Well folks - the results are in.....drum roll please-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-
It was the alarm system for sure. Killed all primary and secondary power
to the system this evening and guess what I found out? 75 meters actually
has people Qso'ing and atmospheric noise....who could have imagined.
Turned power back on and all heck broke loose again - S9+ buzzzzzz. Just
to be even more certain, I took my Yaesu FT-817 QRP rig around the house
with just the rubber duck attached, tuned to 75M and did a little hunting.
The buzz coming off of the control wires that are exposed, the keypads and
especially the main control unit is just phenomenal. My HF antenna is
outside, at least 40 feet from my shack and 25 feet from the house, although
the coax does run along the concrete foundation of the house. I would guess
the noise is making it in via the coax. Definitely not through the AC
lines. Maybe even at the antenna, in which case that's one heck of a
radiated signal from the alarm.
Called the alarm company, explained to a not very bright (though courteous)
Customer Service person in very easy to understand language the whole
scenario. After a 10 second pause, he said let me put you on hold - that
lasted almost 10 minutes. At that point he came back on and said he needs
to speak to another technician about it and call me back tomorrow, but he
doubts there's anything they can do about it if my alarm system is doing
what it's supposed to and thanked me for calling.
By the way, the control unit box has no verbage anywhere indicating that it
complies with FCC regs. I also noticed that the only ground is the metal
box in which it's housed!
Anyway, it looks like it will be a continued uphill battle with the alarm
co. For a quick fix, I may just try one of the noise cancellation devices -
either the MFJ or Timewave until such time that I have the time to play with
chokes.
Pheewwww. Thanks again to all who provided responses, advice, etc, either
privately to me or to the list.
73,
Marc, WB2JUF
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