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does anybody have any idea what could cause these noises

steve smith ka1sdr
edited June 2020 in New Ideas
imageand its not the power supply if i switch out the antenna it goes away and its on all bands but real bad on 80 40 20

Comments

  • John n0snx
    John n0snx Member
    edited April 2015
    Some times these noises are hard to find.... If you tried a different power supply and it is still there... Start the search.... power supply in computer,TV, cable/satellite box, wall warts, led lighting ect.... hopefully you will find the culprit....
  • steve smith ka1sdr
    edited November 2016
    thanx for the reply do you think it could still be in the house if when i disconnect the antenna it goes away
  • John n0snx
    John n0snx Member
    edited April 2015
    Yes it could be... you need to make sure its not in the house before looking elsewhere ..  could be an electrical transformer out side but check inside first....
  • Dan -- KC4GO
    Dan -- KC4GO Member
    edited March 2018
    I found something very much like that in my shack. Turned out to be a power supply for an external HD.. I found it by taking a 25ft coax with pl259 on one end and a loop about 6" around on the other. Connect to the Flex Radio and select it as the antenna watch the display and go sniffing in  your shack. If you don't find it there then start turning off breakers to other rooms to see if it goes away... 
    And go to https://community.flexradio.com/flexradio/topics/how-to-build-a-quiet-station
    A great assistance by Dr Howard S. White.

    Good Luck &  73's
    Dan --- KC4GO
     


  • steve smith ka1sdr
    edited March 2015
    ok thank you
  • Tom Warren
    Tom Warren Member
    edited May 2019
    What kind of antenna do you have,  directional or omni? If directional, have you tried scanning the azimuth for clues of noise outside the shack/house. Is your shack inside the house? 
    Just some additional ideas of places to start.   Tom
  • Bob- W5TX
    Bob- W5TX Member ✭✭
    edited May 2017
    You might want to open up the pan adapter to cover the maximum span. I have found some wideband digital interference that has clearly had an attempt to notch the hambands but creates all kinds of stuff. Time-Warner is supposedly working the issue. At least one cable drop had been left with an open stub when customer discontinued service and was radiating . Good luck it's a tough hunt generally.
  • steve smith ka1sdr
    edited March 2015
    i have a wire antenna im going to try the coax trick with the loop tomorrow and see what i find thanx for the reply's really appreciate it all
  • Walt - KZ1F
    Walt - KZ1F Member ✭✭
    edited November 2016
    Steve, is it constant or does it come and go. I got some wicked noise in CT but generally during the day the waterfall is quiet as a mouse. I would think, by extension, it is not a power supply.
  • Robert -- N5IKD
    Robert -- N5IKD Member ✭✭
    edited August 2015
    I found LED power supply (drivers) causing this at my house. http://youtu.be/rDCXPNwajro
  • EA4GLI
    EA4GLI Member ✭✭✭
    edited November 2016
    Those look to be 60Hz apart , exactly! Definitely electric source.
  • steve smith ka1sdr
    edited March 2015
    i think so to i checked everything in the house and found nothing, its definitely coming from outside there is a transformer about 25 yards from the house i wonder if that could be the problem. i no if i disconnect the antenna it goes away completely.i tried Dans idea and hooked about 20 feet of coax to the radio and walked around the house and couldn't get it to duplicate the noise
  • Dan -- KC4GO
    Dan -- KC4GO Member
    edited March 2018
    Sorry it wasn't in your home it's always easier to resolve.
    Good luck 

