I have a good ham friend who has been creating a lot of RFI with a
nearby neighbor. The RFI is mainly coming through the neighbor's PC
speakers and TV speaker. No one else in the neighborhood is affected.
It doesn't matter what band or how much power he runs, 2-40 meters,
5-100 watts, he creates RFI. His own home equipment, including a TV
and PC in the shack are not affected. The only odd thing we can think
of, is his neighbor's roof is all tin. We don't know if there is a
ground on it not, but the question is: Could the tin roof be a
contributor to his problem? Would a good ground of the tin roof help?

Thanks...

I don't believe the roof is any part of the issue. This sounds like a
simple case of inability of the computer speaker system reject nearby RF
signals. The roof may possibly be a contributor to generating harmonics
due to poor bonding of each element but you are not describing anything
that sounds like harmonic generation.

The issue, in my opinion, is the speakers, speaker amplifiers and/or
sound board in the computer cannot reject the presence of nearby RF
signals..

In the USA the Ham is not legally responsible for the deficiencies in
the computer equipment! He has demonstrated that his station does NOT
interfere with his computer. So, the problem has to be in the offending
computer!

The owner of the computer has the responsibility of adding the necessary
suppression devices to eliminate the RFI. This is generally a series
of snap on toroids on the various wires in the computer system. Very
severe RFI cases may require input from the manufacturer to solve the
problem.

The Ham should not become involved with any add-ons, clamp on ferrites,
or modifications to the offending computer because of legal liability
issues.

Diplomacy and Tact are the key issues for the Ham.

Deacon Dave, W1MCE



Jim Leder wrote:
[SNIP]

but the question is: Could the tin roof be a
contributor to his problem? Would a good ground of the tin roof help?

Thanks...

"Jim Leder" wrote in message
...
I have a good ham friend who has been creating a lot of RFI with a
nearby neighbor. The RFI is mainly coming through the neighbor's PC
speakers and TV speaker. No one else in the neighborhood is affected.
It doesn't matter what band or how much power he runs, 2-40 meters,
5-100 watts, he creates RFI. His own home equipment, including a TV
and PC in the shack are not affected. The only odd thing we can think
of, is his neighbor's roof is all tin. We don't know if there is a
ground on it not, but the question is: Could the tin roof be a
contributor to his problem? Would a good ground of the tin roof help?

Thanks...


Odd, but try having the neighbor operate his computer inside the ham's house
while transmitting. Does the neighbor's computer still act improperly? If
so, that eliminates the roof question.

Also, try a couple of the ham's electronic gadgets in the neighbor's house.
Do the gadgets still work OK? If so, another reason to absolve the roof.

Ed
WB6WSN

I don't believe the roof is any part of the issue. This sounds like a
simple case of inability of the computer speaker system reject nearby RF
signals. The roof may possibly be a contributor to generating harmonics
due to poor bonding of each element but you are not describing anything
that sounds like harmonic generation.

The issue, in my opinion, is the speakers, speaker amplifiers and/or
sound board in the computer cannot reject the presence of nearby RF
signals..

In the USA the Ham is not legally responsible for the deficiencies in
the computer equipment! He has demonstrated that his station does NOT
interfere with his computer. So, the problem has to be in the offending
computer!

The owner of the computer has the responsibility of adding the necessary
suppression devices to eliminate the RFI. This is generally a series
of snap on toroids on the various wires in the computer system. Very
severe RFI cases may require input from the manufacturer to solve the
problem.

The Ham should not become involved with any add-ons, clamp on ferrites,
or modifications to the offending computer because of legal liability
issues.

Diplomacy and Tact are the key issues for the Ham.

Deacon Dave, W1MCE



Jim Leder wrote:
[SNIP]

but the question is: Could the tin roof be a
contributor to his problem? Would a good ground of the tin roof help?

Thanks...

I have forwarded these suggestions to my friend ,who lives in Florida,
I'm in Ohio. He isn't a newsgroup user, so I presented the question
for him to these 2 groups. Thanks for the very good ideas. I've had
RFI before, but never with someone who has had a metal roof and
frankly don't have any idea if it's contributing to his problem or
not. If we figure it out, I'll post it. Thanks again.

"Jim Leder" wrote in message
...
I have a good ham friend who has been creating a lot of RFI with a
nearby neighbor. The RFI is mainly coming through the neighbor's PC
speakers and TV speaker. No one else in the neighborhood is affected.
It doesn't matter what band or how much power he runs, 2-40 meters,
5-100 watts, he creates RFI. His own home equipment, including a TV
and PC in the shack are not affected. The only odd thing we can think
of, is his neighbor's roof is all tin. We don't know if there is a
ground on it not, but the question is: Could the tin roof be a
contributor to his problem? Would a good ground of the tin roof help?

Thanks...


Odd, but try having the neighbor operate his computer inside the ham's house
while transmitting. Does the neighbor's computer still act improperly? If
so, that eliminates the roof question.

Also, try a couple of the ham's electronic gadgets in the neighbor's house.
Do the gadgets still work OK? If so, another reason to absolve the roof.

Ed
WB6WSN

I have forwarded these suggestions to my friend ,who lives in Florida,
I'm in Ohio. He isn't a newsgroup user, so I presented the question
for him to these 2 groups. Thanks for the very good ideas. I've had
RFI before, but never with someone who has had a metal roof and
frankly don't have any idea if it's contributing to his problem or
not. If we figure it out, I'll post it. Thanks again.