Crackling 60hz hum three channels in a row, every 4th channel clear as a bell.

[cominatyalive]

Bad luck strikes again.

Well LC, I did it now. The Imax 2000 is trashed. I tightened the coax connector too tight to the antenna and it shorted out my antenna. It wasn't my soldering job at all. I kept getting continuity after I soldered like three or four connectors onto the coax on the radio end. Eventually I started wondering what was up, so I went up to the antenna and removed the coax connector and rechecked the cable, it was fine. I put my meter on the antenna pl259 female feed connector and the antenna (was & is) shorted out.

When I put my balun on last week I over tightened the connector for the coax. I heard it crack a bit, but thought it was still ok. As some know, they are just crimped to the barrell of the antenna feed. Well, at this point, I need to get another antenna. I may get another Imax, but I was interested in your Top One. Is it a 5/8th wave? I read at an online store it said 5/8th. I thought the astroplane's were only 1/4 wave.

I've had nothing but bad luck lately. My own fault. I could really use your advice right about now. The Imax is coming down, and the weather is getting colder lately. I wanted your opinion on if I should replace the Imax, get a Top One, or a starduster? I'd rather not go with a duster. When I was little, they were the bottom of the line. Are they better these days? I am wanting to stay with a 5/8th wave though.

Anyways, I got's to get to bed now, I haven't been getting my sleep & I just have no time whatsoever lately with my job & all. I've been really tired lately & pressed for time every day. Been working 6 to 7 days a week lately.

I am posting this message out here so everyone can feel my sorrow & pain. I said from the beginning that I am here to learn & to give what I know, (pass or fail).

I hope it prevents others from screwing up as I have done here. Spank me while I'm down if anyone wants, :bdh: I deserve it. I've come so far, but still miles away from my goal. A sad night indeed. They have a name for guys like me, (ACE).

ACE IN THE HOLE.

If anything, a few could get a few laughs here from all of this. It's on me. two thumbs eh? No worries, I'll feel better in the morn.

Night.

James

 

[cominatyalive]

RE: PL-259 Connectors

I buy the gold plated, Amphenol PL-259 connectors from buxcomm.com
They are about $2.39 a piece. I was able to solder the PL-259 this morning to the radio side of my LMR-400 coax again with no problems & no shorts. I also ordered a brand new Imax 2000 for about a little over a hundred bucks.

I am going to save the old antenna and see if I can repair it. If not, I'd like to send it out to Big Hair Antennas in Indiana to have him do his mojo on it but I've tried to contact him twice now & they do not respond. So at least if nothing else I will have spare parts.

I decided to get another Solarcon because (besides the fragile female feed connector on it) the rest of the antenna is fairly well built & strong. I also wanted to stick with a 5/8th wave. The Imax they say is a bit more than a 5/8th wave. The standard 5/8th wave is .625 of one wavelength & the Imax is a .64.

The Imax 2000 EXPOSED!


I see a lot of people put down the Imax, even myself at times. But I have heard the V58 macos break in the wind as well. And the astroplanes need reinforcement at the hoop.

Mmmmm, I owned the original Avanti Astroplane back in 1975 or 76. I never had trouble with the hoop or strength of that antenna. The original Astroplane & the late Hy-Gain Penetrator 500 were two of the best antennas you could get back then. Not any more though.

Using Fiberglass antennas, (like anything else), has it's pros & cons. Lightning wise, I believe it is safer than the aluminum ones. But that does not mean I wouldn't try a V58 Maco or a CTE Top One Astroplane.

LC, I admire your determination on strengthening your Top One. Who knows, I may just get one of those too one day. I hear they are great for 10 meters.

Well, looks like I'll be out of here for about a week. I will post back once I have the new 2000 installed and ready to go.

