snip  ......................

  DTV  or any DBS leftovers ) like cord wood !!!!

yay a ya ya ha ha ha ha a ...........  Ooooops !!!  < cue outer limits
theme here !!! >

Probably they did consider it. Use of low-noise wideband receivers
(called "radiometers" in the ELINT world by analogy to the scientific
instruments of the same name) to detect the presence of low probability
of intercept signals has been standard for several decades.

But your set-up is very interesting, and another  great example of
doing much with little.

sounds like you have the experience to appreciate the capabilities
/ potential  of  a properly deployed  " black body "  sniffer . <g>

I have discovered that there are  a LOT of  additional  interesting  "
things "  associated with this type of equipment ...... I'd like to "
go off " about them here or other places on the web because they are
so interesting / phun .... but I  can't /  won't   because what is
just interesting and fun to me could be bent  into something quite
twisted    by others  ( read between the lines here ) . 

I  found  the UWB angle quite by accident  , never even thinking along
those lines initially ..... that discovery kinda directed me to the
additional " stuff "  that I mentioned as well.  
  I'm   quite familiar with  the  ( older ) wide band equipment you
mention ,  having been introduced to it during my government career.
probably why " black body  " stuff  pops into my mind during my
technical ramblings. been lots of that stuff available on ebay in
recent times , but most of it is VERY expensive .. even the older
stuff.  most people  think of that stuff  only in the realm of
microwave oven leakage detectors  ( hahah a)   but  obviously  we know
it's WAY more than that .  ( watkins - johnson was my hero ) 

I've taken the whole ( electromagnetic )  venue into new ( to me and
many people , but not the government ) territory by shifting  my
interests  down into the  dc magnetic -  ULF  (  mag to 40 hz ) and
have found a whole new world of phenomena / signals ( if signals is
the right  thought ) there. ( spurred on by  my old bud  at
wavebender magnetics  < google  " wavebender magnetics " >
 )   I'm mostly interested in  a natural ( possibly " geo - organic "
? )    perspective but have accidently ( again )  discovered
government  activities there as well.  I know the government has had
" large   mass "  self resonant  ferromagnetic  technology ever since
the 60's  ( that I know of, maybe even longer )  but it's only been
recently that  the civilian public has had access to these rods.

http://www.stormwise.com/page26.htm ( VFR_24C )  ..... the largest of
these are easily combined  to drop them well into the schumann wave
regions -  0 hz dc magnetic areas .  still not the massive government
sized rods but getting there ...... even these have " enormous "
sensitivity and range / distance  abilities.  to old  radio / r.f.
geeks like me ..... the concept of " self resonant " ferromagnetic
rod technology is pretty darn near " alien " in nature. not using 
/ needing  caps or coils  ( or cavities <g> )  to make a near dc
resonant circuit is really strange stuff .  I had ferrite rod tuning
in my vfo's and I/F. cans ..... never thought of them as " self
resonant circuits "  in themselves  !!!  guess it's kinda like  the (
ultra )  low freq r.f. example of  those ferromagnetic resonators that
replaced  many crystals when ICs come out .  trippy .........       


all this is exciting stuff , filled with interesting discoveries and
promise ......... there's LOTS of new things to discover out there ,
just waiting for us to happen along ... reminds me of the initial  old
days of the gold rush '49ers ....... nuggets just lying there waiting
to be picked up ,  right off the ground !  h ahaha ha a  



k