Washed out signal help

ImDroidedImDroided
in Problems and Issues
Hey everyone I recently received my Kiwi and no matter what antenna I connect I have several the 18-27mhz range is pretty much washed out. It is the same with 4 different power supplies 4 different antennas active and passive. The first image is my active mini whip with 2 AM band stops from nooelec the 2nd is without the bandstops. Is this a faulty unit? Am I doing something wrong here?

Attachments:
https://forum.kiwisdr.com/uploads/Uploader/88/833e4bd30297073d0dcc484da31442.png
https://forum.kiwisdr.com/uploads/Uploader/91/902765101bec407fb2c07c29eefb1e.png

Comments

  • PowernumptyPowernumpty
    That is probably a real signal at the antenna. Could be ADSL/VDSL from phones lines. I looks very smooth though, so either constant traffic or something else.
    If you have access to a magnetic loop antenna the null can help direction find the source, I suppose you could put the whip low enough that you can shield it with your body and see if you can reduce the pickup, if you manage to reduce it, you know you are between the antenna and the source. You could also listen to the sound see if it sounds like data.
  • n6gnn6gn
    If you could plot it with the spectral display turned on, it might be easier to analyze the signal. The waterfall isn't nearly so good a tool for this.
    WA2ZKD
  • jksjks
    edited May 2019
    Turn the spectrum display on ("spec" button). The spectrum display is the only way to see how much stronger these noise levels are compared to those at lower frequencies.

    Also, adjust the level of the quiet part of the band to be a darker blue color by changing the "WF min" slider on the WF tab. This makes the waterfall less "washed out". Learning how to control the waterfall color space with WF min/max is very important. You can also try the "auto scale" button which may or may not do a good job at this task.

    Your Kiwi is not defective. The noise levels look typical of many Kiwi installations. But outside of the AM broadcast band you have essentially no strong signals. There looks to be one HFBC a little below 12 MHz. Try some longwire antennas and different grounding configurations to compare with the active antennas. Do the active antennas have power fed to them properly?
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