Security camera causing RF interference/noise across scanners & radios

[Danny37]

I installed a wyze v3 camera about a month ago after I had a package stolen. The camera is installed about 5 feet away from my outdoor antenna. I know, probably not a good idea but my antenna is fixed to an old TV antenna mount, the camera sits about 5 feet below it. Its causing my scanners and even my radios to pick up interference. I know its camera cause when i unplug it from the wall, the interference goes away. But when I turn off the camera with the app (still plugged in) the interference is still there. I switched out the wall adapter for a heavier duty one and still RF. Now, I don't know what is causing the interference. Is it the wifi 2.4ghz signal? Is it the micro usb cable? Is it the wall adapter? or a combination of the three?

I should mention that the camera and my scanners are plugged into the electric outlets on opposite sides of the room, probably on the same circuit. I added a choke on the micro usb end that terminates to the wall plug and wrapped it several times and no luck there.

What can I do to solve this problem? I can probably install the camera a bit further away but that's about it. Do they made bnc RF noise reductions for the WIFI band?

 

[dlwtrunked]

Try using a different wallwart power supply if you can to power. Also, if it can, unplug the power supply from the unit and leave it plugged into the wall and see if you still have a problem.

 

[tvengr]

If you unplug the antenna from the scanners, is the noise still there?

 

[Danny37]

If you unplug the antenna from the scanners, is the noise still there?

No, it disappears

 

[tvengr]

That means that the scanner is picking up the interference from off air and it is not coming through the AC outlet. What kind of cable goes to the camera?

 

[Danny37]

That means that the scanner is picking up the interference from off air and it is not coming through the AC outlet. What kind of cable goes to the camera?

It's a flat micro usb cable that runs about 15 feet.

 

[tvengr]

It is possible that the cable is radiating a signal. Try clipping ferrite noise suppressors around both ends of the cable.

 

[pb_lonny]

I would say the cable is the issue.

 

[TGuelker]

I have a Uniden SDS200 and over 20 Wyze cameras. A v3 camera is about 10 feet from the scanner. I don’t hear any noise. The Wyze cameras all use 2.4 ghz exclusively.

I don’t use the flat ribbon cables because they are too short for my applications.

As another user stated, switch to a round cable and use a clip on ferrite bead on both ends.

 

[Ubbe]

It's probably the CPU and the electronics inside the camera that radiate, not the WiFi or power supply. I have several cheap imported Chinese cameras and at least half of them radiate and generate a forest of trees on a spectrum analyzer and it doesn't help to switch power supply or turn off WiFi.

I have the most interfering signal strengths at low and hi VHF. I don't see any kind of interference from my local bought cameras that are 4 times more expensive and that probably passed our FCC regulations.

Wyze use the hardware from a cheap $20 Chinese camera and develop their own firmware for it.

/Ubbe

 

[PACNWDude]

I had a similar conversation with my neighbor who wanted the "best" camera system he could get (being a retired multi-millionaire). He had noise that impacted CB radio reception in his garage, and sometimes his TV. It was the camera itself that lacked RF shielding as it was cheaply made as that would cost more money in production of the product.

Long version, neighbor story:

He went to Harbor Freight and bought several of the $149.00 wireless camera kits they had on sale. These have a small display and a "wireless" camera bundled with them. He first complained that he still needed to run power to these cameras, and that they were not really "wireless" at all. He then did not notice that they need to operate on different frequencies and came to my house to see if I could help. I had recommended Power over Ethernet cameras and a wired system as you then have higher resolution and less network lag. First, I was amazed at the Harbor Freight gear, as I expected him to at least buy a camera system at Costco instead, as he had mentioned seeing them on sale. But those were wired and much more expensive systems (refer back to retired multi-millionaire comment). I place each monitor/camera pair on different channels and then proceed to help him connect them to his WiFi network.

Inside his house, his WiFi router was not even plugged in. He said he was about to call Comcast to see why he could not get to the Internet, when I showed him the disconnected cable to his router/switch. Plugging this in, I was able to connect all of his monitors and cameras. He then realized that they need SD cards for memory and lacing that only have about 15 minutes of memory built into them. A few hours later he comes back over, mentioning that his CB radio has more static on it now. He has a Royce mobile CB radio connected to a Firestik antenna in his garage. connected to an Astron power supply (I might have given this to him years ago). He said that since connecting his cameras there is more static on that CB (I checked the squelch setting). We power off all the cameras and monitors and check the noise on CB. Monitors seem fine, but once any camera is turned on (one was only a few feet away outside of the garage), there is noticeable hash and static now. He disconnects one camera from power at the camera side, something mentioned in the manual as something to NEVER do. The camera sparks and fails from removing power at the camera connector. He says I can take it apart, where I see zero RF shielding on the circuit board. I then show him one of my old, failed cameras, a much larger and more expensive camera with RF shielding, Ethernet connection, a heater for cold weather, and pan/tilt/zoom components. He continues to buy Harbor Freight cameras as his burn out, doing a one-for-one swap out. He no longer listens to CB radio, as there is just too much noise from the camera a few feet away. I do not mention the use of aluminum foil, choke coils or any other possible mitigation options, as that would make me his "tech support" again.

