Marconi must have been a Baseball fan.
AM is it really dead?
- Thread starter a727469
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I've just read through the entire thread here and what I see as a glaring omission is that the noise from EV's, switchmode power supplies, computers/networks etc. interfering with radio broadcasts is literally illegal. That the relevant agencies didn't consider this impotant enough to nip this in the bud early on (plasma TV's wiping out the AM band and much more 100 yards away comes to mind) has led to where we are now. I work for a manufacturer of professional (film, TV, broadcast etc) wireless products and the same problem is occurring even up in the UHF bands - poorly/cheaply designed products not approved for use in North America have becom very popular, either for technological or cost-cutting purposes. One good thing about the import tariffs is that it should cut down on the flood of such products.. Europe seems to be doing much better keeping this in check.
Excellent point. It's why car manufacturers simply want to omit the AM band from car radios.
Those type-accepted labels used to state (paraphrasing) this device must not cause interference to other devices - discontinue use until the interference is resolved. There are just so many of these devices in use that getting it under control is virtually impossible. The FCC did not have the resources to keep up with the flood of cheap, imported electronics.
It's hard to say what impact, if any, import tariffs will have.
As for AM radio, there are so few listening to radio from home these days and they are not even aware of the interference. It's primarily hobbyists such as ourselves that notice it, and the only real viable option is to mitigate the noise sources that we can control.
Agree 100%. I wrote a long post about this but it never made it through moderation. Sigh, new user blues.
Anyway, my simple log cabin, with no visible electronics, is completely trashed with astounding RF noise, and, not exaggerating, not hyperbole: it would actually cost thousands of dollars to try to get rid of it all. It is coming from everything, including the light bulbs. Am I supposed to buy black market illegal incandescent bulbs and a few thousand dollars of linear power supplies and heat with wood only, (even my HVAC screams RF)? No AC? No internet? No security cameras?
Just about everything in my entire life, that is connected to the grid screams RF interference. Its easier to list the things that don't: Water heater, 40 year old electric cooktop and oven... I don't think the fridge makes much but I haven't scanned it... hmm. Oh and some LED strip lights, that mercifully have linear power supplies. A string of old incandescent Christmas lights. Two old tube radios that need to be recapped. That's it.
Everything else makes noise. AM and SW are impossible t listen to unless I get at least 50 feet away from the cabin. Even FM has a lot of noise on it, which years ago I would have said wasn't possible.
When I rebuilt this place, I went with highest energy efficiency in electrics. It worked, my electric bill is negligible. But it came at the cost of the highest RF noise I've ever experienced.
SigmaDelta
Member
- Joined
- Jan 10, 2018
- Messages
- 11
Mmm, not really I'm afraid. Solar inverters and PLC (Homeplug) have been a plague. Many urban areas have become pulloted with very high QRM levels up to VHF and higher. Many HF hams totally depend on WebSDRs. Just until recently government agencies have finally found out their failing digital telecom had become affected by the QRM hams have been complaining about for years. Hams were not taken seriously ofcourse. Solar companies (inverters & optimizers) are now under higher investigation and during important/sensitive events solar installations are even demanded to shut down for security reasons. I believe some awareness is finally finding some ground, but still a long way to go...
