New guy! SWL with an ICOM IC-R75

[davers]

Hey Gang! Although it seems I joined this forum quite a few years ago, I'm only now really starting with the hobby. My interest is in SWL, AM BCB DX'ing... I live in Allen Park Michigan which is very suburban. I am surrounded by power lines. I have powerlines coming in to the back corner of my house. My neighbors power comes in near the other back corner of my house. I strung a simple wire from the peak of my garage in my backyard, to the window in the back of my house, to the receiver. That simple antenna is in between the 2 sets of power lines running parallel to them. It seems that most of the bands, right now I'm on 11.800.00, have the S-meter pegged at 10 with just buzzing static. I've turned off and unplugged my computer, Wifi, the modem, TV, all the lights. I have no cordless phones, just a cell phone. No central air, but I do have a portable air conditioner. I unplugged that and it doesn't have an affect on the buzz/static. I'm not sure if it's normal, or if it's RF interference. I have nothing to compare it to. I'm hoping I can get some suggestions. First, here are pictures of what I am talking about. This first picture is the back left side of the house showing the pole with wires coming in:

Picure 1

Then the right side. You can just make out the wires.

Picture 2


Then the center showing my pitiful attempt at a first antenna. Please don't laugh.

Picture 3

Here is a video where you can hear the static and hopefully the underlying buzzing.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aTV_iD_-hDE&feature=youtu.be

And here is another video tuned to a local station in Detroit. It seems clear to me, however, if I turn up the volume, I can still hear that underlying buzzing noise.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bWB7D-l8OBk

What do you guys think? I know I need to do something about my antenna, but all I see on youtube are videos of guys that say I just threw a wire in a tree and I can hear Bangladesh clear as a bell. :roll:

Thanks for any and all suggestions guys!!!!

 

[ka3jjz]

There are several potential issues here, but the first one is to never run parallel to power lines. It's entirely possible you are picking up the noise field from those wires through induction.

There are a few things you can do before we go the Wellbrook or Pixel Loop route (both of which are quite expensive). Can you reroute that antenna so it's at right angles to those power lines? Or even better, put some distance - as much as possible - between the antenna and the power lines (in addition to running it at an angle)?

Feeding the antenna with coax from a magnetic longwire balun (really, a 9:1 transformer) or even a simple UNUN might eliminate any common mode issues that might also be coupling noise from your receiver. The well known PAR end fed (which is not expensive) is a possibility here IF you can run it as far away from the power lines, and at an extreme angle, as possible.

Grounding the radio properly might also help here - and I'll let others comment on that since I live in a condo :.>>

There's also a possibility that the power source is dirty (are you using a switching power supply, by chance?), and is conducting noise in through that route. Check into power line filters.

Let's see what others think...Mike

 

[WA8ZTZ]

Your assumption that the noise is power line related may be correct since the noise seems to be present on all frequencies at the same intensity.

This may take some patience and experimentation to track down and eliminate.

First, take a portable battery operated receiver and tune in an AM station (such as 560 as per your video) and walk around your home and property and see if the the noise gets better or worse as you move about. You use the portable receiver as a radio direction finder to locate the potential source.

Also, contact the local electrical utility (DTE) and request that they send someone out to check around your neighborhood for an insulator or connection on the primary that is breaking down. They have equipment that will spot such a breakdown if it exists. You may have to persist in this matter to get to the right person at the utility that will help you out. It is in their best interest to do so because if such a problem exists it will only get worse and cause bigger problems for them.

Just a couple thoughts as places to start looking.

 

[ridgescan]

Everything Mike stated, x1000. I will add the possibility that the power company's stuff could be running "dirty" as was in my case. Maybe a trip outside with an AM pocket job pointed towards those lines may tell a tale of bad insulators etc.

 

[k9rzz]

Speaking from 40+ years of ham radio experience ... that is indeed power line noise, and you'll never fix it.

Ever.

The good news is that the power company will! (should).

That noise is from leaky insulators on top of the pole and means $$ to them.

Hop in the car and tune to a quiet channel and drive up and down the alley (street) until it seems loudest. Better yet, walk around with a pocket radio (as stated above ^^^) and see if you can nail it down to the exact pole. The old timers would do that, then WHACK the pole with a big hammer to see if it changes the noise, then you know for sure it's on that pole. Well, they would actually use the blunt side of an axe, but I won't recommend that. Call the power company, tell them you're a ham radio operator (they won't check) and their power lines are making lots of noise on your radio. Tell them where you think it's coming from and within a week the noise should be gone!

