Ham radio.. AARRGGHH!

Rawb · November 2009

Been dealing with this a month or so now.. So I have to vent someplace.

My frickon JCM is broadcasting some ham radio pecker.. That or my gnx.. either way, it is pissing me off trying to play with some yoyo talking thru my cab too!

I have looked around couldn't see no antena anywhere. Don't know where he is at...

Anyone know of a mod I can do to my amp, so my guitar playing comes thru his head set?

Wonder how he'd like that... Think being a tool and complaining to the FCC would do anything.. ?

Ya I know sounds petty .. But it is really bothersome after a while.... No matter when I heat up the valves, he is there! Geez! :roll:

shredd · November 2009

\"Shielding\".

The drag of it is, 99.5% of electronics that are FCC ok'd say in the manual or on the unit that \"user must accept any signal interference\" or something like that. So the FCC will likely tell you to bite yourself.
So your choices are to wrap your JCM in tinfoil, or find the guy broadcasting near your house and wrap his jaw shut with a git'r cord. :P

guitar3456 · November 2009

More than likely it is being picked up through the house wiring. In cases like this it's pretty tough to confirm, so all you can do is substitute different things. I'd start with a good power conditioner with good EMI/RF reduction components. Are you sure it's a private operator or is it an AM station?

Does it matter the guitar? Try substituting the guitar and cables. Rare possibility is on of the preamp tubes. V1-V3. You could take a small plastic pen cap, or use a q tip and tap the tube to test for microphonics. In very rare cases a microphonic tube has been an issue for picking up radio signals.

If you have a Ham radio operator in the area, he may just be pushing more than he's supposed to be. Since the amp is based off of similar receivers and is very low band it could be inducing that signal. If he's overpowering when he keys that mic, there may not be much you can do about it. Ham operators used to get tagged for disturbing TV/Radio reception for years.

Does it matter what room you have the amp plugged in?

shredd · November 2009

Geez g'. You are WAY too smart to be dispensing info to slobs like us (um, I mean, \"me\"). Why aren't you wiring the space shuttle or building a new rig for Gilmour every year? :P

Rawb · November 2009

No it isn't a an AM station.. it's private! Or it might be atrucking business there are a couple trucking business's a mile down the road. a couple tiers garages an a terminal... So it crossed my mind it might be one of them... But I have never picked up any business type talk. I can hear the beeps when he mic on an off.. Don't matter who it is ...

I haven't moved the amp around.. been in the same place for years so I doubt that's the issue or the wiring. Same with different guitars an such. Used to grab a quick word thru the puter an tv once in a great while.. So I just figured it was a someone passing by on the highway with a hopped up set.

I will have to find my lil Pro-mark.. ie tube tester LoL .. I have been suspecting a bad tube or one going... in there for a while.. just always using the gnx hardly ever heat the valves up anymore.. So I have been lazy in getting to checking them in that head.. With that being said...

I have never heard of a microphonic tube grabbing air signals.. that's interesting...

Thanks

Rawb · November 2009

\shredd\ wrote:

or building a new rig for Gilmour every year? :P

How do you know he isn't? :P

Manitou · November 2009

I hear stuff too, only I don't think my problem is radio interference.

Rawb · November 2009

\Manitou\ wrote:

I hear stuff too, only I don't think my problem is radio interference.

Man, if the capt. or jim was visiting I probably would have committed myself to happy acres.. For the safety of those around me!

gtaus · November 2009

Sounds like a Spinal Tap moment when they picked up the Air Force base's air traffic control tower - or something like that - on their PA system when doing a gig for the service members on base. Thought it was pretty funny in the movie. Probably not so funny at home for real.

I didn't know there where any Ham radio operators left. I was interested in Ham radio back in the late 70's, early 80's, but even then, it was a hobby on the downturn with the old timers sticking to their old ways despite advances in technology and lack of understanding of newer computer based technology. Their membership numbers were dropping every year and I think the Ham club closed shop while I was still in college in the early 80's.

Maybe you could find someone with a scanner to lock into the frequency and then find out who is causing you problems. Good luck on getting them to convert to some other means of communication - assuming that they are not breaking the law. I like your idea of sending them back a signal on the same frequency. :twisted: However, mama always said \"two wrongs don't make a right.....\"

shredd · November 2009

\gtaus\ wrote:

Sounds like a Spinal Tap moment when they picked up the Air Force base's air traffic control tower - or something like that - on their PA system when doing a gig for the service members on base. Thought it was pretty funny in the movie. Probably not so funny at home for real.

Classic moment.

But yeah, surely a PITA to deal with in real life. I still think shielding or perhaps grounding/filtering your AC might help. But then again, I must defer to geenyus'z like g, since the bulk of my brain power goes to trying to figure out how Shania's going to fall madly in love with me... 8)

Antony · November 2009

I had the same problem a few years ago with a nieghbor. It mainly affected my telephone- I could hear everything they were saying clear as a bell. I got a filter on my phone and it reduced it a bit. Occasionally an amp would pick them up, and there was nothing I could do about it. I did contact the FCC, and they basically told me there was nothing they could do. They finally moved.

I'd follow guitar3456's advice, as it's your house wiring picking something up.

guitar3456 · November 2009

Nothing a nail through the coax won't solve! :twisted:

Rawb · November 2009

I tried the nail thing...

Now I have no signal at all...Perhaps I shouldn't have used a 3\" spike! :shock:

gtaus · November 2009

Yeah, Guitar3456 was not too specific as to whose coax you should put the spike through....yours, or your neighbor's coax. :roll: Now that you see the effect the spike in your coax had on killing your signal, maybe you can eliminate your coax from the two choices and think about the other remaining option. I'm not suggesting, I'm only saying....

kt3k · January 2010

I have a JCM2000, and pick up some interference from time to time, but not often. I live fairly close to a radio station, within a mile, and I'm guessing it's them. But it doesn't happen much. Public radio stations can put out a lot of power, I know one that pushed 50,000 watts. HAM radio operator maximum power output is 1500 watts A lot depends on the kind of antenna they have, and where they're located in reference to you. I'm a ham radio operator, although I haven't used it in a year or so since I moved into a subdivision. There are cap style filters you can get for your power cords, but, shielding is the real answer as one person already said.

Good luck with that,
John

Rawb · January 2010

\kt3k\ wrote:

There are cap style filters you can get for your power cords, but, shielding is the real answer as one person already said.

Good luck with that,
John

Thanks for the info John!

kt3k · January 2010

haha... sorry man, I was always into electronics growing up, and always into music too. Hope ya get it worked out ok.

DaveT · January 2010

Hi All,
I am new here. This is my first post, looked like a good place to start. I would like to make a suggestion about the Ham Radio interference though. You might try listening for awhile and try to get your neighbors call sign. You could then look that up in the FCC database and get his/Her address. You could then go talk to them about the problem.
I am a Ham Radio operator also (KN6HF) and I would (as most of the Ham's I know would) want to know if i was causing my neighbors any grief. One reason being that I want to know if my equipment has a problem I don't know about, such as a bad equipment ground (which may be the case for your neighbor). I would also want to attempt to solve the problem so there are no hard feelings in the neighborhood. The Amateur Radio operator is required by law to ensure that his/her station is working proprerly. This includes transmitting emissions of all types. If your neighbors station is not properly grounded, it needs to be. If the station is good to go, then the operator might have some suggestions as to how to solve the problem at your end.
Good Luck with it. If it's a CBer instead of a Ham you're probably screwed.
Dave

Ham radio.. AARRGGHH!

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