Re: [HCDX]: Noise from power lines

[Werner Funkenhauser <funk@xxxxxxxxxxxx>]

Bjarke Vestesen wrote:

> Hi there.
>
> I live about 400 meters from two 400 kV power supply lines, that runs from
> west to east of Denmark. It gives me heavy noise on mediumwave and lower
> shortwave bands, and have increased during the last few years.

Several years ago, I married a lovely lady (Joan) after I'd been divorced over
14 years. Noise affecting DX was the last thing on my mind and I moved in with
her after the wedding. When my interest in DX rekindled it was too late! I now
live within sight of the Hammond Transformer factory. Not much farther away, a
major Ontario Hydro transformer/switching station distributes power to all of
Guelph.  Nearby is a large hospital, a small plaza and I'm a block from a busy
intersection with stop lights and a railway crossing. Moving was out of the
question (unless I wanted to move out.) <hi>

Going off to regular DXpeditions or even DXing from a quiet roadside location
was never an option. It's not been impossible, but DXing has been difficult. It
seemed no matter how I steered or aimed my antennae, I heard QRN. Given the
conditions, the fact that I was able to DX at all speaks well of my Kiwa Loop
and my phased wires. Most times however, I had to use the phase system to
cancel noise rather than to steer the null/peak, and that didn't always work.

Al Merriman wrote about his experiments and results with terminated loops last
summer. During the Newfoundland DXpedition in October, I had an opportunity to
use his antenna. I erected one in late December after Al kindly built the
electronics for me. My system is made of a single 26 foot mast,  supporting two
loops hung at  right angles in  N/S and E/W directions. The length of each
loop's sides is 30 feet.

Since then it's been my only antenna, though when the need arises I also use a
Dressler ARA-30 for phasing. I really appreciate the directional aspect and
convenience of  switching from frequency to frequency without the need to
retune a loop as with my Kiwa. However the most important characteristic for
me, is its low noise performance. The reduction in QRN is dramatic and has made
DX reception far easier. I now hear European longwave signals on a regular
basis, not because of the antenna's sensitivity (which seems down compared to
my other antennas), but because the loops deliver a cleaner signal, devoid of
much of the noise that plagued me over the last few years. Not so with my other
antennas.

The terminated loops might be worth trying. Al's posts can be read on my pages
at:   http://home.inforamp.net/~funk/page6.html#speciality .

References to original articles may also be found on Hermod Pedersen's Nordic
SW Center antenna pages at:
http://www.nordicdx.com/antenna/loop/qst9_97.html
--
Regards,
Werner Funkenhauser
Editor: ODXA Mediumwave Notebook
The WHAMLOG Page: http://home.inforamp.net/~funk

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