Interference On MW.

[pepmin 1]

Cheers for all off the information it is very interesting It shows you how quickly things change though! A few weeks ago I was reading that the figures for DAB radio have finally gone over the 50% tipping point and the switchover may be back on the agenda again! which is another post and not for here! I needn't have worried about it as the interference that I have on my radios now mean that I cant listen to them anyway, or I can but will have to live with the noise that comes with it. I know that FM and LW are not affected by it but I never really listened to them. I am more off a news and current affairs sort off person and got all I needed from radio 5. I am not really into sports but I did every now and again listen to Talksport but that end off the dial is really bad. Colin

[raditechman]

Sorry for your situation Colin. Hope it goes away soon.

John

[michamoo]

Last year i had this same problem and thought that my AM listening days were at an end. Was blaming nearby industrial estate and neighbours. Turns out it was a DVD player that i had been given. It was kicking out an awful buzz acroos medium and longwave bands even when in standbye. I soon fitted an inline switch in its powerlead. Hardly ever use it so it was the simplest and quickest solution.. Jon.

[stitch1]

Originally Posted by egerton

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

Still enough here on MW to keep restoring interesting and we are lucky to have R4 on MW too.

Originally Posted by pepmin 1

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.

It may not be practical for you but I have a simple long wire aerial running around the loft and dropping through the ceiling, the additional height improves the signal and is far enough away to avoid interference sources. Maybe worth trying different aerial options before giving up.

Or as others have said a pantry tx’er is a good option then you can tune into whatever you want on your AM sets.

In time (how long ) DAB will be superseded by the internet either over broadband or 4/5G in the home and car. We’ll be buying ‘vintage DAB’ radios, any designs for a DAB pantry radio? Oh well maybe not soon but one day I’m sure.

I have family living on the opposite side to you where the only radio they can get is via satellite.

John

[Sideband]

I have a digi box that creates interference on MW and can also (if I droop the TV aerial feeder cable over it) cause noise on the TV picture. The central heating timer also causes horrendous noise when it switches on. I fitted a filter in the mains feed to that and it has helped a lot. The Internet router causes pulsing noises which seem to spread across the entire MW band and probably into SW as well.

All these items are supposed to be 'approved'.....I seriously have my doubts!

[crackle]

DAB radios are not immune to interference, my one in the workshop goes berserk every time I start my vacuum cleaner.
Mike

[turretslug]

Originally Posted by pepmin 1

Cheers for all off the information it is very interesting It shows you how quickly things change though! A few weeks ago I was reading that the figures for DAB radio have finally gone over the 50% tipping point

Pedantry alert: the "50% tipping point" that the powers-that-be have been eagerly anticipating for quite some time is nowadays taken over all digital delivery platforms- it may once have been for DAB take-up, but the latter has been rather more sluggish than once hoped, so goal-posts were duly shifted. Best not to dwell further on this contentious and "political" issue, though

[simpsons]

If Cairn Gorm is your local AM transmitter then the signal must be quite good and whilst your neighbour could be at fault, it takes a lot of RF energy to interfere with reception.

Should also the problem still be there when they are asleep, this suggests the new fire is unlikely to be the cause.

A switch mode power supply, flourescent and LED lights would be my first thought but I come back to the sleeping habits you refere to.

My first thought would be to get your neighbour on your side. Rather than walk round with your radio to prove that they are at fault, a situation which has only one outcome, why not ask them if they too have had problems.

As the problem you say covers the whole AM spectrum, my guess is that you are not alone!!

Chris

[pepmin 1]

Thanks to everyone for their input. I will monitor the situation for a while maybe the interference will just disappear one day although I wont hold my breath. Its funny how you take things for granted.I never had a problem with the radio signal until now. It may just sort itself out.

[dave walsh]

You are right about the whole spectrum Chris but I suspect that the neighbour would simply ask what Colin was talking about There is indeed a link with the Absolute Radio thread of June 6th as mentioned!

I'm getting the internet here in the garage via mains power adaptors [thick walls ] A few years ago there was lots of very vehement criticism of this system, interference wise, on the Forum, despite some people reporting that it wasn't so bad at all The decline in SW transmissions etc now seems to have taken all that away. I'm equally very nostalgic but King Canute does often come to mind. It would be good to keep all the old world systems going [perhaps] but it's really not going to happen. Accessing the same thing through old equipment is often a much better way of fighting back in my opinion-content not process. If it's not there to access from the old technology, well there are still possible solutions. Lateral thinking!

