I was driving home last night from my bowling league and went a different
way than I'd ever gone before. (Only lived here in Scottsdale about 4
months.) Anyway, I discovered that I've got a large mass of power lines (big
ones!) about a 1/2 mile east of my apartment.

I've been playing around with my new YB400PE for the last week and can get
some stations from Austraila late at night, and various stations (mostly
with religious programming) from all over the US. I have picked up the BBC
faintly a couple of times. Various stations with languages that I can't make
out. All very interesting and fun!

But on many frequencies, I get a lot of interference. Sounds like an
electric motor or car engine revving. Could this be the power line
interference?

Thanks in advance.

This may prove helpful: http://www.ve3hls.com/noise/rfihome.html



Brian

Brian,

Thanks!

From the examples here on this site, I'd say it's probably some of the
computer equipment around the apartment.

I turn the monitor off and power off the computer, but my cable modem stays
on always. And even though the monitor is turned off, it's still connected
to the power cord and may very well be generating RFI.

I'll experiement with actually unpluging some of it and find out.

Thanks again!


"Brian" wrote in message
nk.net...
This may prove helpful: http://www.ve3hls.com/noise/rfihome.html



Brian

it doesn't have to be in your apartment .... computers and
monitors as much as 1/2 to 1 block away can / will cause interference
to shortwave receivers. some WAY more
than others. rf noise pollution is a skyrocketing problem
in most metro areas and places where there is much
population density. stuff like the new plasma TV sets and
many of the other TV types too are loaded with computer
type circuitry to boot. light dimmers such as the x-10 stuff
can drive you nuts ... and I've recently seen even a
defective electric fan cause severe interference 3 houses
up the street. living in metro areas will tax the resolve of
most shortwave enthusiasts to say the least and it will only
get worse.

large , high , " resonant " antennas , combined with shielded
coax lead-in, excellent earth grounding and metal cabinet
shielding for the Rx help. using those tunable shortwave " loop "
antennae will help null some noise sources too , tho they are
expensive for good ones.



k......................


Brian,

Thanks!

From the examples here on this site, I'd say it's probably some of the
computer equipment around the apartment.

I turn the monitor off and power off the computer, but my cable modem stays
on always. And even though the monitor is turned off, it's still connected
to the power cord and may very well be generating RFI.

I'll experiement with actually unpluging some of it and find out.

Thanks again!

HIDALGO,

Many modern electronics devices have "Always-On" or "Standby" Circuits;
that when the Power Switch is Turned OFF are still in-fact ON.

The only way to really Check them in a Totally OFF State is to
Un-Plug Them from the AC Power; Remove the Back-Up Batteries; and
Disconnect any Input and Output Cables[.]

jm2cw ~ RHF
..
..
= = = "Hidalgo" wrote in message
= = = news:Dn8yc.30447$My6.27367@fed1read05...
Brian,

Thanks!

From the examples here on this site, I'd say it's probably some of the
computer equipment around the apartment.

I turn the monitor off and power off the computer, but my cable modem stays
on always. And even though the monitor is turned off, it's still connected
to the power cord and may very well be generating RFI.

I'll experiement with actually unpluging some of it and find out.

Thanks again!


"Brian" wrote in message
nk.net...
This may prove helpful: http://www.ve3hls.com/noise/rfihome.html



Brian

In article Dn8yc.30447$My6.27367@fed1read05,
says...
Brian,

Thanks!

From the examples here on this site, I'd say it's probably some of the
computer equipment around the apartment.

I turn the monitor off and power off the computer, but my cable modem stays
on always. And even though the monitor is turned off, it's still connected
to the power cord and may very well be generating RFI.

I'll experiement with actually unpluging some of it and find out.

One handy tool to have is an old AM transistor radio, like the
FlavoRadios that Radio Shack used to sell. If you don't have one, you
can probably find one at a local swap meet or garage sale. Tune to
someplace between stations, then move it around where you think the
cause of the noise might be. As you get closer to the source, the
intensity will increase.

Also, if your computer is one of the newer ones, it may be partially
operating even though the computer is off. Example: the Optiplex
desktop systems from Dell will light up at the LAN port in the back if
the computer is plugged in to the AC power, and an active network cable
is connected. That's due in part to the wake-on-LAN capabilities of
modern systems which allow network administrators to "wake up" a
computer via a command from the network to do things like virus scans
and backups overnight or on the weekends. So even if the computer is
off, it may still be "on" -- disconnect the AC power during the course
of your troubleshooting to be sure.

--

-- //Steve//

Steve Silverwood, KB6OJS
Fountain Valley, CA
Email: