2020-12-05, 11:07:22
Thanks for the feedback Doug. I generally get S6-7 noise in my shack. I have a lot of LED lighting and all those switching regulators emit a fair amount of wideband RF. Our washer and dryer also seem to be RF noisy. At this time of year a lot of people are putting out Christmas lights that may contribute to noise. Sometimes a nearby hydro pole or transformer starts misbehaving. A portable AM radio tuned between stations is a good tool for tracking down where the noise is coming from.
Fan dipoles can be very difficult to work with because of interactions between the different band elements. I have never used one for more than two bands because of that. Some bands are harmonically related, e.g. 15m and 40m, so you may be able to reduce the number of elements that way. It may be worth considering separating them and feeding them with different coaxes. Rob, VE3RWY, has at least four antennas at his station (I've lost count, maybe Rob could comment) and uses coax switches in his shack to select one.
Fan dipoles can be very difficult to work with because of interactions between the different band elements. I have never used one for more than two bands because of that. Some bands are harmonically related, e.g. 15m and 40m, so you may be able to reduce the number of elements that way. It may be worth considering separating them and feeding them with different coaxes. Rob, VE3RWY, has at least four antennas at his station (I've lost count, maybe Rob could comment) and uses coax switches in his shack to select one.