Hello from Steve G1XOW in Nottinghamshire, England. I am a COMPULSIVE SSB DX'ER, and also like a good ragchew with freinds around the world.

Radio interference and QRM from any VDSL broadband using BT overhead drop wires is a big problem in the UK. It is causing much of the HF spectrum to be unusable. Scroll to the bottom to get more info. You need to know this stuff. 

 

A proud member of Chiltern DX Club (CDXC) and the Radio Society of Great Britain (RSGB).

QSL POLICY

• I use Club Log and LotW for QSL - I do not send cards unless requested!
• I do not collect paper cards
• If you want my card send $2 + SASE to my QRZ address - I QSL direct within days.
• Any QSL lacking return postage will be returned via Bureau

MY STATION

Licensed for over 30 years, I work mainly DX on 17m, 15m, 10m, 6m bands, I also work on 40 / 80m DX during the dark months.

MY RADIOS

QRV on all bands from 160m to 70cm :-

- FLEX 6500 SDR - I love the F6K but not so happy with the software.

- YAESU FT-759D for portable HF and 2/70cm in the shack.

MY AMPLIFIERS

160-6m

OM Power 2000A+

MY ANTENNAE

40-10m Bands	3 Element SteppIR with 30/40m kit, 20m above ground
6m	7 element DX FLOWA 6CQM7UX, 7m long, 22m above ground
40/60/80m NVIS	full sized 80m inverted-V, apex 20m above ground
30/40/60/80m DX 160m DX	Full sized rotary dipole at 20m for 40/30m + 1/4w verticals for all low bands Inverted-L GP with top loading at 20m AGL.

MY WORK

I've been a computer engineer for over 30 years. I hold a degree in computer science and I'm also a Microsoft Certified Systems Engineer (MCSE). I've worked in the I.T. industry since 1982. My career started as a software aprentice whilst Microsoft was still inventing Windows (!). MS-DOS was still being developed and ported to new hardware. I remember well the old green-screen days of CP/M and MP/M operating systems running on a single z80 CPU with an S100 passive bus...do you?

When I'm not playing radio I run a Computer Support Centre in Southwell, near Newark, Nottinghamshire www.southwellcomputercentre.com   We suport about 3,800 computers, servers and networks, many of them are small/medium sized businesses on annual support contract. Since we started the business way back in 2001 we have serviced/repaired more than 13,500 units and most of those were problems due to poor security measures, lack of backups or lack of proper maintenance, real hardware faults are actually pretty low. PEBCAK...Google it!

 

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BT openreach VDSL broadband is destroying our hobby - and Ofcom are helping them !

Radio interference from VDSL broadband using BT overhead drop wires is a big problem here in the UK. It is causing much of the HF spectrum up to 18MHz to be unusable.

Both Ofcom and BT are trying very hard to hide the radio interference being caused by VDSL braodband, which despite their bogus claims is a very real problem for lots of people. They recently conducted just 3 pretty shoddy tests to conclude and dismiss VDSL interference as a "non-issue", yet the details within their report makes it clear that there is techincally a very real problem that Ofcom has chosen to ignore.

Ofcom have been attempting to redefine an acceptable “noise floor” so that it allows a significant level of VDSL noise to still be permissible within their definitions. That noise floor is being pushed upwards to around the S9 (-73dBm) level which as we all know is a pretty impressive on-air signal by normal standards, whilst many signals,  and most DX will fall well below in to the VDSL mush. Those signals would be inaudible below the BT generated radio interference from thier VDSL FTTC broadband.

Having recently been in contact with Ofcom regarding a severe and obvious EMC problem from recently installed VDSL broadband, I was dismayed to learn that Ofcom are completely disinterested in VDSL interference reports. I placed a complaint on-line only to be called the next day by the Duty Officer at Ofcom. He only had one thing he wanted to say: “that Ofcom do not investigate any VDSL interference reports, and I should call BT Open Reach instead”. As we know BT Open reach will not take calls directly from end-user subscribers, and therefore the complaint can only be dealt with via yet another disinterested party -  your Internet Service provider who has no procedures to diagnose the problem, and is almost powerless to deal with it anyway.

Both Ofcom and BT Openreach are entirely complicit and in fact legally respnsible for creating and/or approving this invasive interference causing technology. However, they both adopt Teflon shoulders by insisting that we deal with thier problem via our Internet Service Provider, yet the ISP is not able to understand or help you. In other words Ofcom and BT openreach want to give us as much hassle and blocking of the reporting process as is possible, and they won't lift a finger to execute thier legal obligations.

The problem is essentially caused by BT overhead "drop wires" allowing the radional of RF noise (currently 138kHz right up to 17.6MHz) on some bands the noise is S9++   BT even has the techincal ability within their street cabinets to turn HF band notching on, and therefore protect our HF bands from this crud, but they won't do that because Ofcom say there isn't a problem!

1) Just take a look at these SDR screen shots below. They make the problem both obvious and undeniable. Can you see the S6 and S8 QSOs in progress on the 160m band through that S9+ crud from VDSL noise?  Ofcom say this is not a prolem. Really Ofcom you cannot be serious?  

 

2) Look at the gap at 12 to 12.04 MHz where VDSL is NOT transmitting (aka the guard band)?  That's what the background noise should be like without VDSL interference, but look either side, yuk!  Imagine that crud on your favourite HF band when chasing some rare DX.  That level of interference is not only harmful but will prevent your communication with other stations.

 

3) Look here on the 20m band below, what you see is my antenna (instantly reversible SteppIR) which I switched from pointing north (away form the VDSL interference) to south (pointing at the BT VDSL drop wires), I then flip back to north again within a few seconds. The thick green band of sludge is the noise caused by VDSL interference from the BT dropwire in that direciton. You can see how quiet the band is in the other direction (the blue areas). Any sane person would conclude that this is obviously a problem. So how come Ofcom and BT still say its not?

 

I run a computer support business with about 5000 clients, I and my team actively dissuade customers from buying VDSL unless it’s absolutely essential, often It isn’t and they are just consindering due to marketing hype !

So, I’m removing VDSL from my own house and I will also be removing the BT drop wire for good. I'm moving to super and interference free service from the EE 4/5G mast.

I’m also working closely with my neighbours to provide them with a small scale community WIFI network that will be fed from my 5G link. Hopefully then we can finally get rid of this badly conceived BT crud from the local area.

BT is a dinosaur and a relic of an our dated and outmoded technology. The people of this nation are starting to wise up. Soon BT cabling has been badly shoe-horned with VDSL will be a thing of history.

As techincal guru's all Radio Amateurs need to make this problem as public as possible. Give it maximum exposure via friends, collegues, customers, recommendations, facebook, twitter etc. etc. Make sure they cannot hide this in the long grass. VDSL is a blight on HF communication right now, and with the next generation of VDSL just aorund the corner - set to cause interference well into the VHF region, we had better get something done about it PDQ!

73 de Steve G1XOW