brochure that is awesome. It's a shielded diamond loop that sits 
on a lowboy tripod, the whole thing looks to be about 4 meters high.

      Bruce Gentry,  KA2IVY

On 4/9/18 1:27 PM, Nick Hall-Patch wrote:
> Unless you can remote a tuned loop to somewhere away from house wiring 
> (one of my many potential projects...), even a tuned loop may just be 
> a noise hound, unfortunately, because inside a house is where the 
> electrical noise is often to be found, if not with one's own consumer 
> devices, then everyone else's, conveyed down the power line.
>
> Using an amplified broadband loop somewhere on your property away from 
> power lines may get you away from a substantial portion of local noise 
> (for an example: https://www.loop-antennas.com/wellbrook/ALA1530LN), 
> plus rotation may enable nulling of at least one source of noise.
>
> As others have mentioned, local electrical noise is the killer.
>
> best wishes,
>
> Nick
>
>
>
>  At 15:22 2018-04-09, Al Klase wrote:
>
>> Peter,
>>
>> You'll likely hear better with a simple tuned loop.
>>
>> Al
>>
>> On 4/9/2018 10:56 AM, Peter Gottlieb wrote:
>>> I have about 150 feet at a max height of about 25 feet. What would 
>>> be my best choice for a VLF monitoring antenna?
>>
>>
>>> Peter
>>
>>>> On Apr 9, 2018, at 10:45 AM, Bruce Gentry <ka2ivy at verizon.net> wrote:
>>>>
>>>> In addition to having a good receiver, a good (quiet) location and 
>>>> antenna are also needed.  How many people go on "RXpeditions" for 
>>>> VLF?  As for receivers, how would a classic TRF/regen receiver like 
>>>> an RBA or RAK work for you? The detector bandwidth narrows as you 
>>>> approach oscillation, and the RAK has sharp audio filters. The 
>>>> reason I ask about these receivers is their simplicity, "purity", 
>>>> and lack of conversion noise along with good sensitivity. The 
>>>> Collins R-389 and many others have a lot of internal noise.
>>>>
>>>>> On 4/9/18 2:06 AM, Tom wrote:
>>>>> Hi Folks!
>>>>>
>>>>>
>>>>>    I've been having a blast pulling in VLF aircraft beacons in the 
>>>>> 200-525 K/c range.
>>>>>
>>>>>    I am looking for recommendations for a premium receiver that 
>>>>> will cover VLF. If it can cover say VLF to HF (maybe 10k/c - 30 
>>>>> Mc, that would be even better!)
>>>>>
>>>>>    Due to the nature and spacing of the signals, selectivity is an 
>>>>> absolute must!  Signals can typically be 2 K/c apart from each 
>>>>> other, creating all sorts of heterodyne issues.
>>>>>
>>>>>    My best receiver is the CEI-357 (R-1401): Sensitivity is good, 
>>>>> selectivity is also quite good, but the noise blanker doesn't seem 
>>>>> to work, and this a real performance killer (especially since 
>>>>> we're getting into the noisy time of year!).
>>>>>
>>>>>    The CEI-357 has 6 K/c, 3 K/c, 1 K/c, and 100 Hz filters. For 
>>>>> VLF work, the 3 and 1 K/c filters are what I primarily use. The 1 
>>>>> K/c filter gets used the most. Being able to use a .5 K/c filter 
>>>>> would be a huge asset for pulling in the Canadian beacons that 
>>>>> have the 400 Hz modulation.
>>>>>
>>>>>    Having the ability to go from AM to USB and LSB is also a huge 
>>>>> plus: I bagged a beacon in the Caribbean (a 3900 mile path!) 
>>>>> because I was able to switch to SSB and use a narrow filter.
>>>>>
>>>>>    Thanks in advance for your suggestions.
>>>>>
>>>>>
>>>>> -Tom
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>>
>> -- 
>> Al Klase â€“ N3FRQ
>> Jersey City, NJ
>> http://www.skywaves.ar88.net/
>>
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>
> Nick Hall-Patch
> Victoria, BC
> Canada
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