Later all


James

 

[loosecannon]

james! i feel for ya bro!

i have to admit to a little head shaking and "oh man you poor guy" chuckling when i read your post. LOL

the good news is that most likely, your IMAX 2000 is just fine.
the bad news is that you have most likely already pulled out a few hairs over this one.

you see, the IMAX is DC grounded for lightning protection.
this means that if you check the center pin and shield of the coax connector on the antenna, you will show a short in your ohmmeter.

this is ok because that short is through a coil and at 27mhz that coil is not an RF short.
sure, to DC that coil just looks like a piece of wire connecting the center pin and shield together. but to RF, that coil has characteristics and properties that allow it to form a 50 ohm load to match your coax.

take a look at the schematic drawing in the "imax 2000 exposed" down towards the bottom, just above where it says "closing statements".

you will see a coil connecting the center pin of the coax right to the shield.


so, you can see why when you had one end of your coax connected to the antenna, and were soldering on a new connector at the radio end, everytime you got done and checked it for shorts, sure enough, you had one!
mustve been very frustrating.

so, now im guessing that the old imax was taken down in frustration?

if its still up, check your SWR. if its still below 2:1, then you are fine, and can cancel your order for the new antenna. (hope you still can!)

sorry i didnt catch this post sooner, but im off work on fridays and dont use the net at home much at all.

hope i caught you in time,
LC

 

[cominatyalive]

Schematic

Yeah, Not just a few hairs LC, but I actually had to go buy a knit hat to
cover up this old bald head of mine LOL!

Yes, your right, (Feeling really ignorant right now, but handling it), I was just looking at that schematic yesterday or so on the "Imax exposed" URL and I did see that. I just did not apply it far enough into what I was doing.

Well, I can assure you that I'm learning more here than I'm teaching.

Too late LC, I've ordered the new Antenna already and it's on it's way. I will go ahead & put it up as well. You see, this goes a bit deeper in the doo doo than meets the eye. You forget your dealing with a green horn here. :laugh: There's even more to the story here bud, but I'll save it for you on another day.

Getting back to the antenna,
As I was putting on the GPK bracket on the antenna, I busted the Solarcon supplied
1 1/2" u-bolt clamp. Well, you could hear the swear words loud & clear that day last week or so after the u-bolt snapped

So I went to the hardware store, (ACE HARDWARE), "there goes that word again" (ACE), but they did not have the correct size. So I reamed the holes out a bit on the antenna bracket to get the u-bolt from ( you got it! "ACE"!), to fit.

To make a long story short, I managed to get the new, larger u-bolt fitted on without any further damage & it was still straight & parallel with the mast. I was only waiting for the PL-259 connectors to come in before I made a simple job, "harder".

Thanks for informing me about the antenna LC. I will also go back and look again at the schematic. Maybe enlarge it and print it out. Anyways, my SWR has always been a good 1.4 on the meter and I've finally made the decision to go after getting my Ham License. I'd like to get into 10 meters to start. I heard your Top One is a good antenna for 10.

Anyhow, no biggie on another antenna coming, gives me a chance to start all over. I'm going to install the delrin rod as well. I'm going to offset the Delrin to the Mast and offset it back to the antenna brace using 4 two way pipe clamps. Saw a picture of someone who's done it. Doesn't look so bad actually. Who knows, maybe I'm ok without the antenna Isolated? or should I at least try it? I may just keep it the way it is for now.

Well, it is a thought & offsetting it would make it easier instead of looking for ways to turn down the diameter of the Delrin just to get it inside the mast. I've ordered the clamps already and will post new pics once I have it all together again.

Now that I know my Imax is ok, I will be testing it soon and let everyone know if my RF Balun choke and thicker, LMR-400 coax will be helping me or not. I have a feeling the better coax will definitely make a major improvement on the receive as well as TX. BTW you never did say, is your Top One really a 5/8th wave? I saw a store advertising it was. Was just curious. I may get one for 10 meters. But I think I've got enough on my plate for now.