Dave

[Hybrid tellies]

Sadly this is an all to common problem thanks to cheap and nasty electronic gadgets and gismo's that we surround ourselves with.
I suffer high levels of noise from one or more neighbours Plasma TV's which clears in the early hours when everyone has gone to bed. I also get very strong and varying interference in the form of strong narrow band noisy carriers across the higher end of the medium wave band. These carriers seem to drift up and down the band sometimes upsetting Absolute on 1215. They are not their all the time but can last a week or so and using a portable radio I have tracked it down to the mains underground cable.
I do have a pantry AM transmitter which at first was brilliant but now suffers from background hum which I have found out is caused by all the noise and rubbish on the mains wiring modulating the pantry transmitter signal. This can be reduced by removing the earth connection to the transmitter but you do get less range.

[music-centre]

You may be lucky and it will clear again, when I moved here a few years ago listening was impossible on MW and LW with a loud buzz night and day even over strong stations, even if I turned all the power off in my house.
It was like that around a year but suddenly cleared! I guess whatever piece of rubbish equipment that was causing it had gone bang.
Steve.

[MurphyNut]

Originally Posted by pepmin 1

I know that FM and LW are not affected by it but I never really listened to them. I am more off a news and current affairs sort off person

I'm surprised you don't listen to radio 4, a lot of news and current affairs to be had there, though it's a pity about the in depth coverage of the cricket during the summer.
I'm sorry to hear of the interference, I spend a lot of time listening to old radios myself and would be very annoyed if this was spoiled.
Let's hope at some stage you might get a more sympathetic neighbour and things improve for you.

[PaulR]

I greatly improved modulation hum from power supplies around the neighbourhood by putting a 0.1uf class x capacitor across mains live and neutral inside a couple of plug tops. It didn't stop it all but it greatly helped. You can move the plugs to different sockets around the house to get the best effect. The hum was the worst when receiving MW from my pantry transmitter.

Oddly it seems to work better than putting the cap inside the radio itself.

It may not help but the cost of trying isn't great. Just be aware that if you touch the pins of the plug soon after unplugging it the charge on the capacitor will give you a little nip. You could add a resistor to discharge it but there isn't a lot of room.

[Al (astral highway)]

Originally Posted by merlinmaxwell

OFCOM have a duty to investigate interference to UK broadcast TV/Radio, worth a call.

In serious and intentional cases, but in practice, they're under-resourced and even by their own account, they can't deal with all cases of spectrum interference, by any means.

[Al (astral highway)]

Originally Posted by pepmin 1

Hi. I was wondering if anyone was experiencing any bad interference on MW. .

Hey Colin,

Most homes now generate massive amounts of hash on AM, which is propagated through the mains. The newer generation of energy-efficient bulbs are one giant culprit, as well, as others have noted, many switched mode power supplies.

[julie_m]

First-generation compact fluorescent light bulbs were very noisy (hence me listening to the '98 World Cup by candlelight!) but LED bulbs are pretty quiet, as most of them use a simple capacitive ballast.

And it's not just energy-saving bulbs. There's even a mechanism by which filament bulbs can produce interference at VHF and SW!

[G6Tanuki]

Originally Posted by PaulR

I greatly improved modulation hum from power supplies around the neighbourhood by putting a 0.1uf class x capacitor across mains live and neutral inside a couple of plug tops. It didn't stop it all but it greatly helped. You can move the plugs to different sockets around the house to get the best effect. .

In the past I've helped people wirh interference-issues by getting them to replace the ubiquitous 4- or 6-way trailing-sockets you find behind every telly these days with one containing interference suppressors.
You also used to be able to buy spike/RFI-suppressors that looked like a slim 13A adaptor: plug it into the socket then plug the appliance into the suppressor - though I can't remember where these came from.

I've also in the past used IEC309 male/female cables that have built-in interference suppressors - these are great for shutting-up noisy PCs and monitors.

[pepmin 1]

Its gone all quiet? The interference stopped three days ago and reception on all radios is great again. Neighbours are still there if indeed they were even the cause of the problem? It's annoying me that I don't know what was causing the interference and have no reason to think it won't suddenly happen again. Colin.

[winston_1]

Originally Posted by pepmin 1

As I say I can't ask them as we don't speak anymore.

Maybe not. But the interference investigation people would have no qualms asking them. They would also tell them to stop using the faulty equipment.