ARRL New England Division to Combat RFI

Radio frequency interference (RFI) has become an issue for many radio amateurs in the past decade. Solar energy systems, LEDs, switching power supplies, dimmers, variable-speed motor controllers and other non-linear devices have all raised the noise floor. This impacts radio amateurs across the board, including those participating in emergency communications, traffic handling, and those talking with friends on the air. In some cases, it makes communicating via amateur radio all but impossible.
To combat this problem, the ARRL New England Division has created teams to help radio amateurs find sources of RFI and eliminate or reduce the interference. These teams are also able to provide additional assistance when required, such as working with utility companies, the ARRL, or even the FCC.
A $23,640 ARDC grant will allow the New England Division to purchase RFI equipment for each of the seven sections in the division. Each kit will have the following equipment:
• Icom IC-705 transceiver, outfitted with a backpack and spare battery, for RFI detection and spectrum capture.
• DX Engineering NOISELOOP receiving antenna and a DXE-NL-PRE-ATT-1 preamplifier- attenuator to detect sources of high-frequency RFI.
• Elk Antennas 2M/440L5 Dual-Band Antenna for locating RFI sources in the VHF and UHF portions of the spectrum.
In addition, the division will be purchasing a Radar Engineering RE-243 Broadband RFI Locator for detecting power-line noise and a Radar Engineering RE-245 Circuit Sniffer for detecting indoor noise sources. This equipment will be dispatched to the sections when needed.
The funds will also help the division with on-site training for all seven New England section teams. Rob Leiden, K1UI, Assistant Director for Spectrum Protection & Utilization, notes, "This grant will really help our dedicated teams combat RFI throughout the New England Division.

Amateur Radio Digital Communications
5663 Balboa Ave Suite 432
San Diego, CA 92111-2705 USA

Founded in 1914 as the American Radio Relay League, ARRL is a noncommercial organization of radio amateurs.The New England Division includes the states of Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Rhode Island, and Vermont. In this geographic area, the division supports the awareness and growth of amateur radio, strives to involve members and get them on the air, encourages radio experimentation and education, and organizes and trains volunteers to serve their communities by providing public service and emergency communications. To learn more about the ARRL New England Division, go to https://nediv.arrl.org/,

Amateur Radio Digital Communications (ARDC) is a California-based foundation with roots in amateur radio and the technology of internet communication. The organization got its start by managing the AMPRNet address space, which is reserved for licensed amateur radio operators worldwide. Additionally, ARDC makes grants to projects and organizations that follow amateur radio's practice and tradition of technical experimentation in both amateur radio and digital communication science. Such experimentation has led to advances that benefit the general public, including the mobile phone and wireless internet technology. ARDC envisions a world where all such technology is available through open source hardware and software, and where anyone has the ability to innovate upon it. To learn more about ARDC, go to https://www.ampr.org.

This release was published on openPR.