"zeno" wrote in message ...
Walking around using an old RatShack portable short wave radio I was able
to track down an unusual noise source (an incessant clicking that was all
over 40-160m. I was able to aim the portable antenna at various wires
while walking around. This particular noise turned out to be someone's
bad telephone. When the telephone was disconnected, this loud
click-click-click disappeared. Seems like that bad telephone was somehow
"transmitting" this noise back through the phone lines.

Admittedly the noise from the power lines here are much more difficult to
pin down and seems to change with the weather. It can be very annoying
and discouraging. There is a high voltage transformer right here next to
the house, which means those hv lines are coming right down my driveway.
Designing an antenna which is not even close to parallel to these power
lines has helped somewhat. I am hoping the new 160m full wave loop which
will be further away is going to be a big improvement. I am just hoping
that the ladder line feed to this loop will not also pick up the noise.
If so I will have to change that feedline to coax which will be a
compromise.

Impoving my RF ground and making sure it was totally independent from the
A.C. safety ground at the house main has helped also. My primary RF
ground cable goes through a hole in the floor at the station and
immediately to a copper pipe driven in under the house. This first run is
shorter than 6'. This first copper pipe is then tied to several others at
about 10' apart to make up for the fact that they are only driven 5' into
the ground. Make sure your RF ground is independent of the house AC
safety ground. I also use a constant voltage transformer and a good power
conditioner because the AC here is a mess.

-bill


Hi Bill,

Isolating RF ground from AC ground may be a solution in your individual
circumstance, but it is not recommended or safe under normal conditions.
Single Point Common Ground means what it says and nothing is "isolated".
That begs for problems not the least of which is ground loops.

I do exactly the same thing under my shack WRT multiple RF ground rods as
you have and a very short drop to them as well - that elminates the chance
for 1/4 wave multiples in the ground sytem to raise the impedance
drastically. But according to best available practices and electrical code
everything (antenna ground rods, RF ground rods, and service-mains ground
rod) are all tied together. Understand that this in no way contributes in
any way to "noise" in the receivers, and it can reduce noise significantly.
It also helps minimize lightning damage, at least according to all the
codes, writings, and many experts in this group.

73's

Jack
Virginia Beach