Talk back atcha soon LC.
Sincerely,
"ACE"

 

[loosecannon]

the question you have to ask yourself about the delrin rod is, "how pissed will i be if i go to all this trouble to install the delrin rod and it doesnt make any difference at all?"

because it might or might not make a difference in your situation.
to be honest, this whole "isolate the antenna from the support structure" thing is debatable. i just find the arguments for doing it to make sense to me.

cb'ers have been mounting antennas to metal masts for many years, and doing just fine.

so, the best answer i can give you is, it might be worth a shot. LOL

i would say try it without it, and if its bugging you looking at that piece of unused delrin; clamp it up there on a day you are bored and looking for a project. also, i think it would be just fine to clamp it up there instead of turning the rod down. you know how we do it, we start with perfection and then compromise. LOL

as for the top one antenna, it has been debated for years by people much smarter than me as to what type of antenna it actually is.
i have read so much of those debates i dont know what to think anymore. LOL

i just know they work very well and are perfect for my particular situation.

if you want to use it on 10 meters you will have to do some modifications to it, as it is not tunable and is pretuned for 11 meters.

not too difficult though, it involves sleeving the vertical elements on the sides of the mast so you can vary their length.

keep your eyes out for an old style top one or astroplane on ebay and craigslist, and if you see one you can afford; buy it!!!
they are hard to come by so you know you could always sell it later.

because of their design, they also make great shortwave listening antennas.
an added bonus for sure!

hope all your efforts pay off.
have you found out if the transformer behind your house is making noise yet?

oh, i saw your new pics and i think you live near a big lake right?
could your noises be from homing beacons or some sort of beacon on a buoy that keeps boats from hitting it?
must be lots of things near a big lake that could cause noise.
just something to consider.

later,
LC

 

[cominatyalive]

SOLARCON IMAX 2000 RESULTS! "FINALLY"

Hello LC,

Ya know, I think I will leave the Delrin off for now. As you said, it is debatable.
I personally don't think it will matter much in my application. But in the spring time I may try it.

As for the transformer, Sorry, but I forgot to inform everyone that there is no transformer in my back yard. It is just a Cable television service box. Quite large actually as AT&T and Comcast both use it to hook & unhook people to & from their services.

That brings me back to the theory of the neighbor woman having some kind of house security system. In which leads me to finally reveal all my results on my IMAX 2000 for everyone.

Well, I'm sorry to inform everyone that all my hard work has just about amounted to a hill of beans. The RF Choke Balun, from what I can tell has not changed anything. I still get the same level of ground floor noise through a lot of channels. However, there are a few channels in the lower 30's or so that has only .5 db of ground floor noise, as compared to channel 6 which has a total of 2.5 to 3.0 db's of floor noise.

However my friends, I have GAINED TWO FULL WATTS on the TX!

Now my radio is tweaked. So I'm not going to say how many watts I push, but there has been a definite increase of 2 full watts! and in my case, that is a huge improvement. But that was all the improvement I got.

I was able to pull in B.C. Canada today, but the skip was rolling at 2pm or earlier today in spite of the cloudy weather.

Sorry guys, but the home made Balun Choke was a Joke. But hey, it may work for someone else in a different scenario, but for me it was zilch. But I'm leaving it up there anyways for what it's worth.

OK, moving right along, so I'm happy to say here that the bigger LMR-400 coax (in my setup & situation) has actually given me two more full watts of TX power!

I'm a firm believer that the thicker & more braid & insulation, bigger core wire, etc, is always better. And it has given me two more watts on the TX.

Now if I ever get my ham license and a more powerful radio, I may be able to tell you without a doubt if there was any other kind of a difference or not. But right now I cannot except the wattage being greater on the TX

As for the GPK, the so called (Ground Plane Kit), I can tell you right now, it is a piece of cow pie. A total & huge waste of hard earned cash. It don't do a D_mn thing as far as I'm concerned. As I heard another person say on here, & I will agree with him, the bracket is a flimsy piece of crap along with the rest of the kit, radials and all is CRAP! I wished I never bought it.

