Number of things are getting confused and lumped.
There are different types of "Rain Static" and "noise"

1. One that W5DXP experienced in dry winds of Arizona, is charging of metal
parts by air mass movement and generated charge by it. Either in immediate
vicinity of the antennas or higher up. Insulated wires, loops and balanced
antennas and feeders help here.

2. High altitude static buildup during the storms. Is due to buildup of
static in higher altitudes, accompanied by lightning discharges. Here the
umbrella effect of having higher structure with "capacitance hat" like Yagi
helps to drain the charge from the vicinity and static free reception from
lower antennas is possible. Stacked beams are example, where lower antenna
is dead quiet while top one gets S9+20 frying noise. Insulation or no
insulation immaterial here.

3. Discharge from the rain droplets on the antenna elements is like #2.
Insulated elements help here to a point.

Power line noise. If the source is a bad connection in power lines system
(point source) that noise is "everything polarized". Depends how the antenna
and structures around it participate in the radiation from it. Argument that
it is vertically polarized has more to do with RX antennas and their pattern
rather than "pure" polarization. Verticals have major lobe at the horizon
and they "see" everything near by. Horizontals at typical height have major
lobe at some higher angle, mostly "looking" up and have a null at the
horizon, "ignoring" nearby sources of noise. Then there is the propagation
mode effect contributing to the noise propagation and affect on receiving
systems.

Regardless of W8JI claims that small loop antennas don't have electrostatic
shield - effect, they can be of great help in discriminating against the
near by noise sources by using electrostatic shields. And yes Virginia, in
the close proximity there is a separation of E and H fields.

One has to be careful and properly identify the type of noise, ways of
propagating and means of suppressing it. The best way is to do it at the
antennas. For example I had horrible noise situation from HV power lines.
The most effective way was to null it out by mutual positioning of the main
antenna (Razors) and 3 el. Yagi between them. I could suppress, null out
noise of 30dB over S9 down to almost nothing. Then the noise blankers and
filtering are put to work.

73 Yuri, K3BU


"Owen Duffy" wrote in message
...
On Sat, 09 Dec 2006 07:27:39 -0800, John Smith
wrote:

Dave wrote:
...

Most all verticals have higher noise levels than horizontal antennas.
Reason, as it is reported, is that man made noise is vertically
polarized.


Dave:

Frankly, I think that the statement, "most man made noise is vertical
polarized" is a myth. How many power lines do you see running

Perhaps the explanation for the observation that the vertically
polarised component of man made noise is greater at a receiver antenna
than the horizontal component lies in the propagation mechanism.

Most man made noise is received from nearby and by ground wave, and
vertically polarised ground waves are attenuated less than
horizontally polarised waves over the same path.

This explanation is supported by the observation that the closer one
is to a high intensity man made noise source (but still within
radiating far field), the less variation in field strength with
antenna polarisation.

Owen
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