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Old 12th Jun 2018, 12:41 pm   #1
pepmin 1
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Default Interference On MW.

Hi. I was wondering if anyone was experiencing any bad interference on MW. Over the last few days this has occurred on my radios and it has now become unbearable to listen to Talk sport for instance! Radio 5 is not as bad but it is still there. Sounds to my ears like a motor bike. This interference is on all of my radios. I have switched off everything electrical in my house even switching the electric of at the mains but it is still there. Could it be in the broadcast? I live in the Inverness area . Colin.
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Old 12th Jun 2018, 12:52 pm   #2
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Default Re: Interference On MW.

Quite possibly from a neighbouring property, there are many threads on this, such interference is a real plague upon AM radio. Might be worth walking around outside with a portable and seeing if this is any better either direction away from your property.

Better outdoor antenna systems can help
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Old 12th Jun 2018, 12:58 pm   #3
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Default Re: Interference On MW.

I'm afraid it could be a neighbours switched mode power supply. I bought a cheap replacement for my monitor. It works fine but as soon as I switched it on it swamped my old radio particularly on MW & LW. The old one didn't do that, so I was appalled by the lack of screening on this new supply. As I live in a flat my neighbours could be effected too so I don't use it anymore. I think the easiest way to check would be to take the radio out to another location and check.... good luck and I hope it's not a "noisy neighbour"!
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Old 12th Jun 2018, 1:04 pm   #4
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Default Re: Interference On MW.

Just about everybody suffers with it. I don't bother with medium wave anymore - there's very little left to listen to on it now anyway.
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Old 12th Jun 2018, 1:38 pm   #5
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Default Re: Interference On MW.

Thanks for the replies it did cross my mind that it could be the neighbour. Up until a few days ago MW in my area was as clear as a bell so it is really annoying that this should happen now. I dont have a good relationship with the neighbour so I cant even ask them. The radios that I use are vintage transistor so cant really do anything about the aerials. I noticed on my Vidor Gem radio that if I touch the aerial ( It is built into the handle ) the interference goes away. If it is the neighbour that is at fault it must be something that is on 24/7 as it was still causing interference at 04.00 this morning while they were in the land of nod. Colin.
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Old 12th Jun 2018, 1:39 pm   #6
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Default Re: Interference On MW.

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Originally Posted by Techman View Post
Just about everybody suffers with it. I don't bother with medium wave anymore - there's very little left to listen to on it now anyway.
I know the A.M bands are becoming obsolete which is a pity for these old sets. There is a thread on here about Absolute radio dissapearing in some area. In my area I can still get BBC Radio 1, 2, Solent and Absolute, Smooth on M.W and BBC radio 4 on L.W. so I do use A.M on my old sets and long may it continue
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Old 12th Jun 2018, 1:48 pm   #7
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Default Re: Interference On MW.

I have to say that I do like listening to Radio 5 not so much for sport but I like the news. Very rarely is there anything that I want to listen to on Radio 4. Talk Sport I can live without but it is still annoying. Not all of my radios have FM so this may mean that my listening days for these radios may be over.
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Old 12th Jun 2018, 1:52 pm   #8
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Default Re: Interference On MW.

You may be able to null out the interference if you rotate the radio, at least to some extent.

If your neighbour is helpful, prime candidates for this sort of interference are modern TVs and cheap laptop chargers. Try asking them to turn any such items off at the mains and see if there's any improvement.

Don't get your hopes up too much though. Faulty equipment can generate interference which spreads through the power distribution system from hundreds of yards away, and it's usually near impossible to track these things down.
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Old 12th Jun 2018, 1:55 pm   #9
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Default Re: Interference On MW.

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Originally Posted by pepmin 1 View Post
I have to say that I do like listening to Radio 5 not so much for sport but I like the news. Very rarely is there anything that I want to listen to on Radio 4. Talk Sport I can live without but it is still annoying. Not all of my radios have FM so this may mean that my listening days for these radios may be over.
There is always a so called 'pantry transmitter'. I've got a commercial FM one for iPod or any line signal, but I wonder if a commercial one is available for A.M too? I wonder how hard it is to make a transistor micro power A.M transmitter for line signals? Sounds like a project.
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Old 12th Jun 2018, 2:00 pm   #10
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Default Re: Interference On MW.

There are lots of projects for AM microtransmitters both here on the forum and on the wider internet, but they may not resolve the problem if the interference is really bad.
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Old 12th Jun 2018, 2:22 pm   #11
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Default Re: Interference On MW.

I took my Vidor Gem for a walk and the noise stops after a few feet away from the house. I walked towards the neighbours front window and it fires up again. In the house I put the radio behind my switched off tv and Sky box and the interference is horrendous. Coincidentally through the wall is where his tv and Sky box etc is. Mind you it always has been ? As I say I cant ask them as we dont speak anymore. She doesn't like the height off my plants etc and the last conversation I had with her I needed to to Wikipedia some off the words she was throwing at me. Ah well! no more radio for me so I will just grow my plants taller! Colin
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Old 12th Jun 2018, 2:39 pm   #12
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Default Re: Interference On MW.

It does sound as if a TV on the other side of the party wall is to blame.

