On 1/16/2011 5:07 PM, bpnjensen wrote:

...
Short answer - I am getting desperate over the noise level here.
Grasping at straws.

The fellow I spoke to who makes these things said they are best used
as close to the receiver input as possible.

You will certainly need to locate the noise source and place the antenna
as far away as possible and orientate the antenna so the direction
favored by the particular antenna is pointed AWAY form the noise source.
You will probably want to use a 9:1 balun and use coax for the run
past any noise source and to provide isolation from noise sources in the
home. A GOOD GROUND on the receiver will serve you well. If possible,
would also be good to ground the coax braid at the antenna, or run a
wire down to ground as short as possible ...

Regards,
JS

On Jan 16, 6:09*pm, John Smith wrote:
On 1/16/2011 5:07 PM, bpnjensen wrote:

...
Short answer - I am getting desperate over the noise level here.
Grasping at straws.

The fellow I spoke to who makes these things said they are best used
as close to the receiver input as possible.

You will certainly need to locate the noise source and place the antenna
as far away as possible and orientate the antenna so the direction
favored by the particular antenna is pointed AWAY form the noise source.
* You will probably want to use a 9:1 balun and use coax for the run
past any noise source and to provide isolation from noise sources in the
home. *A GOOD GROUND on the receiver will serve you well. *If possible,
would also be good to ground the coax braid at the antenna, or run a
wire down to ground as short as possible ...

Regards,
JS

John, thanks - but my whole neighborhood is a noise source. That's no
joke. Otherwise, I know all of this already, and have already built
it to the best possible configuration, much as you've described here.

On Jan 16, 10:13*pm, bpnjensen wrote:
On Jan 16, 6:09*pm, John Smith wrote:





On 1/16/2011 5:07 PM, bpnjensen wrote:

...
Short answer - I am getting desperate over the noise level here.
Grasping at straws.

The fellow I spoke to who makes these things said they are best used
as close to the receiver input as possible.

You will certainly need to locate the noise source and place the antenna
as far away as possible and orientate the antenna so the direction
favored by the particular antenna is pointed AWAY form the noise source..
* You will probably want to use a 9:1 balun and use coax for the run
past any noise source and to provide isolation from noise sources in the
home. *A GOOD GROUND on the receiver will serve you well. *If possible,
would also be good to ground the coax braid at the antenna, or run a
wire down to ground as short as possible ...

Regards,
JS

John, thanks - but my whole neighborhood is a noise source. *That's no
joke. *Otherwise, I know all of this already, and have already built
it to the best possible configuration, much as you've described here.- Hide quoted text -

- Show quoted text -

Have you attempted to see if it is coming from the ac 120v outlets?
Quite often THAT is one the biggest source of noise . What
receiver(s) /antenna(s) are you using ?

On Jan 16, 8:27*pm, wrote:
On Jan 16, 10:13*pm, bpnjensen wrote:









On Jan 16, 6:09*pm, John Smith wrote:

On 1/16/2011 5:07 PM, bpnjensen wrote:

...
Short answer - I am getting desperate over the noise level here.
Grasping at straws.

The fellow I spoke to who makes these things said they are best used
as close to the receiver input as possible.

You will certainly need to locate the noise source and place the antenna
as far away as possible and orientate the antenna so the direction
favored by the particular antenna is pointed AWAY form the noise source.
* You will probably want to use a 9:1 balun and use coax for the run
past any noise source and to provide isolation from noise sources in the
home. *A GOOD GROUND on the receiver will serve you well. *If possible,
would also be good to ground the coax braid at the antenna, or run a
wire down to ground as short as possible ...

Regards,
JS

John, thanks - but my whole neighborhood is a noise source. *That's no
joke. *Otherwise, I know all of this already, and have already built
it to the best possible configuration, much as you've described here.- Hide quoted text -

- Show quoted text -

Have you attempted to see if it is coming from the ac 120v outlets?
Quite often THAT is one the biggest source of noise . *What
receiver(s) /antenna(s) are you using ?

Actually, I know that my outlets/switch boxes are sources of buzzing
RF noise. When I bring an AM radio, especially one with a tunable
loop on it, toward the switches and outlets, the buzzing becomes more
audible. I believe that the house is miswired so that ground and one
hot side may be on the same path (this needs to be fixed).

I do have an RF-born noise filter that I run the 115 VAC through. I
do not get any serious amount of noise from this source (as far as I
can tell) on the radio. The radio I use primarily is an Icom R75
(also an Allied SX-190 and Realistic DX-160). Two external antennas -
the random wire with 9:1 match, and a DX-Ultra (essentially an all-
band dipole, but pretty worthyless on the tropical bands). The worst
noise, by far, is on the lower bands (7 MHz and down). At 15 MHz and
above, the noise is typically minimal and reception is quite good.
The tropical bands are a mess, with an S-7/S-9 noise level most of the
time. I can clean up some of it with my MFJ-1026, but not all.

On 1/16/2011 9:41 PM, bpnjensen wrote:

...

Do you have above ground power in your area?

