Rob Leiden

Radio Frequency Interference (RFI) Web-Based Help to Roll Out in 4th Quarter

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Every new power-dependent technology has also produced an ever-increasing number of RFI generating devices.  Solar generators, LED’s, power line faults, charging devices and many other sources pollute the amateur radio spectrum and impact its effective use.  The New England Division, with the cooperation of Ed Hare, W1RFI and Steve Anderson, W1EMI at the ARRL Lab, has created a program to assist hams to identify and eliminate or reduce RFI in the ham shack.

The final phase of a project to provide a web-based RFI troubleshooting process is planned for the fourth quarter of this year.  The web pages are in place and the teams to assist New England hams to use them have been established in each section.  The pages feature:

and many other references that help hams identify RFI sources,

To use the process, a ham first performs the checks outlined in the decision tree.  If that doesn’t identify the noise source, the ham then fills out a form explaining what was done and sends it to the section RFI team together with a spectrum file if available.  The RFI team then works with the ham to help identify and eliminate the RFI.  If necessary, the case is forwarded to the ARRL and then, if still unresolved, to the FCC.  

Two RFI-related forums are planned for the Marlboro HamXposition in late August.  Annette, KA1RFI and Rob, K1UI will discuss the partnership between radio amateurs and Eversource of New Hampshire to identify and correct power line – related RFI.  Rob will then lead an RFI team forum where RFI team tools will be available for demonstration.  Some of these were evaluated by the RFI teams at their June meeting. 

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Rhode Island Team Completes RFI Team Staffing

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With the addition of the Rhode Island Team of Keith, W1KJR, Scott, WX1X and Norm, W1NEP, all seven New England sections now have RFI teams to assist hams having RFI issues in their shacks.  Most sections would still welcome volunteers to serve as members or alternates if needed so, if interested, please contact your Section Manager or Technical Coordinator.  The team members and contact information for your section can be found on the New England RFI Team page.

RFI Team Equipment Tookits are Defined

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At a June 5, 2022 New Hampshire meeting of the New England RFI teams, a set of tools obtained for team use was demonstrated, along with some more sophisticated equipment available for loan, brought by Steve Anderson, W1EMI, of the ARRL Lab.  The teams evaluated these and selected those to be obtained for the use of each team, to be loaned from the ARRL or loaned from a New England division inventory as needed.  These may now be seen on the RFI Team Toolkit webpage.  Action is in progress to obtain funds to procure this equipment for each team and for sharing within the New England Division.

RFI Teams Meet in New Hampshire

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RFI Team members from Eastern Massachusetts, Western Massachusetts and Maine met on June 5 in Hollis, New Hampshire with the New England Director Fred Kemmerer, AB1OC; Rob Leiden, K1UI, Assistant Director for Spectrum Protection and Use; Anita Kemmerer, AB1QB, Assistant Director for Mentoring and Ham Development and Steve Anderson, W1EMI, from the ARRL Lab.  Also at the meeting were: Stephanie, WA1YKL; Dan, W1DAN; Dom, N1DM and Najm, AB1ZA,

An IC705, DXE HF loop and an Elk VHF/UHF Yagi, obtained by the Director for evaluation, were demonstrated and team members had an opportunity to try them out.  Steve demonstrated the RE240, a high-end RFI analyzer suited for power line noise location and an MFJ ultrasonic detector and dish that are available for use by the teams should the need arise.  The RE 243 is the newest version of this instrument.  Team members also brought along some homebrew and commercial tools they use.  Najm showed the others a pocket RFI guide that is still available for purchase.  Steve noted that the ARRL RFI guidebook is being revised and will be in print when the Lab update and review is complete.  The ARRL Lab is updating its website to reflect solar energy RFI and other recent developments.

The teams selected the tools that will be obtained for use by the section teams. Some of the tools already purchased for evaluation were the Elk VHF/UHF log periodic, the IC705 HF/VHF/UHF transceiver and the DX Engineering HF Loop, Steve Anderson, W1EMI, brought additional tools available to loan to the teams as needed.  These included an ultrasonic dish and detector, a Radar Engineers RE240 and VHF yagi for hunting power line RFI and a handheld circuit “sniffer” for finding local sources, especially in the home.

The need for additional web process material was identified to:

  • Better define the role of the teams,
  • Outline anticipated communications between the teams and hams with pending RFI issues and
  • Ensure all the information required by the ARRL Lab is recorded and transmitted to the ARRL Lab when required.

New Quicklink for RFI Troubleshooting Now on Division Home Page

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Some hams have had trouble finding the troubleshooting guide.  A Quicklink is now on the Division Website home page that will take hams directly to the guide.  There, hams will find a process for finding and fixing RFI, links to places to buy or build equipment, power company contact information, teams in each section that will assist when needed and videos and slide decks that discuss RFI finding techniques and experience.

RFI Troubleshooting Guide Adds Power Company Contacts Page

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The RFI Troubleshooting Guide RFI Troubleshooting Guide – ARRL New England Division now has a list of the power company contacts for hams to report power line noise-related issues.  Hams are encouraged to contact New England Division RFI Teams prior to doing so to make the team aware of the issue, so that they can follow up if necessary.  Noise thought to be coming from power company hardware may actually be from another service on a power pole, like a leaking television cable, so try and gather as much information, with the help of the RFI team if needed, to understand the source of the noise.  We expect to need to update the maps and contact information from time to time as service areas and company relationships change over time.  If you see that we need to change some information, please let us know at k1ui@nediv.arrl.org.

New England Mesh Network Continues to Grow

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Mike, K1NPT, in Rhode Island, has tunneled through to New Hampshire (Jay K1EHZ) and Maine, (Bill, NG1P) extending the Mesh connectivity in New England to three states.  The process has enabled these New England Mesh network operators to gain experience with connecting multiple Mesh systems together.  The connected systems will also permit the system owners to gain experience with bandwidth and latency issues as well as cross system functionality.  The New England Director and his staff congratulate Bill, Mike and Jay on their achievement and look forward to bringing more states “on-line.”

 

More information on the status of Mesh Networking in New England is found at: nediv.arrl.org/spectrum-protection-use.

List of Potential RFI Sources to be Updated

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Assistant Director Rob Leiden, K1UI, writes:

A list of potential RFI sources is being maintained and will be updated as information becomes available as part of the New England Division RFI Troubleshooting Guide web page.  Any source determined to be emitting radio frequency interference should be forwarded to the RFI Team for your area, including audio and spectrum files if possible.  Audio and RF spectrum files will also be included as they become available.

Cape Cod ARES MESH Network Testing Successful

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Bruce, WA3SWJ, reports that ranges of 20 miles over Cape Cod Bay between the mid and outer Cape have been achieved with sufficient throughput to pass video.  5.8 GHz Ubiquity transceivers were used for the test.  The test was an important milestone for the Cape ARES group led by Frank WQ1O, the Cape DEC, Bruce and Lem, W1LEM.  More information about MESH networking in New England and progress towards interconnecting them into a New England-wide network is available on the Spectrum Protection and Utilization web page.

Bill, NG1P and Jay, K1EHZ Propose MESH Naming for Connecting (Tunneling) Between MESH Systems

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After successfully performing the first tunneling between New England MESH systems (Maine and New Hampshire,) Bill and Jay have developed a proposal to enable other MESH systems in New England to connect to each other via the commercial internet and experiment further.  This will better position the Division to connect using RF vs. the internet and create a true Division-wide intranet that would allow high speed communication even when the commercial systems are unavailable locally.  Any comments should be directed to Bill at ng1p@yahoo.com or Jay at jltaft@comcast.net.