LCD TVs do generate quite a lot of hash when working normally, but it's possible that this one has developed a fault which is making things much worse. Unfortunately they can soldier on for ages like that, apparently working but chucking out horrendous amounts of RFI. Hopefully it'll go bang soon and he'll buy a new one.
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Old 12th Jun 2018, 2:45 pm   #13
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Default Re: Interference On MW.

Quote:
Originally Posted by egerton View Post
There is a thread on here about Absolute radio dissapearing in some area.
I did see that thread, but didn't get round to commenting on it.

It's Absolute radio that I listen to if I do have an AM only set on. I've just switched the Dynatron Ether Conqueror radiogram on and I'm receiving Absolute radio right now, and the reception is quite good at the moment.
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Old 12th Jun 2018, 2:56 pm   #14
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Default Re: Interference On MW.

Hi Paul. I can only hope so. Maybe his old tv died and he has a new one and this is causing the problem ? I did have a sneaky peak in his window one day while they were out, I was on their side off the garden cutting my hedge down a bit in the interests off being neighbourly even though its not much more than 6ft high. Anyway I did notice that he had one off those real flame effect fires mounted on the wall. maybe something has gone wrong with that? It could be anything I suppose! Colin.
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Old 12th Jun 2018, 3:05 pm   #15
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Default Re: Interference On MW.

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Originally Posted by paulsherwin View Post
LCD TVs do generate quite a lot of hash when working normally
I found out recently that the worst of my interference comes from a house on the other side of the road. They went away for a week and the noise stopped until the day they came back. There was still the broadband router/PLT (ignition type noise) over the various short wave (HF) bands at around three 'S' points, but the other really bad interference I get at S-9 plus, and comes in bursts. I think they must have some sort of interactive TV, or perhaps do computer gaming. I know he's into his techno gadgets and I can see the TV through the window sometimes, and it's a massive one that takes up half the wall. The really bad noise that comes in long bursts started last Christmas, so guessing it was some new Christmas present gadget. It's mainly evenings and weekends as he works during the day - Sunday afternoon and evening are the worst times. It was all OK until the lady that previously lived there died at the age of 92.
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Old 12th Jun 2018, 3:14 pm   #16
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Default Re: Interference On MW.

Often the things which pour out the greatest amount of RF interference are of very dubious quality and the sort of manufacturers who take short cuts on interference suppression are likely to have bought the cheapest and nastiest electrolytic capacitors and have taken short cuts on safety.

If the neighbour is friendly, it might be worth making a comment about quality and safety. If the neighbour is not friendly, then it's probably not going to be a long-lived product.

When searching for interference with a portable rario, the ferrite rod antenna has sharp nulls at opposite ends, so you can swing it around and do some direction finding.

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Old 12th Jun 2018, 3:34 pm   #17
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Default Re: Interference On MW.

Thanks again everyone! The neighbour is not very friendly and if i went around to her house with my little Vidor Gem in my hand I would end up wearing it. I will never be stuck for listening to the radio as I do have sets with FM. I also have an FM transmitter that I send LBC to my Hacker with from my laptop. I have also gone over to the dark side and purchased a DAB radio although this is a radio alarm clock for my bedroom. I still like /liked to listen to my MW/LW transistor radios though off which I have far too many. Colin
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Old 12th Jun 2018, 3:35 pm   #18
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Default Re: Interference On MW.

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Originally Posted by pepmin 1 View Post
I took my Vidor Gem for a walk and the noise stops after a few feet away from the house. ...................Colin
I do sympathise - I suffer similar interference. Your experiment with the Vidor suggest that, like many such cases, the main interference is in the electrical component of the electromagnetic radiation. This can happen in the 'near field' before the EM wave gets going - this takes quite a few wavelengths to become established as 'textbook' radiation, which may be a mile or two on the MW/LW bands.

This is why an aerial such as a ferrite rod or loop that receives primarily the magnetic component of the EM field can give a much better signal to noise ratio than the traditional long wire. Such a loop aerial is of course directional which is an advantage for minimising the received interference field, but does mean some adjustment to optimise reception station by station.

I use a Wellbrook loop to feed my sets and that largely overcomes my local interference problems. It also has the advantage that its active amplifier is capable of distributing the signal to several sets simultaneously. There are also a number of home brew loop aerial designs, some discussed at some length on this forum.

From the symptoms you describe, I'm sure you'd find that a loop in the back garden would give a substantial reduction in the annoying interference. Worth a try.

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Old 12th Jun 2018, 4:51 pm   #19
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Default Re: Interference On MW.

OFCOM have a duty to investigate interference to UK broadcast TV/Radio, worth a call. They have helped me with SW (short wave) PLT (plug in ethernet things) interference to amateur radio in the past even though it wasn't broadcast.
 
Old 12th Jun 2018, 5:17 pm   #20
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Default Re: Interference On MW.

A device which was working nicely and not generating much interference can continue to work and start to generate massive interference.
I discovered this with a scart to RF converter, it suddenly started injecting interference into the Virgin coax cable sheath and I could pick it up as I passed each neighbours house for about 100 yards up the road.
It was fixed temporarily by changing the smoothing capacitors in the internal PSU.
A lot of switch mode PSU's are left on 24/7 even when the item it is powering is turned off.
Mike
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