Is it possible you are in an area where a "ground loop" is occurring?
How often are the poles grounded? I have seen every pole grounded and
some installations where only 1 out of five poles are grounded ... this
can result in noise ... indeed, tremendous currents can circulate though
the ground ...

Regards,
JS

On Jan 17, 12:56*am, John Smith wrote:
On 1/16/2011 9:41 PM, bpnjensen wrote:

* ...

Do you have above ground power in your area?

Is it possible you are in an area where a "ground loop" is occurring?
How often are the poles grounded? *I have seen every pole grounded and
some installations where only 1 out of five poles are grounded ... this
can result in noise ... indeed, tremendous currents can circulate though
the ground ...

Regards,
JS

That could be a really atrocious scenario, indeed.

On Jan 16, 9:56*pm, John Smith wrote:
On 1/16/2011 9:41 PM, bpnjensen wrote:

* ...

Do you have above ground power in your area?

Is it possible you are in an area where a "ground loop" is occurring?
How often are the poles grounded? *I have seen every pole grounded and
some installations where only 1 out of five poles are grounded ... this
can result in noise ... indeed, tremendous currents can circulate though
the ground ...

Regards,
JS

Good question. I would not be a bit surprised. We have 1950's era
aerial power.

On Jan 17, 12:41*am, bpnjensen wrote:
On Jan 16, 8:27*pm, wrote:





On Jan 16, 10:13*pm, bpnjensen wrote:

On Jan 16, 6:09*pm, John Smith wrote:

On 1/16/2011 5:07 PM, bpnjensen wrote:

...
Short answer - I am getting desperate over the noise level here.
Grasping at straws.

The fellow I spoke to who makes these things said they are best used
as close to the receiver input as possible.

You will certainly need to locate the noise source and place the antenna
as far away as possible and orientate the antenna so the direction
favored by the particular antenna is pointed AWAY form the noise source.
* You will probably want to use a 9:1 balun and use coax for the run
past any noise source and to provide isolation from noise sources in the
home. *A GOOD GROUND on the receiver will serve you well. *If possible,
would also be good to ground the coax braid at the antenna, or run a
wire down to ground as short as possible ...

Regards,
JS

John, thanks - but my whole neighborhood is a noise source. *That's no
joke. *Otherwise, I know all of this already, and have already built
it to the best possible configuration, much as you've described here.- Hide quoted text -

- Show quoted text -

Have you attempted to see if it is coming from the ac 120v outlets?
Quite often THAT is one the biggest source of noise . *What
receiver(s) /antenna(s) are you using ?

Actually, I know that my outlets/switch boxes are sources of buzzing
RF *noise. *When *I bring an AM radio, especially one with a tunable
loop on it, toward the switches and outlets, the buzzing becomes more
audible. *I believe that the house is miswired so that ground and one
hot side may be on the same path (this needs to be fixed).

I do have an RF-born noise filter that I run the 115 VAC through. *I
do not get any serious amount of noise from this source (as far as I
can tell) on the radio. *The radio I use primarily is an Icom R75
(also an Allied SX-190 and Realistic DX-160). *Two external antennas -
the random wire with 9:1 match, and a DX-Ultra (essentially an all-
band dipole, but pretty worthyless on the tropical bands). *The worst
noise, by far, is on the lower bands (7 MHz and down). *At 15 MHz and
above, the noise is typically minimal and reception is quite good.
The tropical bands are a mess, with an S-7/S-9 noise level most of the
time. *I can clean up some of it with my MFJ-1026, but not all.- Hide quoted text -

- Show quoted text -

Have you tried using a 12v battery as a power source ? This may clear
things up.

On Jan 16, 10:05*pm, wrote:
On Jan 17, 12:41*am, bpnjensen wrote:









On Jan 16, 8:27*pm, wrote:

On Jan 16, 10:13*pm, bpnjensen wrote:

On Jan 16, 6:09*pm, John Smith wrote:

On 1/16/2011 5:07 PM, bpnjensen wrote:

...
Short answer - I am getting desperate over the noise level here..
Grasping at straws.

The fellow I spoke to who makes these things said they are best used
as close to the receiver input as possible.

You will certainly need to locate the noise source and place the antenna
as far away as possible and orientate the antenna so the direction
favored by the particular antenna is pointed AWAY form the noise source.
* You will probably want to use a 9:1 balun and use coax for the run
past any noise source and to provide isolation from noise sources in the
home. *A GOOD GROUND on the receiver will serve you well. *If possible,
would also be good to ground the coax braid at the antenna, or run a
wire down to ground as short as possible ...

Regards,
JS

John, thanks - but my whole neighborhood is a noise source. *That's no
joke. *Otherwise, I know all of this already, and have already built
it to the best possible configuration, much as you've described here.- Hide quoted text -

- Show quoted text -

Have you attempted to see if it is coming from the ac 120v outlets?
Quite often THAT is one the biggest source of noise . *What
receiver(s) /antenna(s) are you using ?

Actually, I know that my outlets/switch boxes are sources of buzzing
RF *noise. *When *I bring an AM radio, especially one with a tunable
loop on it, toward the switches and outlets, the buzzing becomes more
audible. *I believe that the house is miswired so that ground and one
hot side may be on the same path (this needs to be fixed).

