It's great to see Nuts & Volts featuring amateur radio articles. Your editorial in issue-4 pointed out the problems we amateurs face in an urban environment. Also it seems that similar problems face people who have to move in to secure accommodations such as old people's homes. Members of my local club here in Australia (Bendigo Amateur Radio and Electronics Club) have pondered this problem for some time as some of our members are approaching later life. I first experienced the noise problem when I put on a display of radio technology at our historic Telegraph Station. The electronic noise from the next door telephone exchange blotted out everything from HF to VHF. Not wanting to disappoint the public, I set up a computer to receive the KiwiSDR radio located in Melbourne 120 Kms away. (This site aggregates participating receivers all over the world.) Now, I was in a position to show what amateur radio could sound like and I could also suggest that newcomers to the hobby should tune in regularly to learn operating procedures. And all for free! When the public had departed, I heard a CQ on 40 meters. I tuned my HF transceiver to that same frequency and was able to transmit to that station and enjoy a noise-free contact on my browser. My next step was to purchase my own KiwiSDR kit and install it locally but in a quieter location and with a simple antenna.
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