Funny eh? how I can attest to all the zeroes. I for one was pretty upset knowing that all my efforts did not amount to anything substantial. Has anyone else come up with Zero? Nada? Zilch? but just a few hundred bucks for nothing?

Now I'm not saying everyone has found no results, But I have not seen any kind of improvement except the two watt gain on TX.

After all, my Imax is a cool 60' total height in the air so I probably did not really need much anyways.


As for that Light sabre sound coming through my radio, I still believe it is the old woman next door with some kind of house security system or a car alarm down the block. As I was saying, She is definitely the type of person to have a house alarm as she is very snoopy, and nosy, living on her own, etc...


So, I'm back to where I started. I even have the 60 Hz noise still, but it has diminished some. That is the only positive result I have been given. The only thing I am going to do, is adjust my SWR and try to bring it down from 1.4 to 1.1. That will be a miracle in itself. The big lake is Lake Michigan. Part of the Great Lakes. That picture in my profile is in Zion, IL just 45 miles or so north of Chicago.

I'm in the very north east part of Illinois. My house is about 6 miles from that picture due west in Zion. The building in the background is the old Com Ed Zion Nuclear plant. The spent fuel rods have been cooling down now for about 15 to 20 yrs now. They closed it down due to the foundation getting old. And to prevent a Nuclear fall-out from a possible disaster.

So there you have it, the truth & nothing but the truth and my honest results. Check out my pics on my profile, my antenna, the home brew Balun Choke, the GPK, etc. I have done the best that I can do in workmanship. Perhaps in the spring time I can continue my quest for better results, quieter floor noise, better TX & RX, etc, etc....

Thank you everyone for all your help. And a big TY TO LC for being so patient & dedicated to my problems. Being there for support & being a friend.
And that alone my friends, is what it is all about.


Thank you.


James

 

[loosecannon]

james you are very welcome, and im sorry that all your efforts have not proven effective.

sad to say, but this is the case more often than not. so you are definitely not the only one who has spent money, time, and sweat only to see the exact same problems as before.

i will tell you that although you may not notice the benefits in the form of decreasing your interference; they are there.

the theory behind using a groundplane or counterpoise with a .64 wave antenna is sound, and it absolutely is benefiting the take off angle of that antenna.

this may not have stopped the interference, but it does help the antenna do its job better.

as for the bracket and element quality; ive never seen them up close, so ill trust your opinion of them and know that they need upgrading.

dont underestimate the cable box as the source of your noise.
there is a very good chance that some connections in that box may be open, loose, or rectifying some sort of a signal.
might be worth a check.
tell the cable company that you smelled a funny burning smell coming from the box and they will send someone out to look at it. then you can pick his brain about unshielded connections inside the box. (kind of kidding here, but it might work)

every terminal that is supposed to go to a house on the block but doesnt should be terminated. maybe the cable guys were lazy and didnt do that.
what do they care about cb radio. LOL

good luck,
i will continue to look for updates in this thread if you want to post the latest info.
LC

 

[fnkycoldmedina]

without going back and reading 6 pages let me ask you this .
have you tried a different radio in the same scenario?

 

[loosecannon]

yes, he has tried different radios. i think three of them.

oh, i understand about the 6 pages thing too! LOL

james and i figured everyone else stopped reading a few pages ago LOL.

LC

 

[cominatyalive]

Different radios

lol, yes

I tried everything, different radios, Using only DC power, totally turning off the AC to my house, you name it, I've probably tried it. Sorry for all the pages, but those who are desperate for answers shouldn't mind a bit. That's how we learn. 1 page, to 100 pages, it doesn't matter to me. I am ok with the AC 60 Hz hum, but it's this D_mn star wars, light sabre noise that is the worst. It is not heard every single day though.

