Very severe interference on the AM band.

[Electronic M]

Originally Posted by Sandy G

The FCC claimed CBers were interferin' w/ Aircraft Communications, SOMEBODY could get Seriously Killed..That was their song on EVERYTHING..

Your reminding me of an old radio Blooper off an LP compilation there of, where in an announcer giving the details of an accident reported that "seven people were killed...Three of them seriously".

[Sandy G]

I think I cribbed it off an Eddie Murphy riff... THAT dude, even tho he was Filthy,even WAY more than I am, could make me Pee me Pants.. Mighta been the "I plays Footbawl on th' Footbawl field, Wid a Footbawl..My Bidee was runnin' Aroun', Tacklin' Shit..."

[vortalexfan]

Originally Posted by Electronic M

Yup. Make sure it is rated to handle the current draw of the lights and anything else that might be connected to it.

where would one get one of those line filter devices?

[Electronic M]

If you found that pic you posted you would know better. Google may be helpful...

As for current rating you need to figure out how much your lights draw(the ballasts should have a rating label), and if anything else could be connected to the circuit (for instance if the lights are wired directly into the ceiling junction boxes are there any outlets on the circuit).

I've got a couple of used line filters I've picked up at garage sales and the like to reduce noise from my power inverters for use at radio swapmeets , but I've never needed one bad enough to buy new.

[vortalexfan]

Originally Posted by Electronic M

If you found that pic you posted you would know better. Google may be helpful...

As for current rating you need to figure out how much your lights draw(the ballasts should have a rating label), and if anything else could be connected to the circuit (for instance if the lights are wired directly into the ceiling junction boxes are there any outlets on the circuit).

I've got a couple of used line filters I've picked up at garage sales and the like to reduce noise from my power inverters for use at radio swapmeets , but I've never needed one bad enough to buy new.

Well that was just a google image search that I found that picture through (it was actually sourced from wikipedia's article discussing what line filters were and how they worked.)

The reason why I was asking was because I was wanting to see if there was any non-online sources for those line filter devices as I would prefer to buy them locally if possible rather than buying them online and having to pay shipping costs (which can be almost twice as much as the part itself costs).

[init4fun]

Originally Posted by Sandy G

.... The FCC claimed CBers were interferin' w/ Aircraft Communications, SOMEBODY could get Seriously Killed..That was their song on EVERYTHING..

That'd have to be one dirty signal to make it all the way from 27 MHZ to 118/137 MHZ ... Course , what some heaters did to TV reception was just about criminal

(For anyone who don't know , a "heater" was CB slang for an illegal linear amplifier , most of which being quite UN linear in their RF output)

[Dude111]

Well since the air band is used on the AM mode,CB could easily interfere....... (Especially with a dirty amp)

[init4fun]

Fixed it

[Charlie]

Originally Posted by dieseljeep

The interference is totally unreal! Most of it is from the line, a nasty buzz.

I get the same nasty sounding interference from solid state dimmer switches. I used to have a dimmer on the front porch light. If the light was on, AM radios anywhere in the house would make a horrible loud buzz.. even on battery operated radios.

One day, just to see how far it would pick it up, I turned on that switch and walked outside. I was about 150 feet from my house before the buzz went away. After that I replaced that switch with a regular non-dimming switch.

When I lived in my previous home, the old lady across the street had one of those bright halogen pole lamps with a dimmer next to her chair (the kind that was setting people's drapes on fire several years ago), and anytime she had that light on, the radios in my house would pick it up.

Currently, there's a light in my shower that operates on a dimmer. If that light is on, AM radios make that loud buzz. You can hear a change in the buzz as you brighten and dim the light.

So if you have anything with a dimmer, play with it and see if your buzz goes away.

[Boobtubeman]

I have a 2006 flatscreen plasma wreaking havoc on my AM and SW bands.. I remember the dimmers as a kid. It was fun turning them up and down, sounded like a fly on the radio..

