courtesy: ARRL's Utility Noise (RFI) Signatures

It seems that the FCC has suddenly become interested in the radio spectrum noise floor and have struck an inquiry ... now hold on to your hats, "... to determine if there is an increasing noise problem ...". They also seek input on "... the scope and quantitative evidence of such problem(s) ..." and if further "study" is necessary.

Excuse me if I seem somewhat cynical, but where have they been for the past twenty years as RF pollution, of now unbelievable proportions, has become the norm for most amateurs living in populated regions? In view of the present ubiquitous level of noise pollution, asking this question now is really akin to closing the barn door long after the horses have escaped ... and sadly, they are going to be very difficult, if not impossible, to round-up.

As radio amateurs, we are probably high on the list of those most negatively impacted by unwanted RF crud and were probably the first to bring this issue to the forefront. Many amateurs have watched, and continue to watch helplessly, as their noise floors climb higher and higher.  For some, it happened overnight. In major cities and suburbs, it has become increasingly difficult to listen to normal AM radio because of RF noise pollution, so it's not just hams who are affected.

In many cases, the noise is powerline related and although this is part of the inquiry, in most cases this is probably not the main problem. Powerline noise is well acknowledged and here in Canada, RF pollution stemming from powerline radiation is illegal. Hydro authorities are required to clean-up noisy lines by government mandate (Industry Canada) and seem to react positively to complaints by amateurs. I believe a similar mandate is in play south of the border but because of the vast numbers of hydro operators operating in so many jurisdictions, getting action often seems fraught with difficulty.

The inquiry seems focused on the more nefarious types of radiation sources ... those that are not powerline-related, such as RFI caused by switching power supplies, light dimmers, electric motors, high efficiency lighting, computers, portable electronic devices, wireless routers ... generally any type of device radiating unwanted RF emissions.

Presently, complaints about this type of RF noise to governing bodies or to national associations, mostly seem to go without effective response ... solutions to the problem seem to be left to the amateur to "fix" the offending device or to just "accept it", rather than to put responsibilities on the manufacturers creating the problems. I know personally of amateurs who have just given up the hobby or have moved to the countryside because of impossibly-high illegal noise levels. It seemed as if calls for tighter government controls on electronic device emission-levels, especially on inexpensive and poorly-designed imports, largely from the far east, fell upon deaf ears. Some European jurisdictions found a ridiculous solution to the growing complaints by slackening even further, the allowable 'accepted' levels of spurious emissions. Previously illegal noise-making devices became legal overnight!

In the meantime, noisy electronic devices continue to flood the market at exponential levels ... only now, does the FCC pose this mind-boggling question! Equally stunning is their assertion that "... in search for concrete evidence of increased noise floors, we have found limited quantitative data to support this presumption." Perhaps if they had been maintaining vigilance instead of ignoring complaints when the problems were first reported, they would already have a huge body of the 'quantitative data' they are now seeking.

The Technical Advisory Council Noise Floor Inquiry (ET Docket No. 16-191) is well worth reading for any radio amateurs interested in finding solutions to growing noise problems. The three-page document includes a short list of questions to which responses are sought ... your input is vital, especially if hard data can accompany your comments.

Is it too late to turn the tide? There is no doubt that at this late date,  it will be a huge uphill climb. The public notification document can be found here and the deadline for submissions, which can be made here, is August 11, 2016.
Steve McDonald, VE7SL, is a regular contributor to AmateurRadio.com and writes from British Columbia, Canada. Contact him at [email protected].

We’re off for our first real holiday in five years. Two weeks in Sweden in a rented motor home. Can’t wait to enjoy the fresh air and laid-back lifestyle. The results of the end-fed half wave (EFHW) experiments were good enough that I packed it in my suitcase. For transmitter I decided not to take my KX3 but get a simple crystal controlled CW kit from eBay. Only cost a few bucks and it is fun just to see if I can make some QSOs with it at all. If not, then nothing lost. I modified the LPF so I can also stick some 20 meter crystals in it. The straight key is a J37 (SKCC QSOs wanted) and a 5/12 Volt battery pack completes the setup.

See you on the bands!

Hans "Fong" van den Boogert, BX2ABT, is a regular contributor to AmateurRadio.com and writes from Taiwan. Contact him at [email protected].

Here is this week’s space weather and geophysical report, issued 2016 Jun 20 0550 UTC.

Highlights of Solar and Geomagnetic Activity 13 – 19 June 2016

Solar activity was at very low levels the majority of the period with low levels observed on 13 and 19 June due to a C3 flare at 13/0552 UTC from Region 2552 (N15, L=359, class/area Dao/150 on 11 June) and a C1 flare at 19/1158 UTC from Region 2558 (N13, L=215, class/area Cso/030 on 19 June). The majority of the B-class activity was caused by Region 2555 (S09, L=274, class/area Cao/080 on 17 June). No Earth-directed coronal mass ejections were observed during the period.

No proton events were observed at geosynchronous orbit.

The greater than 2 MeV electron flux at geosynchronous orbit was at normal to moderate levels throughout the period and briefly reached high levels on 19 June with a maximum flux of 1,030 pfu at 19/1640 UTC.