But the last 2 days it's been here. I will record it and post a URL when I'm able. It sounds like a ADT house alarm or something, just like a light sabre noise from the movie Star Wars. H_LL, it could be blocks away. Some channels it is very loud, some, I can't hardly hear it. And it is at different times.

Almost like the woman next door decides to arm her house or someone has their car armed. I need a CB walkie so I can go walk around the block & search for it.

So, I am learning to use my squelch a bit more.

Believe me, any positive end-results that I get, I will post them here right away.

This war on interference is very important to me. I never had this kind of trouble back in 1976. I had a Pace 133 mobile 5 watt unit & a original Avanti Astroplane with a 1.1 SWR at all times.

I heard the Astroplanes have better ears, I just may find one or just go and get a 3 element beam next spring.

As for now, my transmit seems super. The receive is noisy, but I use my RF gain pegged at all times as well, maybe that's my problem? I'm very picky for perfection. And why shouldn't I be?

LC, yes, I agree with you. I do believe the results are there, but it's just not noticeable except the transmit. 2 watt gain using the thicker LMR-400. Not bad.

I'll keep ya posted.

 

[Robb]

If it isn't the radios, the house wiring/grounding, or some other local interference close to you causing this problem; then it means that you still haven't located the source. Have you tried to drive around the neighborhood with a radio in the car - and see how far the interference goes? I know you used the AM radio maneuver; but did you have the chance to see if the interference was coming from any of your neighbors? Or power poles?

In any event, I wouldn't blame your IMAX. I get 1-3 S-units of noise during the day that goes away at night. I have a friend two miles away with the same antenna you and I both have, sometimes he gets up to 20 S-units of noise during the day. Sometimes it stops; and sometimes it stays for a day or more. We tracked it down to a power pole across the street with a CB/walki-talkie. Now it is in the hands of the power company to fix. But I surely wouldn't blame the antenna you chose. Unless you want to spend more money on something fancier and find the same problem all over again.
Unless you isolate the noise source - nothing will change...

Up to this point - I thought it was your radio that was having the problem...

 

[mark 409]

remember cable sends a signal onthe feed to the main box, cb is 27 mc, tv is 50-52?mc about half of cb so you could be getting harmonics from it.

 

[Cat Driver]

The ol' lady might have an electric blanket, they are a source of noise also. We had one an sold it in a garage sale to get rid of the noise on the CB. Just keep the heater up higher in the bedroom now, probably cheaper anyway....

 

[cominatyalive]

You guys are great! & thank you for all the possibilities & theories.
Well, speaking of the AM radio trick, Last night I turned off my ANL switch and the 60 Hz hum was ridiculously loud. I had gotten used to using the ANL switch obviously. And The star wars light sabre sound was gone last night. So I thought I'd try the AM radio trick again. I turned off all devices in the house. Noise still there. I went outside and walked around the house, no noise. I walked up to the meter of my mains, and there was the same noise & hum. It's got to be my main power at the meter. No where else do I get that same noise.

The noise is not even that noticeable at my breaker box anymore, but it's still at the meter for my mains. The ANL switch takes most of it away.

Yes Rob, I too get mainly about 1.3 s units of floor noise. I suppose I'm picky that way. Some nights I get less. It's not the floor noise I'm worried about actually.

As far as the light sabre noise, who knows! I am sick of it.
It is here one day or night & then it's gone the next. These Imax's are very good in picking up interference. Especially when you use your RF gain all the way up as I do.

I've yet to call the power company to check my mains & the meter, but I will.

Yes Cat Driver, there's no telling what the neighbor lady is doing. I still suspect a house security system in her home. :blink:

Hey Mark, I just had Direct TV satellite installed prior to my base station set-up. Could a dish be interfering? I heard a noise with my AM radio in the basement by the window. I never heard it before. But outside I heard nothing. Could it be the cable wires? they are near where I heard this other noise. Mmmmm


James

 

[LOX]

My noise came from a doorbell transformer. Door bells are a royal pain in the rear.