Radio Habana Cuba: Dxers Unlimited Weekend edition for February 17, 2001
By Arnie Coro, radio amateur CO2KK
Hi, amigos! Welcome to the weekend edition of your favorite radio hobby show via shortwave. I am Arnie Coro, radio amateur CO2KK, and here are the headlines:
Number one, la numero uno!!!! The SUN's hyper-powerful magnetic field is finally flipping over. And that's the factual evidence that we are at or very near SOLAR MAXIMUM. No, it cannot be known yet... it will take at least three to six more months to place the actual MAXIMUM in perspective, but what you and I can now be absolutely sure of is that we are certainly near the PEAK of solar cycle 23! The flip of the Sun's magnetic poles has proven to be very certain evidence of previous solar maximums plotted on what scientist call a BUTTERFLY DIAGRAM, due to its striking resemblance to that insect's wings!
Item two: Shortterm forecast... seems like YET ANOTHER coronal mass ejection is heading towards the Earth, so our friends up NORTH may have a nice weekend AURORA BOREALIS display, plus some really good AM Broadcast Band signals from the South. Watch for Bob Chandler's VE3SRE favorite Cuban Station on the AM band, Radio Progreso's 890 kiloHertz relay, which is heard well in Eastern Canada when the aurora borealis-associated geomagnetic disturbance is in progress.
Item three: Noise hunting around the house, and even around the neighborhood is not only fun, but also very productive, as you may find the noise sources that are spoiling your radio reception. More about NOISE HUNTING later in today's weekend edition of Dxers Unlimited. Margarita Delgado is my sound engineer and producer. I am Arnie Coro, radio amateur CO2KK, back with you in a few seconds....
This is the weekend edition of Dxers Unlimited; for our listeners in North America we broadcast with our high gain curtain array beaming to the Pacific Coast from 05 to 07 UTC. For those of you interested in watching the antenna pattern change, monitor Radio Havana Cuba on 9820 kiloHertz just a little before 0500, and check when we do the antenna pattern change at 0500 UTC. If you happen to live in Eastern or Central North America, the 9820 kiloHertz frequency will go down several decibels, while those of you on the West Coast, from Baja California all the way up to British Columbia, will certainly notice a notable increase in signal strength!
And after this antenna pattern switching information, here is our feature for today, NOISE HUNTING. Better radio reception on any frequency, from the extra long waves all the way up to around 300 megaHertz, is certainly impacted by local radio noise generating sources.
As a matter of fact, on certain frequencies, locally generated radio interference in the form of random or periodic noise can be so extremely bad as to make reception of even powerful signals next to impossible. That's why NOISE HUNTING is becoming so important for the radio enthusiast. Here is one good example: Not too long, ago my normally nice and quiet reception on the AM broadcast band was severely affected by an intermittent buzzing noise... the noise was there only during the evening hours. I then started to monitor on an empty AM band channel just around sunset, until I found exactly what was happening. The intermittent buzzing noise that was making broadcast band Dxing impossible for me started exactly when the street lamps went on, fired by the photocell light level control.
Then phase TWO of the NOISE HUNTING began.... I prepared a small portable radio, tuned it to an empty channel at the lower end of the AM broadcast band, and started to walk around the neighborhood... it took about fifteen minutes to locate the NOISE SOURCE -- a damaged street light! This one was a sodium high pressure type. It then took a few minutes next morning to call my friendly power company engineer, who told me his crew was very busy on that day due to a breakdown, but promised to send the crane-equipped repair vehicle the next day. So, the next evening ... NO MORE NOISE on the AM band.... the crew had replaced the damaged lamp that otherwise appeared to be in a normal condition, something they told me happens with both mercury vapour and both low- and high-pressure sodium lamps.
The radio used as a direction-finder to locate the noise source has a very nice ferrite rod antenna; it is about 20 centimeters, or 10 inches, long -- which produces very sharp nulls. For those of you not familiar with the directional properties of AM broadcast band receiverss' ferrite antennas, it may be a good idea to start learning how to use those radios for noise direction finding, as they can certainly prove to be excellent for that application. There are many other noise sources surrounding our radio receivers nowadays.... computers, light dimmers, compact fluorescent lamps, thermostats, furnace ignition systems, garage door openers, alarm systems... you can go on and on with the list of potential noise sources.... TV sets, VCRs, microwave ovens, etc. etc. etc. BUT, there is ALWAYS a way to pinpoint the noise source, and then develop a strategy to help reduce its impact on our radio reception.
Some sources are really difficult to deal with, others are a lot easier; some can simply be replaced, as is the case with light dimmers, which can be changed back to a standard switch, or if need be, to a simple two- or three-position light level switch that does not require the use of the terrible noise-generating silicon-controlled rectifier, or Thyristor as their main electronic device is also known. One of the best ways to reduce radio noise is to install radio noise filters right next to your receiver's power supply... the filters are easy to homebrew, and do not require any special components. There are many possible filter configurations, but the one that I like most is a double PI network, with proper grounding. The double PI network AC POWER LINE FILTERS can also be placed at your home's AC POWER PANEL, although this will require a properly rated filter. The best compromise is just to filter the AC power circuit feeding the room where your radios are located. This works great, and isolates the circuit that feeds your radios from the rest of the house, where potential noise sources are located!
Do you have a RADIO NOISE problem??? Just send me an e-mail describing it, and Arnie Coro's Dxers Unlimited CONSULTING SERVICE will provide you with guidelines on how to deal with the problem as well as possible solutions... e-mail to arnie@radiohc.org and I'll answer your request ASAP -- as soon as possible!
And now as always, at the end of the show, here is Arnie Coro's Dxers Unlimited's HF plus 6 meters propagation update and forecast: Geomagnetic disturbance knocking at the door -- we may begin to experience the effects of the most recent coronal mass ejection at higher latitudes pretty soon. Solar activity is now rated at VERY LOW to LOW, and on Thursday the actual number of sunspots spotted by visual observers went down below 100... at yet another low EBB is solar activity. The effective sunspot number early Saturday morning was just 83, something that will certainly have a negative impact on propagation on the upper segment of the HF band, from 20 to 30 megaHertz.
AM medium wave band Dxers located at high latitudes may enjoy the typical Southern Direction enhancement during the time that the geomagnetic disturbance is in progress. Short wave listeners will have best reception of their nighttime favorite stations from 6 to 12 megaHertz, while radio amateurs will be able to make the best DX contacts on the 20, 17 and 15 meter bands, as ten meters may have already suffered due to the much lower solar activity.
See you at the upcoming mid-week edition of the show, and don't forget, it you have a NOISE PROBLEM disturbing your reception, take advantage of Arnie Coro's Dxers Unlimited's radio consulting service. Aend your request for advice, together with a signal report and comments about the show, to arnie@radiohc.org, or via Air Mail to Arnie Coro, Radio Havana Cuba, Havana, Cuba.
prepared Feb-17-2001; transmitted Feb-20-2001
Arnie Coro CO2KK
Havana, Cuba
February 17, 2001Postal address:
Arnie Coro, "Dxers Unlimited"
Radio Havana Cuba, Havana, CUBA
e-mail: arnie@radiohc.org
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