{"id":54404,"date":"2022-10-23T05:17:20","date_gmt":"2022-10-23T09:17:20","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/?p=54404"},"modified":"2022-10-23T05:17:20","modified_gmt":"2022-10-23T09:17:20","slug":"sometimes-the-right-tools-lead-to-agreeable-results","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/2022\/10\/sometimes-the-right-tools-lead-to-agreeable-results\/","title":{"rendered":"Sometimes the right tools lead to agreeable results"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

By Jock Elliott, KB2GOM<\/strong><\/p>\n

Listening to the HF ham bands can be a lot of fun. All you need is a shortwave receiver capable of receiving single sideband (SSB) transmissions and a chart of the amateur bands. You can find downloadable PDF charts of the United States Amateur Radio Band Plan here<\/a> or a detailed explanation of the band plan here<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Tuning around to hear what people are talking about can be enlightening. \u00a0You might hear hams chatting about ham radio equipment, house repair projects, religious discussions, news and views or the state of the country, disaster response communications, or almost anything.<\/p>\n

Recently I was tuning through the 80 meter ham band when, at 3605 LSB, I encountered a group having a conversation. I couldn\u2019t tell if this group had a formal \u201cNet\u201d name, but I did get the impression that they met regularly in the early morning on that frequency, so I made a note to revisit the frequency.<\/p>\n

Yesterday, I did so. With the horizontal room loop<\/a>\u00a0hooked to my Grundig Satellit 800, all I could hear was noise. The same with the whip antenna on the Satellit 800.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

But when I engaged the MFJ 1886 loop antenna<\/a> I could clearly hear the group talking above the noise . . . but the noise was still pretty bad. So I tried bringing the MFJ 1045C active preselector\u00a0online<\/a>, to no avail. The 1045C did not make the conversation easier to hear.<\/p>\n

The noise was like a hum, not a nice gentle hum like a bumble bee flying by; no this was a nasty, raspy hum, like a circular saw trying to get purchase on a particularly tough piece of wood. Listening to the chat group on 80 meters with that noise under it would be tiring on the ears.<\/p>\n

Soooo, what to do? Then I plugged in the BHI Compact In-line Noise Eliminating Module<\/a>\u00a0into the headphone socket of the Satellit 800 and then plug headphones into the BHI device.<\/p>\n

Turning on the BHI module, I adjusted the level of noise reduction, and \u2013 tah dah! \u2013 the noise just melted away. I could hear the conversation clearly, and all that was left of the noise was the trickling water sound that is an artifact of the noise reduction algorithm.<\/p>\n

Sometimes, the right gear just works<\/strong><\/em>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

