"Problem is, the typical –140 db MDS of today's xcvrs is rendered useless,
since the noise floor in urban areas is way higher than that."
Yes, this is why those of us in rural areas need an amp more than we need
better antennas. We can hear the 100 watt signal from the urban hams no
problem, but they can't hear us. Going to 500 - 1000 watts solves that problem.
"Same deal with astronomy + light pollution. I gave up on that a while back.
If you cant even see the milky way from your own back yard, throw in the
towel, you are wasting your time."
Or you can go the CCD camera route. Modern CCDs and image stacking can produce
amazing images from light-polluted areas. Unfortunately I have not found any
ham-radio equivalent that can solve interference problems at the receiver
instead of at the source of the in-band interference.
"If I point it at say VK land, I'm also pointed right at a source of noise.
Ditto with every other direction."
I have that problem on 2 meter weak-signal. My greatest noise source, by far,
is the city of Boston, even though it's a good 180 miles away. It's obvious
when the rotor turns the antenna through that bearing. But that's also the
direction where ham stations are most likely to be found. Receive F/B doesn't
help if the signal and the noise are coming from the same direction.
73,
Cathy
N5WVR
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