How do I find the source of this interference?
 

I am getting interference from a radio source. It sounds like morse code and can last for hours at a time. It comes over my cordless phone and over my HT. It even comes over the subwoofers when the receiver is off. So they are picking up this signal right from the air. These days there are towers everywhere. It could be a radio tower, cellular, two-way or ham radio. But I'd really like to find the source to see if there is something I can do to stop it. It is very annoying when I can't watch a movie on a Sunday afternoon because my speakers are all beeping...----..-...------

I had the same problem once.

Call your local FCC office and let them know. They were able to fix my problem. I was picking up dumb-a** ham radio operators on my stereo and TV.

You may want to start by putting noise filters on your power cords. You can get them at rat-shack and they do work in most cases.

Many thanks. I'll try both ideas.

PaleBlueDot,

An "evangelist" using "dumb-a**" talk! Naughty naughty...

What did the FCC do? If the hams were operating tuned and powered equipment and operating within legalities for frequency and power and appropriately licensed, then it isn't their problem. If not, then go get em. There are two sides to the ham coin and receiver manufacturers are the other side of that coin.

However, for many decades, the FCC has tended to shutdown legally operating hams when television or receiver manufacturers save a few pennies by leaving out the power line filters. The other alternative given to legally operating hams was for them to BUY the offended party the filters. Manufacturers walk away scott-free when its their faulty equipment. After all, who is the 10,000 pound gorilla, a few hams or equipment manufacturers?

There are also many cases where hams have used their knowledge to track down the source of the interference in the offended party's domain. Such as improper electrical system grounding, corroded connections, improper antenna setup, wrong wiring, etc. This is the best solution and keeps both sides satisfied and develops better community. As with anything, there are bad hams out there also.

Did YOUR equipment manufacturers put on the noise filters on THEIR power cords that were acting as an OPEN DOOR into THEIR equipment? You said you had to buy the filters.

BTW, I live in the city that has the largest annual Hamvention in the world.

I am using the Definitive Technologies BP2004's which have built in subwoofers. The subwoofers were picking up the signal even though the receiver was not on. I tried disconnecting the speaker wire to see if that was acting as an antennae but they still gave me the beep, beep, beep. My cordless phone is an older one so it doesn't surprise or concern me that it picks up the noise also. As far as ham radio operators go, I know my parents had neighbors affected by a nearby radio and there experience was not a good one. It was very antagonistic on both sides. Fortunately mine is not severe yet. It is frequent but doesn't last too terribly long. One should be able to watch TV in their own home without conflicting noise though.

Jim,

As I hope was obvious, my comments were generalized. With your receiver turned off, your wiring seems to be acting as an antenna. The subwoofer coils may even be acting as a loaded coil. This definitely needs attention. ARRL policy is for hams to NOT be antagonistic. But, you are wise in not automatically assuming it is a ham.

ARRL may be able to help you. Try RadioFrequency Interference/ElectroMagnetic Interference and associated links. You may end up emailing them also.

http://www.arrl.org/tis/info/rfigen.html

If the morse code sounding lasts uninterrupted for hours, or a long time, it would be doubtful it is a ham keying morse code. Although it could be a computer sending over ham frequencies. That could run attended for hours.

I'm adding another link specifically for audio.

http://www.arrl.org/tis/info/rfiaudio.html

Keep us posted on what you find out.
Ross

I called the FCC and they were less than helpful. They won't investigate individula complaints such as mine, they just sent me a brochure. I checked out the links and the information they sent me. I don't believe it's a ham radio. It must be a radio tower going through a cycling phase. I replaced the surge protectors with noise filtering protectors from Radio Shack. So far I haven't noticed anything but I've been traveling so I doubt I would have anyway. I'll just have to wait and see if it helps.

That's a shame that they wont investigate since it is...well...their job. In my case they sent someone out immediately and then found the local ham radio guy using illegal signal boosters. Maybe more people were complaining and I was just the straw so to speak. Check around your neighborhood for large antenna...if you find one go to the guys house and tell him to stop broadcasting and get on the internet like everyone else. Besides the guy isn't running a rebel radio station or anything, which would actually be cool. He is just trying to see who is the furtherest person his radio can reach and talk about the weather.