Welcome to the FlexRadio Community! Please review the new Community Rules and other important new Community information on the Message Board.
Need the latest SmartSDR or 4O3A Genius Product Software?

SmartSDR v3.10.15 and the SmartSDR v3.10.15 Release Notes

The latest 4O3A Genius Product Software and Firmware
If you are having a problem, please refer to the product documentation or check the Help Center for known solutions.
Need technical support from FlexRadio? It's as simple as Creating a HelpDesk ticket.

High noise level until transmit

Mark_WS7M
Mark_WS7M Member ✭✭✭
edited October 2020 in Peripherals & Station Integration

Hi all,

A friend of mine has a nice SteppIR beam next to his home. I've brought my Flex 6300 over for test and also he has an Icom 7300. We've noticed something rather interesting:

On 20m yesterday we were looking at an S9 noise level pretty much across the band. This was with his SteppIR beam tuned to about 1:1.

He transmitted on USB voice briefly giving his call and the noise level AFTER transmit dropped to like S4.

Then over a period of 5 minutes it began to creep back up to S9.

We put the flex inline and saw the same behavior.

We have tried different pre-amp settings and he has a good station ground. We are scratching our heads on what is causing the high noise level.

I have 20m in my car and tuned it up in the driveway and saw roughly the S4-5 noise level I would expect.

I suspect some kind of a ground loop perhaps but the disappearance of the noise after transmit is puzzling.

Anyone have any ideas?

Comments

  • KD0RC
    KD0RC Member, Super Elmer Moderator

    Hi Mark, I would suspect a bad connection somewhere. Once a little (or a lot...) of current flows through it, the connection "corrects" itself for a bit. I would unplug/plug in all connectors and loosen and retighten all ground connections. If that is not it, take a look inside the SteppIR to see if there is a loose or corroded connection in there.

    To verify that it is the SteppIR (or one of the connections to it), try a different feedline and antenna, even if it is just a temporary wire.

    73,

    Len, KD0RC

  • Tim - W4TME
    Tim - W4TME Administrator, FlexRadio Employee admin

    It's a problem in the antenna system

Leave a Comment

Rich Text Editor. To edit a paragraph's style, hit tab to get to the paragraph menu. From there you will be able to pick one style. Nothing defaults to paragraph. An inline formatting menu will show up when you select text. Hit tab to get into that menu. Some elements, such as rich link embeds, images, loading indicators, and error messages may get inserted into the editor. You may navigate to these using the arrow keys inside of the editor and delete them with the delete or backspace key.

Comment As ...

Categories