I do have an RF-born noise filter that I run the 115 VAC through. *I
do not get any serious amount of noise from this source (as far as I
can tell) on the radio. *The radio I use primarily is an Icom R75
(also an Allied SX-190 and Realistic DX-160). *Two external antennas -
the random wire with 9:1 match, and a DX-Ultra (essentially an all-
band dipole, but pretty worthyless on the tropical bands). *The worst
noise, by far, is on the lower bands (7 MHz and down). *At 15 MHz and
above, the noise is typically minimal and reception is quite good.
The tropical bands are a mess, with an S-7/S-9 noise level most of the
time. *I can clean up some of it with my MFJ-1026, but not all.- Hide quoted text -

- Show quoted text -

Have you tried using a 12v battery as a power source ? This may clear
things up.

Not yet, and as RHF also suggested. Maybe worth a try.

On Jan 16, 9:41*pm, bpnjensen wrote:
On Jan 16, 8:27*pm, wrote:



On Jan 16, 10:13*pm, bpnjensen wrote:

On Jan 16, 6:09*pm, John Smith wrote:

On 1/16/2011 5:07 PM, bpnjensen wrote:

...
Short answer - I am getting desperate over the noise level here.
Grasping at straws.

The fellow I spoke to who makes these things said they are best used
as close to the receiver input as possible.

You will certainly need to locate the noise source and place the antenna
as far away as possible and orientate the antenna so the direction
favored by the particular antenna is pointed AWAY form the noise source.
* You will probably want to use a 9:1 balun and use coax for the run
past any noise source and to provide isolation from noise sources in the
home. *A GOOD GROUND on the receiver will serve you well. *If possible,
would also be good to ground the coax braid at the antenna, or run a
wire down to ground as short as possible ...

Regards,
JS

John, thanks - but my whole neighborhood is a noise source. *That's no
joke. *Otherwise, I know all of this already, and have already built
it to the best possible configuration, much as you've described here.- Hide quoted text -

- Show quoted text -

Have you attempted to see if it is coming from the ac 120v outlets?
Quite often THAT is one the biggest source of noise . *What
receiver(s) /antenna(s) are you using ?

- Actually, I know that my outlets/switch boxes are sources of buzzing
- RF *noise. *When *I bring an AM radio, especially one with a tunable
- loop on it, toward the switches and outlets, the buzzing becomes
more
- audible. *I believe that the house is miswired so that ground and
one
- hot side may be on the same path (this needs to be fixed).

BpnJ -First-
Buy a simple to use AC Outlet/Receptacle Tester
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Receptacle_tester
for 3-Wire Outlets : Has 3-Lights to Show Proper
& Improper Wiring of each and every Outlet that
you Test in the House : Do them One-at-aTime
& One Room at a Time : One Room per Day by
the End of Two Weeks 14-Days you should be
Done.
* AC Outlet/Receptacle Tester
http://www.amazon.com/dp/B002LZTKIA
* AC Outlet/Receptacle Tester
http://www.tripplite.com/en/products...xtModelID=3941
* AC Outlet/Receptacle Tester
http://www.acehardware.com/product/i...ductId=3099774

BpnJ -Second-
Next Question : Do You Have 110/120 Volts AC ?
* How to Test for AC Outlet Voltage
http://www.ehow.com/how_2072916_test-ac-voltage.html
* How To Test AC Outlet Voltage
http://www.acmehowto.com/howto/homem...letvoltage.php
* 120 Volts? Usually but not always...
http://www.rocketroberts.com/techart/power.htm

-TIP- The Outlet/Receptacle could be Wired
Right -but- You could have Bad Wiring to the
Outlet and a Voltage Drop down to 85~105 Volts
Another way of doing this is with a Power Strip
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Power_strip
* 6-Outlet Power Strip with 4 Foot Cord
http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00006L4F1
Plug two (2) 100 Watt Incandescent Light Bulbs
in to it using two (2) of these Plug-In Light
Socket Outlet Adapters
http://www.amazon.com/dp/B000VL4CFC
Now you can Check the Voltage at the Outlet
with a 2 Amp Load on it to see if there are any
High Resistance Connections causing a Voltage
Drop.

BpnJ -Third-
LAST : Once all this is Tested and Fixed : You
only have one thing left : Your Service Entrance
Ground. For this Test and Repair you should
Call a Licensed Electrician to do the Work.
http://www.cdc.gov/nceh/publications...gure_cha11.htm
-Safety- If the Electrical Service Entrance Ground
is not *R*I*G*H*T* :Then potentially the whole
Electrical System of the House is Unsafe.

-Conclusion-
Once this is all done : You will have the Knowledge
and the Confidence in Knowing that your House's
Electrical System is Wired Correctly and Properly
Grounded. -in-a-word-'safe'-)-

The First Rule of Shortwave Radio Listeners [SWLs]
using Outside SWL Antennas is "SAFETY" [.]

hope this helps - iane ~ RHF