SR

[old_coot88]

Originally Posted by Electronic M

Your reminding me of an old radio Blooper off an LP compilation there of, where in an announcer giving the details of an accident reported that "seven people were killed...Three of them seriously".

Kinda sorta in the same vein, does anybody remember this little ditty from about 1958?
Immediately after its release, radio stations quit airing it cuz it spoofed their whole genre.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qSxDNaaKWkY&t=284s

[decojoe67]

Don't bother with those plug-in "Buzz-X" units. I paid over $70 for one and so far has proved to accomplish nothing. I actually was warned about this, but a fool and his money......

[gf33]

The two types of interference to AM that I am familiar with is line carried and Wireless (RF).

Line carried can usually be filtered out with a small inductor in series with a capacitor connected from the line input to chassis (L type Filter) Earlier Tube type Auto Radios had a Hash Filter, a simple Pi network with a few turns of wire forming a coil in series with the line and a capacitor on each side of the coil to ground. The purpose of this was to filter out the vibarator points switching. Both the the L and Pi filters work well for line carried noise. Electric iron thermostats (before Wash and Wear) constantly switched off and on to maintain the iron temperature. This made radio listening difficult, so much so plugin power line filter were marketed. The Filters were slightly longer and about the diameter of a 'D" cell, with a male plug on one end a female on the other. Plug one of these in Receptacle and plug the radio into Filter and Mon could listen to the soap operas while she ironed! It is better to eliminate a noise at the source than filter it out. Easier said than done. Sometimes line noise in carried in from the other customers on the same pole transformer you are on.

Wireless interference of the buzz hum and static type is usually beyond our ability to filter because it is a radio frequency noise usually generated by a spark. As it is a Radio Frequency Radiation, the FCC has determined the amount it can radiate. It is a very small amount, if you can hear more than a hundred feet in may be too much. The power company through proper maintenance could eliminate much of this type noise. A cracked insulator, a tree limb against the line or a vine growing onto the line are some of the sources. Other Sources of this type noise although not common are industrial and medical equipment. An AM auto radio tuned below 700 KHZ off station is an easy way to detect Wireless interference. If the noise signal is weak it will become louder as you get closer to it until it gets strong enough to trigger the Radio's Automatic Volume Control. After the avc is triggered, increased signal strength will not make the noise louder.

If someone really wanted to find the source of this type of interference it would require a Standard Broadcast AM Field Intensity Meter. Directional AM Radio Stations would have one. With one of these, the interfering noise can be tuned in, the direction of the source determined and followed until the exact source location is reached.

GF33

[DavGoodlin]

I built a shop within an unused 3-story ag building. When I installed my lights, I found that dimming ballasts on T8 lamps obliterated AM reception and that standard electronic T8 ballasts caused severe interference on FM that other post T12-era lighting causes. older T-12 and other magnetic ballast lighting only needs a good ground, rarely does it cause this.

Unfortunately,it is acceptable to FCC. I grounded lighting and switched phases without much improvement as the fluorescent tubes actually radiated the interference. So much for indoor antennas.

I got an LED shoplite at costco, no interference at all.

[DavGoodlin]

One item that I found important to note is that built-in any kind of loop antenna will be affected if near a switch-mode power supply. This includes PCs and many power supplies in commonly found stuff around the house. Anything that should, but does not have a transformer is suspect!

I have transplanted into some radios the M-derived line voltage filters (from scrapped monitors) using common-mode inductors found in SMPS, ironically the same equipment causing interference. Its pretty hard to put filters on all the suspects, why a portable radio is key to sniffing them out.

On a radio requiring an external wire antenna, this extra step helps especially if already using an X2 or if a transformer set, two Y2-rated safety caps plus a grounded cord. Night DX reception at the office then was actually possible.

This worked better than expected on late 30s radios - a Philco 37-650 and a Zenith 5R135, where a 20 foot antenna placed under a rug in an otherwise noisy environement, pulled in the same stations as my GE "superadio" portable but with LESS noise.