I once had it S9+20 to 30db, and it was actually from a pole a block away.

Good luck !!

 

[davers]

Thanks for the suggestions everyone!! I'll look into them all and see what happens. First thing, I'll check the poles.

Thanks again!

 

[davers]

Ok, I hopped in my car, tuned the channel to the same channel my receiver in the house is set to, 760 AM. The receiver in the house, underlying loud buzz.. This is a local channel by the way. The car, tuned to the same channel, no buzz at all. Nice clear signal. I drove around the neighborhood, and the only difference I heard was a slight hiss for half a second as I drove past 1 house. Other than that, nothing. Would that rule out power poles in the neighborhood? I can't take my car in the back yard, but I'm guessing it would be close enough to get some interference if it were the pole behind the house?

Thanks again everyone!

 

[davers]

I forgot to mention, I did order the PAR End fed. If I were to run that on top of my roof, the power lines end at the back of my house, would that work?

Thanks!!

 

[ridgescan]

Your assumption that the noise is power line related may be correct since the noise seems to be present on all frequencies at the same intensity.

This may take some patience and experimentation to track down and eliminate.

First, take a portable battery operated receiver and tune in an AM station (such as 560 as per your video) and walk around your home and property and see if the the noise gets better or worse as you move about. You use the portable receiver as a radio direction finder to locate the potential source.

Also, contact the local electrical utility (DTE) and request that they send someone out to check around your neighborhood for an insulator or connection on the primary that is breaking down. They have equipment that will spot such a breakdown if it exists. You may have to persist in this matter to get to the right person at the utility that will help you out. It is in their best interest to do so because if such a problem exists it will only get worse and cause bigger problems for them.

Just a couple thoughts as places to start looking.

I don't know if this post was being held for moderation or what because when I posted the same sentiments as this guy his post was NOT here. WA8ZTZ, sorry for doubling your thoughts.
OP, since your last post I will guess that the car radio isn't as good as a pocket radio in directional pinpointing. That little ferrite coil is highly directional and a better tool.

 

[krokus]

I have not seen anyone mention that flat screen TVs and monitors are major noise sources, too.

Sent via Tapatalk

 

[WA8ZTZ]

I don't know if this post was being held for moderation or what because when I posted the same sentiments as this guy his post was NOT here. WA8ZTZ, sorry for doubling your thoughts.

no problem... good to see someone else shares the same idea

 

[WA8ZTZ]

to the OP: 760 WJR is a 50000 watt station whose transmitting site is located just a few miles south of your location. It's signal may be over riding the noise. Try tuning in a weaker station or listen for the noise on a frequency between stations.

 

[k9rzz]

Okay, sure sounds like power line noise to me. 760 is WJR, they're pretty loud aren't they? You had 560 tuned in on your first video. Try a quiet channel in the car. If you've got a small portable radio, then do a walk around in your house and property. Also, do another visual scan of your house, maybe you're missing something. Even my cell phone charger is a noise generator.

 

[davers]

So, I noticed my coax to my cable box and to my modem was pretty chewed up. Did I mention I used to have a rabbit? You could see the silver showing through all over the place. I went and bought 2 new loops of coax and changed them out. I wasn't finished, but thought I'd come upstairs and check to see if the buzz was gone, and it was! No hum/buzz! Plugged everything back in, came upstairs, and...hum/buzz was back. Unplugged the coax from the back of the cable box, hum/buzz disappears. Hmm... Unplugged the coax from in the basement, hum/buzz disappears. I did notice my little cable splitter they put in for cable tv and internet wasn't grounded. It had a grounding wire dangling next to it, so I screwed everything back into place and the hum/buzz was a little better. I bought a clamp for my grounding rod and I ran a wire from the grounding rod outside to the back of my radio. hum/buzz is a little better again. Tomorrow after work I'm going to check the cable outside Comcast strung up... If that looks bad, I'll call them to replace it.

Here's a local station with Comcast coax plugged into the back of the cable box:

Coax plugged in

Here's the same station with it unplugged from the back:

Coax unplugged

What do you guys think?

Thanks again for all the suggestions! I really do appreciate it. I don't currentlyhave a little am radio I can use. I'll pick up a cheap one at Radio Shack to test the power lines...

 

[krokus]

Check Goodwill, and similar stores. You might find one for cheap.

Sent via Tapatalk

 

[WA8ZTZ]

to the OP: did you resolve the noise problem? just curious on how things have turned out.