New Ham Net 5/16/19

Topics Discussed

  • Power Supply Noise Issues
    • One net participant had noise interference while listening on HF frequencies only when the power supply was on.
    • The issue seemed to be specific to this power supply as it was possibly emitting lots of RFI due to insufficient shielding.
  • Power Supplies (Linear vs Switching)
    • No participants indicated that they were using or had used a linear power supply for their transceiver
    • General consensus on the net seemed to be that a modern switching power supply is sufficient for powering HF/VHF/UHF transceivers
    • It was noted that switching power supplies are more “noisy” as they emit their on RFI
    • Switching power supplies that were mentioned by net participants without issues were
  • 2m/70cm Propagation
    • It was noted that signals were much cleaner for tonight’s net than during last week’s net
    • One net participant was looking for a real-time propagation information for VHF/UHF bands. Although there isn’t much for general propagation conditions in a given area, sites like http://www.dxmaps.com and http://aprs.mennolink.org can give some UHF/VHF propagation information.
    • Tropospheric ducting was discussed briefly. It was noted that occasionally, transmissions from a matching repeater input frequency out of Oregon, will be heard around our area as a result of ducting.
  • Carnation Cross-Band Repeater
    • There was a general inquiry about this repeater’s setup
    • It was noted that this repeater transmits to the Duvall Bell repeater and not to the Cougar mountain repeater.

Resources Shared

  • SDR.HU A site with links to Web SDRs around the world.