The geomagnetic field ranged from quiet to G2-Moderate storm levels. Solar wind conditions began the period under a waning positive polarity coronal hole high speed stream (CH HSS). Solar wind speeds decreased from approximately 620 km/s to around 420 km/s by midday on 14 June. Total field decreased from 8 nT to 4 nT. By late on 14 June, total field increased to 15 nT with the Bz component mostly southward near -14 nT while solar wind increased to a maximum of 772 km/s at 15/0410 UTC, indicative of a co-rotating interaction region followed by another positive polarity CH HSS. The geomagnetic field responded with quiet to active levels on 13 June, quiet to G2-Moderate storm levels on 14 June and quiet to G1-Minor storm levels on 15 June. By early on 16 June, total field decreased to around 6 nT with solar wind speeds in the 500-600 km/s range. These conditions continued until 19 June when solar wind speeds decreased to nominal levels. Quiet conditions were observed on 16 and 19 June with quiet to unsettled levels on 17-18 June.

Forecast of Solar and Geomagnetic Activity 20 June – 16 July 2016

Solar activity is expected to be at very low to low levels for the forecast period.

No proton events are expected at geosynchronous orbit.

The greater than 2 MeV electron flux at geosynchronous orbit is expected to be at normal to moderate levels with high levels likely on 20-22 June, 26 June-01 July, 04-07 July and again on 16 July due to CH HSS activity.

Geomagnetic field activity is expected to be at unsettled to active levels from 23-27 June, 02-03 July, 07-12 July and 14-15 July. G1-Minor storm levels are likely on 02-03 July and 11 July due to recurrent CH HSS activity.

Don’t forget to visit our live space weather and radio propagation web site, at: http://SunSpotWatch.com/

Live Aurora mapping is at http://aurora.sunspotwatch.com/

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In Episode #171 of the Linux in the Ham Shack podcast, the hosts have a grand ol' time discussing Field Day, the founder of Adafruit, litigation-happy Oracle, a great Linux tutorial web site, new style virtualization technologies, an innovative way to steal encryption keys, contest logging, Winlink and much more. Thank you for tuning in. Please remember to send us feedback. We love feedback.

73 de The LHS Crew

Russ Woodman, K5TUX, co-hosts the Linux in the Ham Shack podcast which is available for download in both MP3 and OGG audio format. Contact him at [email protected].

AmateurLogic.TV Episode 92 is now available for download.

Part 2 of Tommy and George’s Hamvention 2016 adventure. Recorded before a live audience at the Icom booth on Saturday, May 22nd.

Will Jourdain, AA5WJ from Icom America
Gordon West, WB6NOA Amateur radio author and Ham Nation host
Joe Eisenberg, K0NEB CQ Magazine kit editor
Martin Jue, K5FLU MFJ Enterprises
John Amodeo, NN6JA
Chris Brault, KD8YVJ Youth ham extraordinaire
Mike Morneau, VE3MIC Royal Canadian amateur

1:34:32

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YouTube

George Thomas, W5JDX, is co-host of AmateurLogic.TV, an original amateur radio video program hosted by George Thomas (W5JDX), Tommy Martin (N5ZNO), Peter Berrett (VK3PB), and Emile Diodene (KE5QKR). Contact him at [email protected].

Amateur Radio Weekly is curated by Cale Mooth K4HCK. Sign up free to receive ham radio's most relevant news, projects, technology and events by e-mail each week at http://www.hamweekly.com.

I really have to extend a hearty "tip o' the hat" to all you QRP SSB guys out there.  Not being used to SSB operations, not being used to QRP SSB operations has provided me with a learning experience. In your writer's most humble opinion, QRP SSB has a difficulty factor of 10X compared to QRP CW.

Today during lunch time, I was hunting around for NPOTA stations on 20 Meters.  Not hearing anything on the CW bands, I moved on up to the realm of voice - foreign territory, indeed!.  There I heard two stations. K0USA on 14.260 MHz and K0RP on 14.340 MHz.  K0RP was very weak, with QSB making it worse. K0USA was a good 5X5 into NJ and even 5X7 when QSB would let up. I decided to  concentrate on Mary, who was the op behind the mic.  It took the better of 15 minutes, but I got in the log - and it was a new one for me, MN46, the Homestead National Historical Monument in Nebraska.

For her part, Mary did a superb job dealing with my weak signal.  Only 5 Watts to the Buddistick has gotten me decent results on SSB in the past, but today, with the monstrous QSB, it was their beam (which was pointed south, by the way - I was off the side) and her great ears that made the difference. I owe her a ton of gratitude for sticking with me and granting me the ATNO.

Getting back to the topic of SSB vs CW ..... I'm pretty confident in my CW skills. From past practise, it's pretty easy for me to gauge who is workable and who isn't. I still get surprised from time to time; but I've gotten pretty good at figuring out who I am able work and who I am not..

QRP SSB is still a crap shoot for me. Like I stated, it's foreign territory.  To make things even worse, shall we say that patience is a "hard won virtue" for me?  Living in New Jersey all my life, I'm used to the fast pace of the Northeast. Things, especially at work, are wanted yesterday.  I'm used to dealing with that, and delivering those kind of fast results.  The downside is, that I've come to expect that, in return.  Waiting is still a battle for me.  Not in all situations, but in many - especially when I am dealing with myself.

QRP SSB is an extra hard challenge for me and will be for quite a while. The upside is hopefully, I'll become more skilled at it; and I'll also gain more patience, because of it..

72 de Larry W2LJ
QRP - When you care to send the very least!



Larry Makoski, W2LJ, is a regular contributor to AmateurRadio.com and writes from New Jersey, USA. Contact him at [email protected].