Tuesday, July 27, 2010

That was bad!

Tonight was my night in the barrel as Fox in the 20 Meter Summer Foxhunt. And in the 5 or so years that I have been a Fox, this had to be my worst performance, by far!

20 Meters was lousy for me tonight with some local QRN that was horrendous. I took some video, have a look:



And this was one of the times when the bursts were coming at a relatively slower rate! There were times it sounded more like machine gun fire. I had to deal with this for about 80% of the time during the 90 minute time window. Look at how the S-meter moves into 20 dB over territory! I'm very lucky that I was able to hand out any pelts at all.

What's even more frustrating is that I have no idea what was causing this. I have listened on 20 Meters a lot the past week or so; and never encountered this before. I am wondering if this has anything to do with the work they did on the utility pole last Sunday when that transformer blew after the thunderstorm.

If you were a "hound" in the hunt and tried calling me and calling me to no avail, I apologize. Believe me, it was just as frustrating for me as it was for you. Probably more so.

72 de Larry W2LJ

3 comments:

  1. Anonymous12:01 AM

    No problem Larry - it's all just for fun. The noise sounds electrical to me. Could be that new transformer or could just be 20 meters in the summer. I hope to bag you next time.

    73,
    dennis
    wb8wtu

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  2. Hello Larry, sounds like a faulty switch somewhere nearby. Could also be a faulty light regulator. Definitely has something to do with mains power I think. 73, Bas

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  3. Hi Larry, I experience the same as you: a pulsing QRN with S9 or higher on 20 meter. Very strange. 73 Paul

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