Welcome to the FlexRadio Community! Please review the new Community Rules and other important new Community information on the Message Board.
Need the latest SmartSDR or 4O3A Genius Product Software?

SmartSDR v3.10.15 and the SmartSDR v3.10.15 Release Notes

The latest 4O3A Genius Product Software and Firmware
If you are having a problem, please refer to the product documentation or check the Help Center for known solutions.
Need technical support from FlexRadio? It's as simple as Creating a HelpDesk ticket.

RFI Food for Thought

KD0RC
KD0RC Member, Super Elmer Moderator
in Networking

Tonight I found a new source of RFI. The symptom is hitting the tune button with the 500 W amplifier engaged caused SmartSDR to become non-responsive, and therefore locked the tune button in the ON state. Keying my Flex 6400 with the keyline at the back of the radio caused no issues.

My hypothesis was that either the computer or the network was getting RFI, as the radio itself had no issues keying and unkeying 500 W.

On a whim, I unplugged an unused 10 ft. Cat 5 cable from my NetGear switch. Instant success! With the same cable plugged in to a Raspberry Pi, I had no issues. Unplugged from the Pi end, it apparently acts like an antenna, even with a mix 31 ferrite bead at the network switch end.

I hope this is useful for anyone else having a similar issue.

Tagged:

Comments

  • ka9ees
    ka9ees Member ✭✭✭

    @KD0RC

    Thanks Len!

    I think that might be causing me some trouble.

  • Randy KN4YBA
    Randy KN4YBA Member ✭✭

    Hello,


    With me living in an HOA and all HF antennas in my attic, the only resolution that stopped all RFI back to my radio was running 10gb fiber from my network back to my radios and computers.


    I fought this issue until running the fiber.


    Best of luck!


    Randy

    KN4YBA

  • Mike VE3CKO
    Mike VE3CKO Member ✭✭✭

    You can assume the same for USB cables plugged into the computer but nothing at the other end. Any unused cables including audio, should be unplugged to prevent possible RFI.

Leave a Comment

Rich Text Editor. To edit a paragraph's style, hit tab to get to the paragraph menu. From there you will be able to pick one style. Nothing defaults to paragraph. An inline formatting menu will show up when you select text. Hit tab to get into that menu. Some elements, such as rich link embeds, images, loading indicators, and error messages may get inserted into the editor. You may navigate to these using the arrow keys inside of the editor and delete them with the delete or backspace key.

Comment As ...

Categories