 

[dlwtrunked]

That means that the scanner is picking up the interference from off air and it is not coming through the AC outlet. What kind of cable goes to the camera?

But that does not mean power supply for the camera is not radiating interference through the house wiring acting as a transmitting antenna that his scanner antenna might pick up.

 

[prcguy]

I suspect the problem is either the camera switching power supply or the camera internals are creating the interference and the power cable is the antenna radiating it. You may have to put ferrites right at the power supply and the camera like within an inch or two of each device. I have hard wired Ethernet cameras with POE and they rip up the HF band pretty bad. I had to use a very large snap on ferrite 31 mix right at each camera. It takes 4-6 turns of Ethernet cable through these large ferrites but they calm the problem down to a satisfactory level.

When using ferrites you need to have the right mix and the right number of turns, otherwise they won't do anything.

 

[Danny37]

It is possible that the cable is radiating a signal. Try clipping ferrite noise suppressors around both ends of the cable.

do you have any recommendations or ferrite noise suppressors? preferably on amazon

 

[Danny37]

I have a Uniden SDS200 and over 20 Wyze cameras. A v3 camera is about 10 feet from the scanner. I don’t hear any noise. The Wyze cameras all use 2.4 ghz exclusively.

I don’t use the flat ribbon cables because they are too short for my applications.

As another user stated, switch to a round cable and use a clip on ferrite bead on both ends.

have you tried analyzing on a sdr spectrum cause its shows RFI along the UHF and VHF bands

 

[Danny37]

It's probably the CPU and the electronics inside the camera that radiate, not the WiFi or power supply. I have several cheap imported Chinese cameras and at least half of them radiate and generate a forest of trees on a spectrum analyzer and it doesn't help to switch power supply or turn off WiFi.

I have the most interfering signal strengths at low and hi VHF. I don't see any kind of interference from my local bought cameras that are 4 times more expensive and that probably passed our FCC regulations.

Wyze use the hardware from a cheap $20 Chinese camera and develop their own firmware for it.

/Ubbe

interesting you say that because i just did a google search and there's no shielding whatsoever around the internal components. do you think wrapping the housing in foil tape would help?

 

[Danny37]

But that does not mean power supply for the camera is not radiating interference through the house wiring acting as a transmitting antenna that his scanner antenna might pick up.

do you have any recommendations to a good power supply for this camera? I believe its 5V and 1A

 

[TGuelker]

wrapping the housing

it will affect the WiFi

I have these ferrite beads. They clip around the wire. Several different sizes. Some applications require the cable be looped. This is an Amazon link.

Mateda Ferrite Ring Core Ferrite Beads Clip RFI EMI Noise Suppressor Anti-Interference Cable Clip for 3.5mm/ 5mm/ 7mm/ 9mm/ 13mm Diameter Cable, Black (20) https://a.co/d/iRjGAdJ

 

[prcguy]

These have no mention of mix which makes them basically useless unless you have test equipment to measure different numbers of wire turns and the resulting choking impedance at your target frequencies. Forget these.

Instead, for HF you usually want a #31 mix and this one with about 5-6 turns of wire through it will be very effective. Fair-Rite 0.514″ID Ferrite Snap-It Core - Pro Audio Engineering You have to try both the switching power supply side and the camera side depending on which device is generating the noise. In the end it might need a ferrite at both ends.

For POE Ethernet cameras you need a bigger ferrite to allow multiple turns of Ethernet cable and these are working great for my camera system with about 5 turns through the core. Fair-Rite 1.01″ ID Ferrite Snap-It Core - Pro Audio Engineering This particular vendor is about the cheapest I've found for #31 mix ferrites.

it will affect the WiFi

I have these ferrite beads. They clip around the wire. Several different sizes. Some applications require the cable be looped. This is an Amazon link.

Mateda Ferrite Ring Core Ferrite Beads Clip RFI EMI Noise Suppressor Anti-Interference Cable Clip for 3.5mm/ 5mm/ 7mm/ 9mm/ 13mm Diameter Cable, Black (20) https://a.co/d/iRjGAdJ

 

[Danny37]

These have no mention of mix which makes them basically useless unless you have test equipment to measure different numbers of wire turns and the resulting choking impedance at your target frequencies. Forget these.































































Instead, for HF you usually want a #31 mix and this one with about 5-6 turns of wire through it will be very effective. Fair-Rite 0.514″ID Ferrite Snap-It Core - Pro Audio Engineering You have to try both the switching power supply side and the camera side depending on which device is generating the noise. In the end it might need a ferrite at both ends.































































For POE Ethernet cameras you need a bigger ferrite to allow multiple turns of Ethernet cable and these are working great for my camera system with about 5 turns through the core. Fair-Rite 1.01″ ID Ferrite Snap-It Core - Pro Audio Engineering This particular vendor is about the cheapest I've found for #31 mix ferrites.

Is there an advantage to using the ferrite snap-on choke vs the Toroid Core? Or is it just preference?