Will a Flex 6000 series suppress rain static?

Dick B · February 2016

A friend in GA has trouble with rain static from his Force 12 yagi at 80 ft. The NB and NR on his IC-7600 do not affect it. Will a Flex Radio SDR suppress rain static?

Mike va3mw · February 2016

Rain static is an antenna issue. Moving the RX to a loop antenna will solve it. The same with snow. The can't solve this at the radio end. Mike va3mw

Dick B · February 2016

We understand but replacing his new Force 12 yagi is not an option. The I.C.E. 303 description says it helps eliminate rain/snow static, and the NB's in most radios really help on impulse noise, so thought perhaps an SDR noise filter might help. Static discharging wicks are not a very practical solution either.

Chris DL5NAM · February 2016

I use also a large F12 antenna (5BA at 75 ft.) but no rain or snow static here.

Your friend should check with a small piece of wire and a RX. Is it exact only if it's real raining or also some time after rain stops.

Problem can be also the porcelain insulator of a power line/pole. Some small haircuts and your rain static is perfect (leak current).

We had in the past many fights with our power company - till WE call our PTT. Then they have to pay the PTT action and to change the insulator.

73 Chris

Dave Dave · February 2016

6000 series ahs many different noise filters .... still no basic squelch but many filters.

James Del Principe · February 2016

****, I use the ICE suppressors on all of my antennas but I'm sure any other device that has a resistance or inductor to ground would work. 73, Jim

Dick B · February 2016

I use the I.C.E. 303 here and so does he. He put it in and out of the coax and said it doesn't help. Perhaps he's really got a power line problem that only shows up in the rain.

Ken - NM9P · February 2016

That would be a fair assumption. I have dealt with this as well - arcing that only occurs when leaves, sticks, or cracked insulators get damp. They really raise holy you-know-what!

As far a rain static, the Noise Blanker will not be effective because the noise is not "correlated" i.e. periodic and predictable by DSP.

The NR or Noise Reduction routine may be able to reduce some of the effects, but only to a degree. Noise like that is hard to beat. Careful adjustment of filters, AGC-T and NR level might find some relief.

But I would begin looking at other causes of the static interference. In fact, you might have multiple sources combined together, making it a lot tougher to tackle.

Ken - NM9P

James Del Principe · February 2016

Ken/****, I fully agree. I had this problem when the power company changed to 25KV lines in my old neighborhood in CT. I was on a first name basis with their people but they were very responsive. It was not a one time effort however, as insulators, arc gaps, etc continued to break down over time. Time to call the power company. 73, Jim

Will a Flex 6000 series suppress rain static?

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