I put up a 40m loop as a "starter" HF antenna at this QTH at the end of June, so I can get a handle on deploying, maintaining, stress-relief for tree sway, mounting, etc of a horizontal wire antenna. 40m of wire seemed easier to deal with than 80, 160 or even 320m.
Noted on 10/13 that signals above 20 mhz or so on the KiwiSDR were much lower than some other nearby KiwiSDRs, and there seemed to be much more noise present everywhere. 10m FT8 signals seemed weaker when they should have been booming. Signals were still coming in, just weaker everywhere, and markedly so at the higher HF frequencies. I hadn't been paying attention the last few weeks, but my KiwiSDR SNR ranking had dropped substantially as well. Recent geomagnetic storms made this less obvious for a while, too.
Of course this was figured out after I left that QTH for a bit, so I can't diagnose on site. Either there's a problem with the antenna, the coax, or the MFJ1708B-SDR switch. I suspect the most likely culprit is that my 40m loop has become a 40m long wire. Thinking the connection to the balun on one side has come loose, or the wire itself is broken. I'll diagnose the next time I'm on site, and update with my findings.
-Nate
N8BTR