By Jock Elliott, KB2GOM Listening to the HF ham bands can be a lot of fun. All you need is a shortwave receiver capable of receiving single sideband (SSB) transmissions and a chart of the amateur bands. You can find downloadable PDF charts of the United States Amateur Radio Band Plan here or a detailed […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":114,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[3607,545,3,43],"tags":[4302,4102,9323,9888,6831,4082],"class_list":["post-54404","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-antennas","category-ham-radio","category-news","category-shortwave-radio","tag-bhi-compact-in-line-noise-elimination-module","tag-ham-radio","tag-jock-elliott-kb2gom","tag-mfj-1045c","tag-mfj-1886","tag-shortwave-radio"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/pn3uc-e9u","jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":52181,"url":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/2022\/03\/its-magic-but-its-real-the-joys-of-listening-to-the-ham-bands\/","url_meta":{"origin":54404,"position":0},"title":"“It\u2019s magic, but it\u2019s real”: The joys of listening to the ham bands","author":"Thomas","date":"March 13, 2022","format":false,"excerpt":"Many thanks to\u00a0SWLing Post\u00a0contributor,\u00a0Jock Elliott, who shares the following guest post: The joys of listening to the ham bands By Jock Elliott, KB2GOM \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u201cIt\u2019s magic, but it\u2019s real.\u201d That statement was uttered recently by an amateur radio operator \u2013 a ham \u2013 from South Carolina. He was on the 20-meter\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Guest Posts"","block_context":{"text":"Guest Posts","link":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/category\/guest-posts\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Icom IC-756 Pro Transceiver Dial","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/07\/Icom-IC-756-Pro-3.jpeg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/07\/Icom-IC-756-Pro-3.jpeg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/07\/Icom-IC-756-Pro-3.jpeg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/07\/Icom-IC-756-Pro-3.jpeg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":54905,"url":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/2022\/12\/in-search-of-the-unique-the-weird-the-unusual-a-reader-participation-post\/","url_meta":{"origin":54404,"position":1},"title":"In search of the unique, the weird, the unusual . . . a reader participation post","author":"Jock Elliott","date":"December 5, 2022","format":false,"excerpt":"By Jock Elliott, KB2GOM There is a richness in human experience, and I want to sample it. When I worked the world on the HF ham bands, I considered myself a \u201cconversation hunter.\u201d I wasn\u2019t content to simply make a contact, exchange signal reports, and move on; I wanted to\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Ham Radio"","block_context":{"text":"Ham Radio","link":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/category\/ham-radio\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/12\/short-dipole-002-001-1024x734.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/12\/short-dipole-002-001-1024x734.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/12\/short-dipole-002-001-1024x734.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x"},"classes":[]},{"id":54322,"url":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/2022\/10\/testing-the-mfj-1886-receive-loop-antenna\/","url_meta":{"origin":54404,"position":2},"title":"Testing the MFJ-1886 Receive Loop Antenna","author":"Jock Elliott","date":"October 12, 2022","format":false,"excerpt":"By Jock Elliott, KB2GOM Hang out any place online where shortwave listeners gather, and you won\u2019t have to wait long before you hear something like this: \u201cI recently moved to a condo, apartment, or house where there is a home-owners association. Listening conditions are pretty rotten, and I cannot string\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Antennas"","block_context":{"text":"Antennas","link":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/category\/antennas\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/10\/MFJ-1886-005-001-1024x936.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/10\/MFJ-1886-005-001-1024x936.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/10\/MFJ-1886-005-001-1024x936.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x"},"classes":[]},{"id":49872,"url":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/2021\/08\/jock-discovers-the-joys-of-ats-tuning-with-the-c-crane-cc-skywave-ssb\/","url_meta":{"origin":54404,"position":3},"title":"Jock discovers the joys of ATS tuning with the C.Crane CC Skywave SSB","author":"Thomas","date":"August 4, 2021","format":false,"excerpt":"Many thanks to SWLing Post contributor, Jock Elliott (KB2GOM), who shares the following guest post: Really cool trick the CCrane Skywave SSB will do -- the \"radio butler\"? To paraphrase Ratty from Wind in the Willows: \" \u201cBelieve me, my young friend, there is nothing\u2013absolutely nothing\u2013half so much worth doing\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "AM"","block_context":{"text":"AM","link":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/category\/am\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/10\/CC-Skywave-SSB-Field-e1540119640212.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/10\/CC-Skywave-SSB-Field-e1540119640212.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/10\/CC-Skywave-SSB-Field-e1540119640212.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/10\/CC-Skywave-SSB-Field-e1540119640212.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":55249,"url":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/2023\/01\/a-little-daytime-medium-wave-dxing\/","url_meta":{"origin":54404,"position":4},"title":"A little daytime Medium Wave DXing . . .","author":"Jock Elliott","date":"January 8, 2023","format":false,"excerpt":"By Jock Elliott, KB2GOM Let\u2019s get one thing clear from the start: it\u2019s all Ken Reitz\u2019s fault. When the search for the guilty begins, the finger should point squarely at Mr. Reitz. Who is Ken Reitz? He is the Managing Editor and Publisher of The Spectrum Monitor. \u00a0 The Spectrum\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "AM"","block_context":{"text":"AM","link":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/category\/am\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/01\/photos-for-SWLing-blog-002-001-1024x683.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/01\/photos-for-SWLing-blog-002-001-1024x683.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/01\/photos-for-SWLing-blog-002-001-1024x683.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x"},"classes":[]},{"id":53045,"url":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/2022\/06\/armed-forces-day-qsl-card\/","url_meta":{"origin":54404,"position":5},"title":"Armed Forces Day QSL Card","author":"Jock Elliott","date":"June 17, 2022","format":false,"excerpt":"On May 14, 2022, this blog published an announcement of the Annual Armed Forces Day Crossband Test. The blog included a link to a PDF file that listed all the details, such as times, frequencies, and military stations that were participating (including some that were aboard ships), and there was\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Accessories"","block_context":{"text":"Accessories","link":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/category\/accessories\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/06\/Armed-Forces-Day-QSL-card-001-002-1024x768.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/06\/Armed-Forces-Day-QSL-card-001-002-1024x768.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/06\/Armed-Forces-Day-QSL-card-001-002-1024x768.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x"},"classes":[]}],"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/54404","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/114"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=54404"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/54404\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":54409,"href":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/54404\/revisions\/54409"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=54404"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=54404"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=54404"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}