Tim..

Having dabbled around in this noisy rf environment for
about 20 years..the following things will help:

1. The Antec Sonata is a good starting point as far
as cases go.
2. Get away from the noise of the convential CRT
monitor! Check on a good Flat panel from NEC or
Samsung and many others. Study up on the FCC type
shielding they adhere to...usually Canada, Japan
Korea and others. Usually they are represented by the
series of stickers of authenication as to rf rules
they adhere to. This has improved over time.

Also, some old video cards have a lot of rf type noise.
If you have an older sound card, many of them have
digital/analogue converters that sing with noise and
Rf.

Be extremely awsare of any "switching power supplies"
these are a nightmare, generally, in a radio environment.
Stay away from these supplies..confirm that it is not
a switching supply.

Also, the battery back up power supply has
the same problem in a radio environment...they
emit unbearable noise on most radios..particularly
on the 80/75 meter bands.

Put your PCI card slot metal shields in where
you've removed the PCI card. Also, most of the
good cases, including the Antec, have some RF
shields..I've never proven to myself if these
work or not..however, these in theory help
maintain a lot of RF energy from escaping from the
above mentioned components..however, it is best
to get a better built component that does not
radiate much RF.

Make sure the radio is removed from the PC area as
far as possible...also note the reduction in noise
at different angles from the PC. Mind you, an old
CRT monitor will wipe you out with noise. A small
palm held am radio put next to a pc will help
find out which component is offending you. Note
also, on difficult situations, there are all types
of shielding material. Don't overlook your AC power
and noise brought in on the lines. Some power
filtering supplies from some cable suppliers
will help.

Good luck,

Leonard...

P.S some cheap fans cause electrical noise.
Again pc positioning is critical.
Google on rf shielding material





On Sun, 15 May 2005 11:00:57 -0700, shoppa wrote:


I'm looking for a solid desktop (either pizza-box or mini-tower)
computer case that has an all-metal exterior for shielding RFI. This
is for use around radios etc. I realize that SVGA monitors, mice, and
keyboard leak too, but right now I'm looking mainly at the PC box.

Most of the cheaper cases come pretty close to good shielding, but they
have these plastic filler panels in the drive bays that offer no
shielding and let a lot of RF leak out.

Most of the fancier cases in the computer stores around here have
humongous plastic pieces on the side. I'm looking for all-metal.

Rack-mount server cases seem to be pretty good in terms of metal
shielding all around but I need something for desktop use.

Any suggestions? If all else fails I can just put some perforated
metal over the holes in a cheap case, but I'd rather just buy a good
case to begin with.

Tim.