    Dan --- KC4GO
  • VK7WH Winston
    VK7WH Winston Member ✭✭✭
    edited December 2016
    Steve, I had a similar noise and I was convinced that it was not coming from my house until I firedup the 6700 from a 12 volt battery and turned the entire house off at the main supply breaker. I found the culprit - an used switch mode power supply still plugged in behind the bench where I couldn't see it! Hope this helps. Good luck.
  • Ken - NM9P
    Ken - NM9P Member ✭✭✭
    edited June 2020
    It looks similar to the trash generated by the wall-wart supply for the under-counter halogen hockey-puck lights in my kitchen.  I have asked my XYL to leave it unplugged unless absolutely necessary, then ward me beforehand!
  • Alan - KA4B
    Alan - KA4B Member ✭✭
    edited March 2015
    I wholeheartedly agree with what Winston said.  Shutting down everything at the Main Panel and running on a battery will be a revelation.  Then you can turn on the breakers one at a time and watch the changes.  Look at 0 to 14 MHz. Set the waterfall to a slow speed so that it doesn't disappear before you have a chance to see the difference.  I know from personal experience!
  • Robert -- N5IKD
    Robert -- N5IKD Member ✭✭
    edited March 2015
    It could also be the monitor that you are using to view the Panadapter. If you have or can borrow a laptop so that you can shutdown your main computer and UPS.

  • W4WHL
    W4WHL Member ✭✭
    edited July 2016
    I had the same thing which turned out to be a plasma TV.  I have since got rid of that POS.

    W4WHL
  • KY6LA_Howard
    KY6LA_Howard Member ✭✭✭
    edited January 2017
    There are a number of RF QUIET computer supplies that u can swap in for ur noisy ones
  • steve smith ka1sdr
    edited June 2020
    ok guys this is what i have done i shut down the main breaker in my house and used an extension cord to my neighbors house still there, i swapped out computor still there i unplugged my monitor and could still here the noise just as strong on speakers,i unplugged speakers could still see spikes on screen,and like i said i swapped out power supply on radio no change at all and this all started about two weeks ago i have had the flex 6500 for almost a year and before that flex 5000 and flex 3000 never seen this before last to weeks unplug antenna and it all goes away
  • Ken - NM9P
    Ken - NM9P Member ✭✭✭
    edited December 2016
    It is a real RF interference signal being generated somewhere in you house or a neighbor's. What new piece of electric equipment have you added in the past month? Run your rig on a battery, connected directly to a laptop running on battery. And cycle the breakers in your house to see which circuit the offending equipment is on. Then track it down. If it still is running when the whole house is turned off, then you know it is a neighbor's stuff.
  • Reggie-k6xr
    Reggie-k6xr Member ✭✭
    edited April 2020
    I get this exactly but it is not permanent. I think It comes when the family uses the microwave and when done it disappears. the waveform is exactly what i see
  • steve smith ka1sdr
    edited March 2015
    its been constant for few weeks im going to try what ken suggested and borrow a laptop and **** the power completely in my house and my neighbors house if i have to thanx for the reply to all
  • VK7WH Winston
    VK7WH Winston Member ✭✭✭
    edited February 2017
    Definitely worth doing Steve. Even if it doesn't find the noise right away, at least you know that your house , and maybe your neighbours house as well, are clean and you'll need to start sniffing around your neighbourhood. QST had a good article recently on tracking down RFI which might be helpful. Good hunting!
  • steve smith ka1sdr
    edited March 2015
    thank you
  • Bob- W5TX
    Bob- W5TX Member ✭✭
    edited May 2017
    i assume you have eliminated your LAN if one is in use by connecting direct and shutting down LAN. Ask I stated earlier, open up the pan adapter to cover two bands or more. Is the noise better or worse out of band? Does it look like the noise is notched at hambands ? If so, you have cable or BPL interference in all probability. Additionally, if you see something like I describe, is the broadband noise periodic e.g. Does it increase or decrease every few seconds. If you just observe the ham band you may not see this periodicity even though it is present.
  • Rob Fissel
    Rob Fissel Member
    edited March 2015
    I've found Antec power supplies to work quite well. Unlike most cheap computer power supplies, Antec actually spends the extra $1 to add in decent filtering.
  • Jerry W2TXB
    Jerry W2TXB Member ✭✭
    edited February 2017
    I had a similar problem a while back, and found it was my monitor, which was almost brand new. I swapped it out for the one on my wife's PC, and the problem went away, She got the newer and better monitor in the deal, so it's all good. :)

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